All classes in the certificate program are project-based and guest lectures facilitate conversations between students from many disciplines and backgrounds. No prior experience in digital infrastructure, computer science, or engineering is needed, and students from all fields–from sciences to liberal arts–are welcome to participate. None of the courses have prerequisites.
Each May-August, we offer our three core certificate courses as well as a number of specialized electives. All courses are offered online in an asynchronous format. Each class is six weeks long.
Core Classes
NW MEDIA 131: DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE 101 - The Hidden Foundations of the Internet
The digital “cloud” is a real place. It is a patchwork of subsea fiber optic cables (the highways of the internet), internet exchanges (the interconnection hubs of the internet), and data centers (the compute and storage centers of the internet), among other technologies. Central course questions include: How does digital infrastructure really work? Who built it? What challenges have they faced? The focus of the class will be on the “backbone” infrastructures that support internet traffic around the globe while also covering how these interface with middle- and last-mile technologies such as terrestrial cables, cellular networks, and satellites.
MODULE 01: The Backbone of the Internet
MODULE 02: The Evolution of the Data Center: From Enterprise to Cloud
MODULE 03: Traffic Patterns, Capacity, and Routing
MODULE 04: Inside the Black Box: Data Center Components
MODULE 05: Deep Dive: Subsea Cable Components
MODULE 06: Zooming out to the Ecosystem
NW MEDIA 132: HOW TO BUILD A GLOBAL INTERNET - Digital Infrastructure Projects from Subsea Cables to Data Centers
Imagine that you are working to build the backbone of the global internet. What is required to build such massive systems and facilities? What kinds of political, environmental, and technological challenges will you face? How will you fund your project? What kinds of social and economic effects can you expect? In this class, you will learn to answer these questions. Historically, this information has been limited to a small cadre of infrastructure-builders around the world, who will share their knowledge about the design and build of the internet’s backbone.
MODULE 01: Planning a Digital Infrastructure Project
MODULE 02: Why Build?
MODULE 03: Financing Digital Infrastructure
MODULE 04: Network & Route Design
MODULE 05: Site Selection
MODULE 06: Cooling and Designing a Green Data Center
NW MEDIA 133: TECH WARS - Security, Geopolitics, and Resilience of Digital Infrastructures
The internet is not only a place for sharing and interconnection, it is a site of conflict, competition, and geopolitics. This course dives deep into the security and protection of digital infrastructures. While there have been many courses on cybersecurity, this class is the first to focus on the security of hard infrastructure, issues of regulating digital infrastructure, and pathways to ensuring internet resilience. Questions include: Whose responsibility is it to protect the internet’s physical layer? How is this architecture affected by governments and national interest? What would make a truly resilient internet infrastructure?
MODULE 01: What is a Secure Digital Infrastructure?
MODULE 02: Securing the Facility: Protection of Data Centers and Cable Landing Stations
MODULE 03: Securing the Route: Cable Protection Fundamentals
MODULE 04: Geopolitics of Digital Infrastructures: National Security, Data Sovereignty, and International Politics
MODULE 05: Environmental Risk: From Community Contestation to Climate Change
MODULE 06: What is a Resilient System?
Specialized Electives
NW MEDIA 134: Keeping the Internet Alive - The World of Digital Infrastructure Operations and Maintenance
This class looks at the hidden labor and technical systems that keep the global internet running. Focusing on the operations and maintenance of data centers and subsea cables, the course examines energy management, monitoring, upgrades, and lifecycle renewal of infrastructure. Students study the human, environmental, and regulatory challenges of sustaining connectivity in a world of increasing disruption, culminating in Uptime: The Game—a team-based simulation of running and maintaining the cloud.
NW MEDIA 135: From Code to Carbon - Leading a Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Revolution
This class covers emerging trends in leadership in the age of energy-intensive digital systems. Students examine theories of leadership, ethics, and ESG through the lens of sustainability, resilience, and equity in global digital infrastructure. Through case studies, frameworks, and a capstone project, students develop the skills to lead digital infrastructure organizations toward responsible innovation and carbon-conscious transformation.
