Certificates

Certificate in African American Studies

African American Studies is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field examining the histories, cultures, and political and social engagements of people of African descent in the United States.  Courses offered through the African American Studies certificate program encourage students to explore a broad range of historical and contemporary issues impacting native-born African Americans as well as African, Caribbean, and Afro-Latin American immigrants to the USA.  Our courses address transformations in the social, political, gender, sexual, religious, and ethnic identities of people of African descent; meanings of race and family; social justice movements and activism; literature and cultural expression; and the nature of diaspora in the Black experience. 

Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours from the approved courses below.

2. Students must complete a minimum of nine upper-division (3000-level and above) credit hours taken from among the approved courses.

3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the certificate and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 2.0. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the certificate GPA. Courses taken using pass/fail grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.

4. Students must complete all credit hours applying to the certificate with CU Denver faculty.

Required Courses 

• ETST 2155 African American History (3 credits - CU core course)
• 3 approved electives from the list below (9 credits)

ETST 2105 Contemporary African American Issues

ETST 3155 African Diasporas

ETST 3211 Hip Hop Music and Culture 

ETST 3230 African American Family 

HIST 3347 African American History 1619 – Present

ENGL 3750 American Literature After the Civil War 

HIST 4055 The Atlantic Slave Trade: Africa, Caribbean, and the US 

ETST 4220/ENGL 4220 African American Literature  

HIST 4212 Civil War and Reconstruction 

HIST 4225 Urban America: Colonial Times to the Present 

HIST 4308 Crime, Policing, and Justice in American History 

Application Procedure

To sign up for the certificate or to learn more contact Dr. Rachel Harding at Rachel.Harding@ucdenver.edu. Please indicate the student’s name, student ID number, major, and expected degree graduation date. 

Certificate in American Indian Studies

This certificate is designed to appeal to undergraduate students with a background in any major. The certificate is also targeted to nondegree-seeking professionals. Courses will examine historical and contemporary tribal experiences. Students will be encouraged to think critically about the stereotypes of American Indians and tribal governments. A certificate in American Indian Studies offers students an enduring intellectual base to understand both the foundations of America and diversity among tribes with different languages, histories, and cultures. The courses provide students the opportunity to encounter theories posited by a rich history of American Indian intellectuals.

Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours from the approved courses below.
2. Students must complete a minimum of 12 upper-division (3000-level and above) credit hours taken from the approved courses.
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the certificate and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 2.0. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the certificate GPA. Courses taken using pass/fail grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.
4. Students must complete all credit hours applying to the certificate with CU Denver faculty. 

Required Courses

• ETST 3036 American Indian Cultural Images (Core Cultural Diversity course, offered fall semester)
• ETST 3110 Indigenous Studies (Core International Perspectives course, offered every semester).
• ETST 3396 History of the American Indian (offered spring semester)
• ETST 3939 Internship or ETST 3840 Independent Study 

Application Procedure

To sign up for the certificate or to learn more contact Dr. Faye Caronan at Faye.Caronan@ucdenver.edu. Please indicate the student’s name, student ID number, major, and expected degree graduation date. 

Certificate in Asian American Pacific Islander Studies

AAPI studies integrates the study of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in the United States with analysis of the histories, politics, cultures, and societies of countries in Asia and the Pacific and Asian and Pacific Islander diasporic communities. AAPI Studies certificate courses deal with changing political, social, economic and cultural realities, including US imperialism, US military interventions, settler colonialism, migration, and transnational communities; gender, racial, sexual, and ethnic identities; social movements; diverse forms of cultural expression; ongoing political and economic restructuring in Asia and the Pacific Islands; and the challenges of cultural, political, and economic empowerment for AAPI communities in the United States.

An AAPI studies certificate prepares students to work with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Denver, elsewhere in the United States or abroad in a wide variety of careers, including teaching, higher education administration, community organizing, community and government service, journalism and the media, environmental science, global business, health care, legal services, library science, music, publishing, and research. Students will be encouraged to intern in local organizations working with the AAPI population.

Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours from the approved courses below.
2. Students must complete a minimum of 12 upper-division (3000-level and above) credit hours taken from the approved courses.
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the certificate and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 2.0. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the certificate GPA. Courses taken using pass/fail grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.
4. Students must complete all credit hours applying for the certificate with CU Denver faculty. 

Required Courses

• ETST 2357 Asian American & Pacific Islander Cultures CORE course

• ETST 3060/PBHL 3060: Asian American Pacific Islander Communities and Health
• ETST 3297/HIST 3297 Asian American History

Choose 2 of the following elective courses:

• ETST 3357/ENGL 3357 Asian American Literature
• ETST 3567/WGST 3567 Asian American Women
• ETST 3697/SOCY 3697 Contemporary Asian American Experience
• ETST 3939 Ethnic Studies Internship
• ETST 3060/PBHL 3060 AAPI Communities and Health
• ETST 4297 Theorizing the Transpacific
• HIST 3470 Intro to East Asia
• HIST 4421 Modern China

Application Procedure

To sign up for the certificate or to learn more contact Dr. Faye Caronan at faye.caronan@ucdenver.edu. Please indicate the student’s name, student ID number, major, and expected degree graduation date. 

