African American Studies Certificate
Introduction
Please click here to see 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.
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 undergraduate certificate in African American studies may be obtained from the Ethnic Studies department at 303-315-7206 or email: ethnic_studies@ucdenver.edu
Additional information about the African American Studies certificate may be obtained from Ethnic Studies, Plaza Building, Suite 102
Web site: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/ethnicstudies/certificates
Faculty Advisor: Professor Rachel Harding
Program Delivery
- This is an on-campus program and some courses are available online.
General Requirements
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Certificate Requirements
1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours from the approved courses below.
2. Students must complete a minimum of 9 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 certificate courses taken at CU Denver 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. Students cannot complete certificate or ancillary course requirements as pass/fail.
4. Students must complete all credit hours applying to the certificate with CU Denver faculty.
Required Course
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take the following required African American Studies course: | 3 | |
| ETST 2155 | African American History | 3 |
Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take three African American Studies elective courses from among the following: | 9 | |
| ETST 2105 | African American Contemporary Social Issues | 3 |
| ETST 3155 | The African Diaspora | 3 |
| ETST 3211 | Hip Hop Music & Culture | 3 |
| ETST 3230 | African American Family | 3 |
| HIST 3347 | African-American History, 1619-Present | 3 |
| ENGL 3750 | American Literature after the Civil War | 3 |
| HIST 4055 | The Atlantic Slave Trade: Africa, Caribbean and U.S. | 3 |
| ETST/ENGL 4220 | African-American Literature | 3 |
| HIST 4212 | Civil War and Reconstruction | 3 |
| HIST 4225 | Urban America: Colonial Times to the Present | 3 |
| HIST 4308 | Crime, Policing, and Justice in American History | 3 |
To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website.