NW MEDIA 136: Digital Infrastructure for Space
This class covers the digital backbone linking Earth and space—from ground stations to mega-constellations, lunar relays, and orbital data centers. Students trace how data travels across the Earth–space continuum and analyze how latency, bandwidth, and spectrum policy shape emerging architectures and business models. Case studies include NASA’s Deep Space Network, Starlink, and global quantum-satellite initiatives, alongside conflicts in building the next generation of interplanetary infrastructure.
NW MEDIA 138AC: Speculative Infrastructures: Creative Practices for Imagining Networks
This class reveals how artists and designers can reimagine the systems that shape everyday life, including not only data centers but railways, water pipes, and other foundational infrastructures. The class combines historical inquiry with studio experimentation. Students are encouraged to develop speculative artworks proposing new forms of connection and care. The class brings together readings, screenings, and generative AI projects, and develops creative practice as a method for infrastructural world-building.
NW MEDIA 139: Special Topics in Global Digital Infrastructure
This course brings students into a particular subject area for digital infrastructure design, development, operations, regulation, and/or transition. Course readings and assignments will orient students with a clear and multidisciplinary approach to digital infrastructure in a global context.
2026 Classes
NW MEDIA 131: Digital Infrastructure 101 (Summer Session A, Tuesday, May 26, 2026-Thursday July 2, 2026)
NW MEDIA 132: How to Build a Global Internet (Summer Session D, Monday, July 6, 2026-Friday, August 14, 2026)
NW MEDIA 133: Tech Wars (Summer Session D, Monday, July 6, 2026-Friday, August 14, 2026)
NW MEDIA 135: From Code to Carbon (Summer Session A, Tuesday, May 26, 2026-Thursday July 2, 2026)
NW MEDIA 139: The Human Network (Summer Session D, Monday, July 6, 2026-Friday, August 14, 2026)
Students who complete NW MEDIA 135: From Code to Carbon in addition to the three core classes will receive a Certificate with an area specialization in Sustainable Leadership. Students who complete NW MEDIA 139: The Human Network in addition to the three core classes will receive a Certificate with an area specialization in Stakeholder Mapping.
Individual courses will be indicated on UC Berkeley student transcripts and units may be transferable to both domestic and international students’ home universities. However, the certificate is not an official program offered by Undergraduate Education and will not be noted on a student’s transcript.
Learning Outcomes
The program offers a holistic approach, covering the data centers where information is stored and computation occurs; the subsea networks that transmit 99% of data traffic between continents; and infrastructures such as Internet Exchange Points (“IXPs”), Points of Presence (“POPs”) and colocation facilities, where networks are interconnected.
The curriculum covers components, business models, design/build, operations, and maintenance, alongside the impacts of/on economies, geopolitics, artificial intelligence, and the environment.
As sectors increasingly depend on digital infrastructure and services, this program offers a basic literacy of these infrastructures that can help participants ensure continuity of service, sustainability, and resilience.
All classes in the certificate program are project-based and outstanding student works are published in industry magazines.
Testimonials
“I’m excited to use what I’ve learned from the Global Digital Infrastructure certificate to help improve Karenni State. With the skills in cybersecurity, data center management, and network design, I plan to make digital systems in the region more secure and efficient.” — Khu Bendict, young professional, Karenni State, Myanmar.
“By the end of the program, students acquire a solid foundation that prepares them to take the next steps in pursuing a career in this field. Whether you're a lawyer, engineer, or marketer, the course is designed to meet current learning needs — offering high-quality content, accessible language, and real-world case studies that help reinforce and apply key concepts.” — Federica Tortorella Casilla, Lawyer from the Dominican Republic
“The GDI program was a fantastic opportunity to delve into the essential topic of digital infrastructures. The unique format of the certificate, combining a holistic approach to the classes with a great variety of guest speakers, made this experience a valuable and enriching addition to my studies.” — Ninon Manighetti, Master student, Sciences Po Paris