Introduction

Please click here to see the Ethnic Studies department information.

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.

African American studies is the cornerstone discipline of Ethnic Studies, both in the history of our university and in the larger movement for inclusive educational frameworks in the United States.  As a field, it has developed a tradition that weds incisive critical thinking, creative problem solving and a commitment to applied approaches that benefit the larger society beyond the walls of the university. 

An African American Studies certificate prepares students to work with racially and ethnically diverse 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, non-profit administration, global economics, health care, legal services, library science, music, publishing, and research.

Additional information about the African American Studies certificate may be obtained from Ethnic Studies, Plaza Building, Suite 102

Website: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/ethnicstudies

Faculty Advisor: Professor Dennis Green email: Dennis.Green@ucdenver.edu

Program Delivery

• This is an on-campus program and some courses are available online.

Declaring This Certificate 

Students interested in completing this certificate should complete this form: CLAS Undergraduate Certificate Intent to Declare Form, which requests that the certificate be added to your student record. Once added, you will be able to run a certificate degree audit. The certificate degree audit should be used in collaboration with the Certificate Advisor to ensure successful completion of the requirements.

Students should then work with Dennis Green (Dennis.Green@ucdenver.edu) – the certificate advisor, to ensure completion of all certificate requirements.

Completing This Certificate

Students must also complete the CLAS Undergraduate Certificate Completion Verification Form, before graduation, in order to confirm completion of their certificate. The certificate advisor will confirm that your certificate has been successfully completed, and will work with campus partners to apply the certificate to your transcript.

Students must fill out the Certificate Completion Form before the deadlines below, to ensure the certificate is applied to your transcript correctly. If you are a non-degree seeking student, please fill out this form in the term in which you intend to complete your certificate.

Spring semester – April 1
Summer semester – July 1
Fall semester – November 1

These program 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 African American Studies advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

General Requirements

• Click here for information about Academic Policies.

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. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.

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

Certificate Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following required African American Studies course:		3
ETST 2155	African American History
Complete three African American Studies elective courses from among the following:		9
ETST 3155	The African Diaspora
ETST 3211	Hip Hop Music & 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 U.S.
ETST/ENGL 4220	African-American Literature
HIST 4212	Civil War and Reconstruction
HIST/WGST 4225/GEOG 4625	Urban America
HIST 4308	Crime, Policing, and Justice in American History
Total Hours		12

To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our Ethnic Studies Learning Outcome page.