Department of Ethnic Studies
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.
A certificate in cultural diversity studies offers students an enduring intellectual value based on classic articles, book excerpts, and scholars who have shaped the study and understanding of race and ethnicity in contemporary society. Our courses provide the opportunity for students to encounter many of the greatest thinkers in race and ethnicity firsthand. The course curriculum includes carefully edited selections from the works of the most distinguished observers of race and ethnicity, past and present. Students will appreciate the broad range of coverage, the logic of course organization, and the accessibility of material covered.
Requirements: 12 credit hours total (4 courses)
Required Course:
- ETST 2000, Introduction to Ethnic Studies (3 credit hours)
Electives (9 credits total)
Students choose three courses from any Ethnic Studies Department courses, including the following:
- 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)
Cross-Listed Courses
There are cross-listed courses in several other departments, including history, political science and sociology. Any cross-listed course is acceptable. 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.
Grade and Residency Requirements
A minimum grade of B- must be earned in each of the four courses completed as part of the certificate. All credits for the certificate must be earned at the Downtown Campus.
Application Procedure
Students who have completed the required coursework can then complete an application for the certificate. Once an academic advisor reviews the student's transcripts, the certificate will be processed and mailed or scheduled for pick up.
American Indian Studies Certificate
Certificate in American Indian American Studies
A certificate in American Indian Studies acknowledges students who have made a significant effort to learn about American Indian cultures. It is designed to appeal to undergraduate students with a background in any major. The certificate is also targeted to non-degree seeking professionals who seek to increase their skill sets. This certificate will allow students to obtain knowledge about contemporary and historical American Indian communities. Such study creates more culturally aware citizens who can be successful in their educational, work, and community environments.
Required Courses: 12 credit hours (4 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 American Indian History (offered spring semester)
- ETST 3939 Internship or ETST 4840 Independent Study (contact Dr. Martinez to enroll, offered every semester, students must have previously completed at least one of the required courses)
Application Procedure
Students should email the Faculty Advisor, Dr. Martinez donna.martinez@ucdenver.edu to enroll, indicating the student’s name, student ID number, major, and expected degree graduation date. If you are a non-degree seeking student, you will need to complete the Application for Non-Degree Admission through the Office of Admissions. After your application for admission has been approved, you will be able to enroll for UC Denver certificate courses.
Students who have completed the required coursework can forward an application checklist for the certificate to Dr. Martinez. Once student transcripts are reviewed, the certificate will be processed and mailed or scheduled for pick up at the end of the semester after final grades are posted.
Department Scholarships
Two $500 Martinez scholarships are offered annually to American Indian Studies Certificate or Track students.
Denver American Indian Community
Advisors:
Donna Martinez, Professor, Ethnic Studies
Gracie RedShirt Tyon, Director of American Indian Student Services
What can I do with a certificate in American Indian Studies?
Students of American Indian Studies go on to successful careers in administration, advising, academics, advocacy, the arts, business, community outreach, consulting, education, government, health or health education, journalism, politics, school counseling, and many more careers. Students also continue on to graduate school in a variety of disciplines.
**-Alum page (under construction)
Grade and Residency Requirements
A minimum grade of a C or higher must be earned in each of the four courses completed as part of the certificate. All credits for the certificate must be earned at the UC Denver Downtown campus.
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.
Required Courses (4 courses total)
- ETST 2155 African American History
- 3 approved electives from the list below
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
Students should email the Faculty Advisor, Dr. Rachel Harding at Rachel.Harding@ucdenver.edu to enroll, indicating the student’s name, student ID number, major, and expected degree graduation date.
To sign up for the certificate or to learn more contact Dr. Rachel Harding at Rachel.Harding@ucdenver.edu
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
The Latinx Studies undergraduate certificate requires 12 credit hours (4 courses)
Required Course
- ETST 2010 Introduction to Chicano Studies
Electives
3 approved electives from the list below:
- ANTH 4300 Migrant Health
- ETST 3108 Chicano/a and Latino/a History
- ETST 3408 Social Psychology of Latinos/as
- ETST 4768 Chicano/Chicana Narrative and Social History
- COMM 4710/ETST 4574 Latinx Communication Studies
- GEOG 3130 Central America and the Caribbean
- GEOG 3140 Geography of South America
- HIST 3460 Modern Latin American History
- HIST 4412 Mexico and the United States: People and Politics on the Border
- 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
Application Procedure
Students should email the Faculty Advisor, Dr. Faye Caronan Faye.Caronan@ucdenver.edu to enroll, indicating the student’s name, student ID number, major, and expected degree graduation date.