Certificate in Cultural Diversity Studies

The Undergraduate Certificate in Cultural Diversity Studies is designed to appeal to undergraduate students with a background in any major. It will allow students to demonstrate to potential employers that they possess the multicultural skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the workplace. Students will enroll in department courses that focus on the historical context in which race and culture have emerged in the United States. 

This certificate is also targeted to non-degree-seeking professionals who seek to acquire multicultural knowledge and the skills necessary to ensure their success in professional environments. Students will be encouraged to think critically about race and race relations. Their expanded understandings of the implications of race and culture in work environments will ensure employers that they offer the highest quality employees opportunities in employment or advancement.

Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 ETST credit hours.
2. Students must complete a minimum of six ETST upper division (3000- level and above) credit hours.
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the certificate and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 2.0. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the certificate GPA. Courses taken using pass/fail grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.
4. Students must complete all ETST credit hours with CU Denver faculty.

Certificate Restrictions, Allowances, and Recommendations 

There are cross-­listed courses in a variety of departments, including history, political science, and sociology. Any cross-listed course is acceptable, but the student should register for it under the ETST subject code. A complete listing of department offerings and cross-­listed courses can be obtained every semester from the Ethnic Studies Department web page or by calling our office for a copy.

Required Courses

Students must take ETST 2000 and ETST 4165 as well as two additional ETST courses with at least one being at 3000 or 4000 level. 

• ETST 2000 Introduction to Ethnic Studies (3 credits - CU core course) OR
• ETST 4165 Cultural Diversity in the Workforce (3 credits)
• Two approved courses from the list below:
  • ETST 2155 African American History (three credit hours) 
  • ETST 2294 Race and the Media (three credit hours) 
  • ETST 3254 Race and Ethnicity in the Inner City (three credit hours) 
  • ETST 3297 Social History of Asian Americans (three credit hours) 
  • ETST 3396 History of the American Indian (three credit hours) 
  • ETST 3704 Culture, Racism, and Alienation (three credit hours) 
  • ETST 4558 Chicano and Latino Politics (three credit hours) 
  • There are cross-listed courses in several other departments, including history, political science, and sociology. Any cross-listed course is acceptable. However, you must register for it under an ETST number. See the courses page of this site for a complete listing of department offerings and cross-listed courses. 

Application Procedure 

To sign up for the certificate or to learn more contact Dr. Faye Caronan at Faye.Caronan@ucdenver.edu. Please indicate the student’s name, student ID number, major, and expected degree graduation date.   

Certificate in Latinx Studies

Latinx studies integrates the study of Latinx communities in the United States with analysis of the histories, politics, cultures, and societies of Latin America and the Caribbean. Latinx Studies certificate courses deal with changing political, social, economic and cultural realities, including immigration and transnational communities; gender, racial, sexual, and ethnic identities; social movements; diverse forms of cultural expression; ongoing political and economic restructuring in Latin America; and the challenges of political and economic empowerment for Latinx communities in the United States.

A Latinx certificate prepares students to work with Latinx communities in the United States or abroad in a wide variety of careers, including teaching, higher education administration, community organizing, community and government service, journalism and the media, environmental science, global economics, health care, legal services, library science, music, publishing, and research.

Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours from the approved courses below.

2. Students must complete a minimum of nine upper-division (3000-level and above) credit hours taken from the approved courses.

3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the certificate and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 2.0. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the certificate GPA. Courses taken using pass/fail grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.

4. Students must complete all credit hours applying to the certificate with CU Denver faculty.

Required Courses

Students must take ETST 2010 as well as three Latinx studies elective courses chosen from the list below.

• ETST 2108 Introduction to Chicanx/Latinx Studies
• 3 approved electives from the list below:
  • ANTH 4300 Migrant Health
  • COMM 4722 Communicating Latinx Cultures
  • EDFN 3000 Undocumented Mexican Immigration **
  • ETST 3108 Chicano/a and Latino/a History
  • ETST 3574 Special Topics: Latina Narratives
  • ETST 3574 Special Topics: Latina Feminisms
  • GEOG 3130 Central America and the Caribbean
  • GEOG 3140 Geography of South America
  • HDFR 3020 Black and Latino Children in Families and Schools
  • HDFR 4040 Latino Families in Schools and Communities
  • HDFR 4045 Abuelos
  • HIST 3460 Modern Latin American History
  • HIST 4412 Mexico and the United States: People and Politics on the Border
  • PSCI 4545 Immigration Politics
  • SPAN 3025 Writing for Latinos
  • SPAN 3270 Bilingual Communities*
  • SPAN 4030 The Learning and Teaching of Heritage Speakers*
  • SPAN 4076 Spanish in Colorado*
  • SPAN 4080 Spanish in the United States*

* Indicates courses that require prior coursework and fluency in Spanish

**Course number will be changing in Spring 24 to LDS 3000.

Application Procedure

Students should email the Faculty Advisor, Dr. Elizabeth Garcia Elizabeth.8.Garcia@ucdenver.edu to enroll, indicating the student’s name, student ID number, major, and expected degree graduation date. 

