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Admissions & Cost

The application cycle for the 2025-2026 program is now open! Applications are due by March 28, 2025.

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    Who Should Apply?

    The program is designed for learners with a professional or intellectual interest in tropical forest landscapes, committed to biodiversity conservation, integrated land management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and more. The program is open to individuals from diverse disciplines and backgrounds and does not require an extensive background in ecology or environmental science.

    Participants to date represent 280+ organizations from 70+ countries, including:

    • Professionals from governments, private industries, and nongovernmental organizations working on project design and landscape management
    • Staff members from foundations, businesses, and aid agencies seeking to fund and promote effective programs
    • Academics, lecturers, graduate students, and recent graduates looking to supplement their knowledge
    • Landowners, farmers, ranchers, and community organizers enhancing management within their communities
    • Individuals seeking professional development or career changes
    • Other champions of sustainable tropical landscapes from the Global South and beyond.

     

     

    Information Sessions

    For the Tropical Forest Landscapes Certificate Program

    11 Feb

    Information Session: Participants perspectives and projects

    • 9:00 am - 10:00 am
    • Online, Eastern Standard Time
    21 Feb

    Coffee chat with program mentors

    • 9:00 am - 10:00 am
    • Online, Eastern Standard Time
    05 Mar

    Coffee chat with program mentors

    • 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
    • Online, Eastern Standard Time
    12 Mar

    Coffee chat with program mentors

    • 9:00 am - 10:00 am
    • Online, Eastern Standard Time
    21 Mar

    Coffee chat with program mentors

    • 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
    • Online, Eastern Standard Time

    Tuition

    Student watching course recording on mobile device.

    Online Program: $7,500*

    Online program tuition includes:

    • Four 8-week online courses
    • One 10-month capstone project course
    • Unlimited access to all online course materials
    • Technology use and other service fees
    • Support from mentors throughout the program
    • Weekly face-to-face online interaction with experts
    • Personalized expert advice on course work

    * Limited scholarships are available on a competitive basis to offset the cost of online program attendance.

    3 people walking on a suspension footbridge in the forest

    Optional Field Course: $2,500**

    Cost of the optional field course includes: 

    • Week-long immersion experience in the tropics
    • All course materials, site visits, field exercises, and facilitated teamwork
    • Room, board, and transportation in the country where field course takes place
    • It does not cover travel cost to the country where field course takes place or visa fees

    ** Cost is subject to change for future field courses

    Scholarships

    Scholarship funds are applied to online program tuition only, not to optional field course cost. 

    Partial Tuition Scholarships

    Program partial scholarships cover between 25 and 75% of the online tuition fee. Awards include:

    • Leadership & Impact Award: Offered to select environmental professionals from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, and South & Southeast Asia. Successful applicants should demonstrate how participation in this program will lead to real-life impacts for people and nature and how they plan to apply what they learn to a concrete initiative in the tropics.
    • Career Development Award: Offered to outstanding individuals at an early stage in their environmental career. Current or recent graduate students and individuals changing career paths are also eligible to apply. Successful applicants should describe their long-term career goals in conservation and restoration and illustrate how their participation in this program will serve as a launch point for them to become an environmental leader.
    • General Scholarship: Offered to outstanding applicants who bring unique leadership or life experiences to the program. Successful applicants will articulate what unique experiences they bring to the program and how their participation in the program will both advance their own personal development and enable them to impact others.

    Three Cairns Fellows Program

    The Three Cairns Fellows Program aims to expand access to YSE online certificate programs for individuals working on climate solutions in the Global South. Eligible candidates must possess primary citizenship from a country in the Global South, have professional and/or academic experience relevant to climate solutions, and actively work on climate solution implementation. Three Cairns Fellows award recipients receive full support for online program tuition. 
     

    Applying for Funding

    To be considered for a partial tuition scholarship or the Three Cairns Fellows Program, please complete the scholarship section in your main program application. Admission decisions are made independent of funding requests.
     

    Additional Funding

    We strongly encourage applicants to explore additional options for funding their tuition, including employer tuition support and professional development grants.

    How to Apply

    All materials must be submitted through our online application system. Please contact us at tropicalcertificate@yale.edu for any questions about the application materials or process.

    Required Materials

    To apply to this program, you must submit:

    1. Completed online application form
    2. Scanned or electronic transcript (official or unofficial)
      •  The transcript should demonstrate completion of a four-year bachelor’s degree in any subject from an accredited U.S. college or university or the international equivalent.
      •  Applicants with a three-year degree from an accredited international institution are eligible to apply. 
      •  Please provide a translation for transcripts in languages other than English. 
      •  We will consider waiving the transcript requirement on a case-by-case basis for individuals with significant professional experience (at least 10 years) or for whom it would be a significant burden to obtain a transcript from their institution.
    3. Resume or curriculum vitae
    4. Personal statement and two short-response statements (see application for details)
    5. One professional recommendation
      •  A recommendation from an academic or professional supervisor is preferred. We are looking for individuals who can evaluate your scholarship, professional activities, leadership skills and career goals.
      •  Listing yourself, family or friends as a professional recommender is not acceptable.
      •  It is your responsibility to contact your recommender and inform them that the ELTI Online Certificate Program will be contacting them with the link and directions for submitting the letter of recommendation. Your application file will not be complete until your recommendation is received.

    Optional Materials

    The following materials may be uploaded to support your application, but are not required. Individuals who do not have the following materials will not be penalized.

    Applicants may choose to submit:

    1. Documentation of coursework additional to a four-year bachelor’s degree or equivalent
    2. Official TOEFL or IELTS test score reports
      • Participants must have a high proficiency in English in order to learn from the written and recorded presentations, complete written assignments and engage in thoughtful discussion with peers and instructors during live sessions.
      • If you have standardized language scores demonstrating English proficiency, you may submit your score reports to accompany your application. This material is not required.

    Apply Now

    Throughout the capstone course, I have been able to apply all the learnings to a real context in my region, allowing me to reconnect with local people and look at the landscape in a more holistic way.”

    Stefanía Sibille Grández — TFL ’23, Three Cairns Fellow Libélula-DecarBOOST, Peru

    Yale University's Nondiscrimination Statement

    The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and affirmatively seeks to attract to its faculty, staff and student body qualified persons of diverse backgrounds. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs or employment against any individual on account of that individual's sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, status as a protected veteran or national or ethnic origin; nor does Yale discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

    Payments Schedule and Refund Policy  

    Should you be admitted to the program, reserving your place requires the submission of your Intent to Enroll form.  

    May 16, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EDT  
    Due date for enrollment with submission of the intent to enroll form.  

    May 30, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EDT*  
    Due date for first installment of tuition payment ($3,750, minus half of any scholarship awarded). 

    August 3, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EDT   
    Last day to withdraw from the program and receive a refund of payments to date, minus a $300, non-refundable processing fee.

    December 12, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EST  
    Due date for second installment of tuition payment ($3,750, minus half of any scholarship awarded). 

    *Participants will have the opportunity to pay in full by May 30 ($7,500, minus any scholarship awarded).

    Technical Requirements

    To participate in the program, you will need consistent access to:

    • A computer, laptop, or tablet capable of playing audio and video
    • Internet connection speed for high-quality video on Zoom group video calls: 1.0 Mbps/600kbps (up/down)
    • A web camera
    • A headset with a microphone
    • Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel (or equivalent programs)

    Equipment and software are the responsibility of the participant and will not be provided by Yale University. 

    Technical Support

    All participants will receive access to technical support related to the use of the course platform and software.