Faculty Advisor: Faye Caronan Faye.Caronan@ucdenver.edu
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:
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Understand how Ethnic Studies historically challenged traditional disciplinary knowledge production.
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Identify and analyze racial and ethnic inequities in popular culture, society, communities, and organizations.
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Integrate diverse methodologies to design interdisciplinary research projects focusing on race and ethnicity.
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Develop resources for building/strengthening healthy, multiracial institutions and communities.
These degree requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their major advisor and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.
Additional information about the Graduate Studies Certificate may be obtained from Ethnic Dtudies Department at 303-315-7206 or email: ethnic_studies@ucdenver.edu
Program Delivery
This is an on-campus program with some courses available online.
General Requirements
Click here for information about Academic Policies.
Admission Requirements
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Degree: BA/BS
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A minimum GPA of 3.00 is recommended
Application Process
Applicants for a Graduate Certificate Program will send the following documents to the Certificate Program Director:
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Graduate Certificate Application Form:
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Official Transcripts
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Resume
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Letter of interest
Upon approval of the student’s admission by the Graduate Certificate Program, the program director will send the student’s certificate admission file to the Graduate School. The Graduate School will confirm the applicant’s credentials, will determine whether the student meets the general academic requirements of the Graduate School, will admit the student and inform the student of his/her admission to the Graduate Certificate Program.
Additional Requirements
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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.
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International students must submit TOEFL scores or otherwise satisfy the University’s English Language Proficiency requirement.
Certificate Requirements
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Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours.
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Students must complete all courses at the graduate level (5000 or above) to fulfill the requirements of the certificate.
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Students must earn a minimum grade of B (3.0) in all certificate courses taken 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 certificate or ancillary course requirements as pass/fail.
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All credit hours for the certificate must be earned at the University of Colorado Denver.
Certificate Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations
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No course may be taken more than twice.
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Courses cannot double count for the MH/MSS track in Ethnic Studies and the Ethnic Studies graduate certificate.
The Curriculum and Coursework
Required courses (6 credits):
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ETST 5000 Research Methods in Ethnic Studies (academic track)
OR
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ETST 5165 Cultural Diversity in the Workplace (applied track)
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ETST 5960 Capstone in Ethnic Studies
Choose two elective courses (6 credits), including the below:
ANY ETST 5000 or 6000 level course (the current courses are below)
ETST 5020/SOCY 5020 Race, Culture and Immigration
ETST 5030/RLST 5030 Race, Religion, and Belonging
ETST 5220/ENGL 5220 African American Literature
ETST 5305/WGST 5305 Women of Color Feminisms
Approved Electives outside of Ethnic Studies
ANTH 5230 Anthropology and Community Based Participatory Research
ANTH 5350 Anthropology of Globalization
COMM 5270 Intercultural Communication
COMM 5282 Environmental Communication
ENGL 5460 Contemporary World Literature
HIST 5225 Urban America: Colonial Times to the Present
HIST 5226 Capitalism in America
HIST 5308 Crime, Policing, and Justice in American History
HIST 5343 Women and Gender in America
HIST 5411 Modern Mexico
HIST 5412 Mexico and the United States: People and Politics on the Border
HIST 5415 Social Revolutions in Latin America
HIST 5494 Red and Blue America: U.S. History, 1973-Present
HIST 5621 Explorers and Exploration
HIST 5622 Oceans in History
PHIL 5308/ENGL 5308/WGST 5308 Contemporary Feminist Thought
PHIL 5500/ WGST 5500 Feminist Philosophy
PHIL 5550 Prisons, Punishment, and Social Justice
SOCY 5050 Health Disparities
SOCY 5220 Population Analysis
Total 12 credit hours
Additional information about the Ethnic Studies Graduate certificate may be obtained from the Ethnic Studies Office Plaza Building, Suite 102
Phone: 303.315.7206 https://clas.ucdenver.edu/ethnicstudies/certificates
Faculty Advisor: Professor Faye Caronan Faye.Caronan@ucdenver.edu
For certificate questions please email: ethnic_studies@ucdenver.edu
