Civic Engagement Certificate

The Civic Engagement (CE) Certificate is designed to inspire you to get involved in the community and make a difference by applying coursework into real-life challenges. Through the certificate, you can apply your academic skills in civic engagement activities.

The goal of this four-course certificate program is to raise awareness of current local, national, and global issues that affect our everyday lives and engage in civic action.

Civic engagement is a sense of responsibility toward one's community. Through civic engagement, individuals—as citizens of their communities, their nations, and the world—are empowered as agents of positive social change for a better world (Jacoby, 2009).

REQUIRED COURSES

You will need to take the following 4 courses and 150 hours of civic engagement hours related to the courses. These courses can be spread throughout your degree.

1. Foundations of Civic Engagement and Social Change (UNIV 2310, 3 SCH): Provides students the opportunity to understand social issues and how they relate to community/society, and their roles as active citizens, as the engage in critical reflection of civic experiences. The course develops a conceptual framework of various forms of civic engagement, its importance, and value. Requires 20 civic engagement field hours. Prerequisite: 2.75 GPA.
2. Community Engagement and Agents of Change (UNIV 3320, 3 SCH): Examine how positive change in communities occur, focusing on small and large scale social change. How individuals and communities envision, promote, and deliver change. Topics: civic practice; organizational change; agents of change in local, national, and international level; and challenges of positive change. Requires 20 civic engagement field hours. Prerequisite: 2.75 GPA.
3. Social Inequality (SOCI 4310, 3 SCH), or Race in Ethnic Relations (SOCI 4317, 3 SCH); or approved substitution and 20 civic engagement field hours.
4. Capstone Experience (UNIV 4390, 3 SCH): Provides students with experiences in the workforce/community in order to create connections with course content through critical reflection and active engagement. Students will be placed at local organizations to integrate knowledge with practical experience gained in service component at a community organization. Requires 90 hours of service experience, in addition to completing a final research project. Prerequisite: senior standing, 2.75 GPA, advisor's approval.

Examples of civically engaged projects:

• Hosting a voting fair
• Volunteering in a soup kitchen
• Participating in clean-ups for city events
• Designing an awareness campaign on the risks of bullying in social media
• Serving on your neighborhood association

The goal of our program is to identify and work with your community to solve a problem or interact with institutions that represent our democracy. Become a Partner for Academic Civic Engagement!

Contact us and speak to your advisors about required courses and space on your degree plan for these courses.