Understanding the complex and dynamic interactions between human activities and the natural environment is essential for achieving sustainable development. Developing this understanding in the next generation of scientists, educators and resource management professionals is the primary goal of the University of Missouri's interdisciplinary graduate certificate program in Society and Sustainability.<br><br>The Society and Sustainability Program (SSP) is a unique interdisciplinary program that prepares students for careers with private and public organizations through advanced graduate level training and research. The certificate program is designed for students with undergraduate-graduate training in agriculture, biology, business administration, economics, engineering, fisheries and wildlife, forestry, geography, geology, sociology and related disciplines. Students who are in a graduate or professional program in their area of specialization take four integrated courses and complete a thesis or dissertation that applies more than one discipline. The program is designed to enhance the student's familiarity with disciplinary and interdisciplinary concepts and principles from the social and natural sciences and humanities.<br><br>The goal of the program is to develop critical thinking and analytical skills related to:<br><br>sustainable natural resource and environmental management and planning,<br>dynamic interactions between social, economic and ecological systems,<br>quantitative-qualitative analysis of individual and social behavior,<br>cultural interpretations of natural resource and environmental issues, and<br>application of knowledge gained in the above areas to the evaluation of public policy.