自然科学计划提供科学证书，以增强计划与科学问题和/或那些问题中的利益相关者进行专业交流的人员以及通过更强大的途径寻求个人致富的人员的知识，有效性和职业机会在日益科学技术的社会中对科学基础的理解。科学证书是一门跨学科的学习课程，提供对自然（物理）世界的基本科学理解，包括诸如因果关系等基本科学概念以及用于解释自然现象的其他基本原理以及过程科学家用来调查自然界以及社会和政府进行科学事业的过程。此外，该计划还研究了科学技术进步在解决公众关注的当代现实世界问题（例如全球气候变化，转基因生物等）中的应用。
The Natural Science Program offers a Certificate in Science to enhance the knowledge, effectiveness, and career opportunities of persons who plan to interact in a professional capacity with scientific issues and/or stakeholders in those issues, as well as persons seeking personal enrichment through a stronger understanding of the fundamentals of science in an increasingly scientific and technological society. The Certificate in Science is an interdisciplinary course of study that provides a basic scientific understanding of the natural (physical) world, including fundamental scientific concepts such as cause-and-effect and other basic principles used to explain natural phenomena, as well as the processes by which scientists investigate the natural world and the processes by which societies and governments undertake the scientific enterprise. In addition, the program examines the application of scientific and technological advances in addressing contemporary, real world issues (e.g., global climate change, genetically modified organisms, etc.) of significant interest to the general public.