Ethnic Studies Graduate Certificate

Ethnic Studies is the interdisciplinary study of race and ethnicity in local, national, and global contexts. Recent events have shown a spotlight on systemic racial and ethnic inequities in the United States. As a result, businesses are adopting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, environmental researchers are examining how climate change disproportionately impacts Black, Indigenous, and people of color, educators are concerned with how to address racial inequities in schools, doctors and other health care workers wonder how to best reach and treat BIPOC communities, and so on. An interdisciplinary graduate certificate in Ethnic Studies trains both academic researchers and professionals who can apply Ethnic Studies concepts in their fields is invaluable to any number of students who want to apply a racial and social justice lens to their intended future profession. The Ethnic Studies graduate certificate offers two paths for students: an academic path and an applied path. The academic track prepares students to pursue a PhD in Ethnic Studies or to apply an ethnic studies analysis in a traditional academic discipline. This track is for students interested in a career in the academy. The applied track prepares students to identify and address racial and ethnic inequities in their chosen professional field and is designed for students interested in a wide variety of careers, including primary and secondary education teaching, higher education administration, community organizing, community and government service, journalism and the media, environmental science, global economics, health care, legal services, library science, music, and publishing. 

 Upon earning the certificate, students will be able to: 

• Understand how Ethnic Studies historically challenged traditional disciplinary knowledge production. 

• Identify and analyze racial and ethnic inequities in popular culture, society, communities, and organizations. 

• Integrate diverse methodologies to design interdisciplinary research projects focusing on race and ethnicity. 

• Develop resources for building/strengthening healthy, multiracial institutions and communities. 

Certificate Requirements 

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours.
2. Students must complete all courses at the graduate level (5000 or above) to fulfill the requirements of the certificate.
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of B (3.0) in all certificate courses completed at CU Denver and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 3.0.  All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the certificate GPA. Students cannot complete a certificate or ancillary course requirements as pass/fail.
4. All credit hours for the certificate must be earned at the University of Colorado Denver.

Certificate Restrictions, Allowances, and Recommendations

1. No course may be taken more than twice.
2. Courses cannot double count for the MH/MSS track in Ethnic Studies and the Ethnic Studies graduate certificate.
3. Students may be enrolled as a CU Denver graduate student in any discipline or as a CU Denver non-degree seeking graduate student with a bachelor’s degree.
4. International students must submit TOEFL scores or otherwise satisfy the University’s English Language Proficiency requirement.

Required Courses

Students must complete ETST 5000 or ETST 5165 as well as ETST 5960. They must also take two of the elective courses listed below: 

• ETST 5000 Research Methods in Ethnic Studies (3 credits) OR 
• ETST 5165 Cultural Diversity Awareness in the Workplace (3 credits)
• ETST 5960 Capstone in Ethnic Studies (3 credits)
• Any two of the following courses:
  • Any 5000 or 6000 level ETST course 

  • ANTH 5230 Anthropology and Community Based Participatory Research  (3 credits)

  • ANTH 5350 Anthropology of Globalization (3 credits)

  • COMM 5270 Intercultural Communication (3 credits)

  • COMM 5282 Environmental Communication (3 credits)

  • ENGL 5460 Contemporary World Literature (3 credits)

  • ETST 5000 Research Methods in Ethnic Studies (3 credits)

  • ETST/SOCY 5020 Race, Culture and Immigration (3 credits)

  • ETST 5021 Black and Latino Children in Families and Schools (3 credits)

  • ETST/RLST 5030 Race, Religion and Belonging in the United States (3 credits)

  • ETST 5165 Cultural Diversity Awareness in the Workplace (3 credits)

  • ETST/ENGL 5220 African-American Literature (3 credits)

  • ETST/WGST 5305 Women of Color Feminisms (3 credits)

  • ETST/PSCI 5457 American Political Thought (3 credits)

  • HIST 5225 Urban America: Colonial Times to the Present (3 credits)

  • HIST 5308 Crime, Policing, and Justice in American History (3 credits)

  • HIST/WGST 5343 Women & Gender in US History (3 credits)

  • HIST 5412 Mexico and the United States: People and Politics on the Border (3 credits)

  • HIST 5494 Red and Blue America: U.S. History, 1973-Present (3 credits)

  • HIST 5621 Explorers and Exploration (3 credits)

  • HIST 5622 Oceans In History (3 credits)

  • PHIL/ENGL/WGST 5308 Contemporary Feminist Thought (3 credits)

  • PHIL 5450 Punishment and Social Justice (3 credits)

  • PHIL/WGST 5500 Feminist Philosophy (3 credits)

  • SOCY 5050 Health Disparities (3 credits)

  • SOCY 5220 Population Change and Analysis (3 credits)

Application Process 

Applicants for a Graduate Certificate Program will send the following documents to the Certificate Program Director, Dr. Faye Caronan Faye.Caronan@ucdenver.edu: 

• Graduate Certificate Application Form: 

• Official Transcripts 

• Resume 

• Letter of interest 

Graduate Certificate Completion

Graduate Certificate Completion Form

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