About

Genetic Engineering and Society Graduate Certificate & Fellowship

Now Recruiting: GES Graduate Fellowship Applicants

Apply by May 29th at https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-graduate-fellows

To help launch the GES Graduate Certificate, the GES Center is currently recruiting applicants for the GES Graduate Fellowship, a competitive funding opportunity for current NC State graduate students who plan to complete the Certificate alongside their primary graduate program.

Selected fellows receive a $10,000 stipend, distributed as $5,000 in the fall semester and $5,000 in the spring semester, contingent on satisfactory progress.

How to Apply

• Provide information about your current degree program and estimated completion date, as well as a short essay explaining why they want to obtain the GES Certificate.
• PDF upload of your current NC State graduate transcript. (unofficial transcripts are fine)
• A nomination letter from a GES-affiliated faculty advisor stating their support for the student’s enrollment in the GES Certificate program. The nomination letter should include:
  • The nominee’s name and degree program.
  • A brief description of the advisor’s experience working with the student.
  • Affirmation that the advisor will support the nominee in completing the requirements of the GES Fellowship and Certificate
  • Why the advisor thinks the nominee is a good fit for a GES Graduate Fellowship and Certificate.

We welcome applications from graduate students across disciplines and especially encourage students in the humanities and social sciences to apply. The Fellowship is intended to support interdisciplinary learning and to bring a wide range of perspectives into conversations about the societal dimensions of biotechnology, including ethics, governance, policy, communication, history, culture, and public engagement.

Fellowship Expectations and Eligibility

Fellowship recipients are expected to complete the Certificate requirements during the fellowship period and fulfill any additional fellowship expectations, including progress milestones and a short reflective blog post for the GES Center website.

Applicants for the Fellowship must be currently enrolled NC State graduate students in their second year or beyond with at least a year remaining and must have a GES-affiliated faculty advisor or dissertation committee member.

Certificate Coursework

The GES Graduate Certificate requires 12 credit hours of approved coursework.

This includes the two core GES courses below, along with additional approved elective coursework.

Core Courses

Students complete required core coursework in Genetic Engineering and Society, including foundational coursework in emerging technologies and society and additional GES-focused seminars or special topics courses.

• GES 508 – Emerging Technologies and Society
• GES 609 – GES Colloquium

Approved Elective Coursework

In addition to core coursework, students complete approved elective coursework drawn from related fields such as communication, policy, ethics, history, sociology, environmental studies, natural resources, biotechnology, and science and technology studies.

Current approved elective options include:

• ANT 550 – Culture, Ecology, and Sustainable Living
• BIT 410/510 – Manipulation of Recombinant DNA
• COM 358 – Risk Communication
• COM 536 – Seminar in Environmental Communication
• COM 561 – Human Communication Theory
• COM 598 – Special Topics in Communication: Public Communication of Research
• CS 518 – Introduction to Regulatory Science in Agriculture
• ECG/FOR 515 – Environmental and Resource Policy
• ECG 540 – Economic Development
• EMS 551 – Learning in Informal Contexts
• ENG 515 – Rhetoric of Science and Technology
• ENG 583 – Intercultural Professional and Technical Communication
• FW 411/511 – Human Dimensions of Wildlife and Fisheries
• FW 595-006 – Citizen Science: Understanding the Participatory Sciences
• GES 506 – Principles of Genetic Pest Management
• GN 735 – Functional Genomics
• HI 540 – American Environmental History
• HI 581 – History of the Life Sciences
• HI 585 – History of American Technology
• NR 571 – Current Issues in Natural Resource Policy
• NR 595 – Decolonizing Science
• PA 598/798 – Special Topics in Public Administration: Science and Technology Policy
• PHI 475/575 – Ethical Theory
• PPA 550 – Environmental Policy
• PPA 552 – Science & Technology Policy
• PSY 757 – Innovation and Technology
• REL 571 – Darwinism and Christianity
• SOC 762 – Sociology of Food Systems
• ST 590 – Special Topics: Bioinformatics I/II

Additional 1–2 Credit Options

Depending on a student’s plan of study, selected lower-credit courses may also count toward the Certificate with approval.

• BIT 501 – Ethical Issues in Biotechnology (1 credit)
• CBS 561 – Principles of Collaboration & Team Science (2 credits)
• CBS 662 – Professional Conduct in Biomedical Research (1 credit)
• GN 850 – Professionalism and Ethics (1 credit)
• PA 810 – Research Ethics & Professional Socialization (1 credit)
• PHI 816 – Introduction to Research Ethics (1 credit)
• SLC 563 – Leadership in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (2 credits)

Students should consult the program coordinators to confirm approved coursework and plan a certificate pathway that fits their academic program and professional goals.

GES Minor Co-Directors and Faculty

Contact Us

For questions about the GES Graduate Certificate, approved coursework, the transition from the Graduate Minor to the Graduate Certificate, or the GES Graduate Fellowship, please contact the program coordinators Dr. Katie Barnhill (skbarnhi@ncsu.edu) and/or Dr. Zack Brown (zsbrown2@ncsu.edu)