Introduction

Please click here to see History department information.

Issues of immigration are at the center of modern policy and political debates and are thus a core concern for social scientists, policy makers, civic leaders, community organizations, and citizens. The objective of the History Department's Undergraduate Immigration Studies Certificate is to offer both traditional academic training through coursework and research and also practical experience working with immigrant and refugee communities through an internship. The Immigration Studies Certificate will ultimately prepare students to conduct immigration research, influence immigration public policy, and inform immigrant-related government decisions.

Upon successful completion of the certificate, students will:

• Understand the theoretical explanations for immigration flows, immigrant assimilation and exclusion, and ethnic formation
• Possess a fundamental understanding of the legal and political institutions responsible for immigration policy
• Be familiar with currents trends in immigration studies thought, research, and activism
• Be able to apply the content and methodological skills to engage in original research projects involving immigration topics
• Be able to apply the theories and examples from coursework to conduct immigration-focused internships in the workforce

Program Delivery

• This is an on-campus program.

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 Kariann Yokota (kariann.yokota@ucdenver.edu) – the certificate advisor, to ensure completion of all certificate requirements.

• Eligibility: While housed in the History Department, Immigration Studies is a multidisciplinary field that draws from Ethnic Studies, Anthropology, Political Science, Education, and Sociology. Thus, CU Denver undergraduate students in any discipline can enroll in the program.

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 Immigration Studies advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them. 

General Requirements

Students must satisfy all requirements as outlined below and by the department offering the certificate. 

• Click here for information about Academic Policies.

Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours from the approved courses.
2. Students must complete a minimum of six upper division (3000-level and above) credit hours 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 3.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.
4. Students must complete all certificate credit hours with CU Denver faculty.

Certificate Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations

1. If departments offer additional courses that fit within the themes of the Immigration Studies Certificate, those courses can be counted for credit with the Immigration Certificate Administrator’s approval
2. The certificate will be awarded when the student graduates with the bachelor's degree.

Required Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete both of the following required courses:		6
HIST 3345	Immigration and Ethnicity in American History 1
HIST 3939	Internship 2
Complete two related electives from the following list of courses:		6
ANTH 4300	Immigrant Health
ANTH 4350	Anthropology of Globalization
ETST 3108	Chicano/a and Latino/a History
ETST 3297	Social History of Asian Americans
ETST 3697	Contemporary Asian American Experience
ETST 3704	Culture, Racism and Alienation
HIST 4412	Mexico and the United States: People and Politics on the Border
LDFS 3000	Undocumented Mexican Immigration
PSCI 4545	Immigration Politics
Total Hours		12

¹

Students must take HIST 3345 Immigration and Ethnicity in American History prior to enrolling in an internship.

²

Students will work with the Immigration Studies Certificate Administrator and the Experiential Learning Center to secure an immigration- or refugee-related Internship.

To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website.