The certificate in social justice supports undergraduates interested in social justice by giving them a foundation in the theory and practice of social change while creating a learning community in which together they can explore ideas and possible career paths.
This interdisciplinary certificate puts the spotlight on social scientific disciplines’ contributions to: (1) our understanding of social systems and structures that generate injustices, (2) our critical analysis of the efficacy of social movements and policies that aim to redress those injustices and (3) our visions of more just futures. Courses in this certificate draw on various social scientific disciplines that emphasize the wide variety of theoretical, qualitative and quantitative approaches to research on social justice, while also developing practical skills (informed by scholarly research) in problem analysis, organizing, leadership and conflict resolution. Students pursue electives focusing on areas of social justice of particular interest – e.g., class, race, sexuality, gender, migration, disability – while integrating and applying interdisciplinary knowledge in the core course on Organizing for Social Change and through the certificate’s ongoing learning community programming. The certificate is suitable for students across the university with an interest in social justice.
Requirements
Students are required to complete a total of 12 credit hours; 6 credit hours must be completed at the upper-division level (3000- or 4000-level courses). A minimum of 9 credit hours must be taken on campus or with a CU-faculty-led Education Abroad program. No more than 6 credits should be taken from any one department or unit. No more than 3 semester transfer credit hours from other institutions will count towards the certificate.
The certificate is open to all degree-seeking undergraduate students at CU Boulder.
Students are required to take the core course SSCI 2000: Organizing for Social Change, offered every Fall semester. Students will choose three additional courses from the Electives list below.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Course | ||
| SSCI 2000 | Organizing for Social Change | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| ANTH 1120 | Exploring a Non-Western Culture: Pueblo Indians of the Southwest | 3 |
| ANTH 1121 | Indigenous Cultures of the Eastern U.S.: From the Pleistocene to Present Day | 3 |
| ANTH 1125 | Exploring Cultural Diversity in the U.S. | 3 |
| ANTH 1156 | Class and Consumption: Global Cultures of Inequality, Anxiety, and Shopping | 3 |
| ANTH 2100 | Introduction to Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| ANTH 2600 | Plagues and the Human Response from Past to Present | 3 |
| ANTH 4020 | Explorations in Anthropology | 3 |
| ANTH 4205 | Historical Archaeology | 3 |
| ANTH 4465 | The Archaeology of Inequality | 3 |
| ANTH 4500 | Cross-Cultural Aspects of Socioeconomic Development | 3 |
| ANTH 4605 | Anthropology of Neuroscience | 3 |
| ANTH 4615 | Kinship: Being and Belonging | 3 |
| ECON 4090 | Markets and Morality | 3 |
| ECON 4242 | Urban Economics: The Economics of Cities | 3 |
| ECON 4292 | Migration, Immigrant Adaptation, and Development | 3 |
| ECON 4535 | Natural Resource Economics | 3 |
| ECON 4545 | Environmental Economics | 3 |
| ECON 4555 | Transportation Economics and Policy | 3 |
| ECON 4616 | Labor Economics | 3 |
| ECON 4626 | The Economics of Inequality and Discrimination | 3 |
| ETHN 1022 | Introduction to Africana Studies | 3 |
| ETHN 1023 | Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies | 3 |
| ETHN 1025 | Introduction to Asian American Studies | 3 |
| ETHN 2232 | Contemporary African American Social Movements | 3 |
| ETHN 2304 | Introduction to Social Justice | 3-4 |
| ETHN 3024 | Introduction to Critical Sports Studies | 3 |
| ETHN 3201 | Social Justice, Leadership and Community Engagement Internships | 3 |
| ETHN 3212 | Introduction to Hip Hop Studies | 3 |
| ETHN 3314 | Violence Against Women and Girls | 3 |
| ETHN 3501 | Theory/Methods/Writing in Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| ETHN 3671 | People of Color and Social Movements | 3 |
| ETHN 4714 | Sport for Social Justice | 3 |
| ETHN 4951 | Senior/Graduate Seminar in Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| IAFS 3010 | Islam, Geopolitics and Society: Gender, Identity and Place | 3 |
| IAFS 3670 | Cities of the Global South | 3 |
| IAFS 3850 | International Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding | 3 |
| LING 1000 | Language in U.S. Society | 3 |
| LING 2400 | Language, Gender and Sexuality | 3 |
| LING 2500 | Race, Ethnicity, and Language | 3 |
| LING 3545 | World Language Policies | 3 |
| LING 4640 | Teaching Language Skills: Focus on Social Justice | 3 |
| LING 4650 | Language Teaching Materials Design | 3 |
| LING 4800 | Language and Culture | 3 |
| PACS 3700 | Communication and Conflict Management | 3 |
| PACS 3850 | International Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding | 3 |
| PACS 3860 | Environmental Conflict and Conflict Resolution | 3 |
| PACS 3870 | Nonviolent Civil Resistance: Movements and Strategies | 3 |
| PACS 4000 | Special Topics in Peace, Conflict and Security Studies | 3 |
| PACS 4100 | Facilitation Skills for Community and Organizational Conflict | 3 |
| PACS 4150 | Mediation Skills | 3 |
| PSCI 3064 | Environmental Political Theory | 3 |
| PSCI 3101 | Black Politics | 3 |
| PSCI 3174 | Sex, Power, and Politics: U.S. Perspectives | 3 |
| PSCI 3184 | Race, Power, and Politics | 3 |
| PSCI 3211 | The Politics of Economic Inequality in the United States | 3 |
| PSCI 3223 | International Human Rights | 3 |
| PSCI 3274 | Capitalism and its Critics | 3 |
| PSCI 3294 | Theories of Identity | 3 |
| PSCI 3301 | Gender, Sexuality and U.S. Law | 3 |
| PSCI 4131 | Latinos and the U.S. Political System | 3 |
| PSCI 4322 | Indigenous People's Politics | 3 |
| PSCI 4731 | Civic Engagement in America | 3 |
| SLHS 1010 | Disabilities in Contemporary American Society | 3 |
| SLHS 3200 | Global Deaf Communities: Advocacy & Policies | 3 |
| SOCY 1004 | Deviance in U.S. Society | 3 |
| SOCY 1006 | The Social Construction of Sexuality | 3 |
| SOCY 1016 | Sex, Gender, and Society 1 | 3 |
| SOCY 1021 | United States Race and Ethnic Relations I | 3 |
| SOCY 2031 | Social Problems | 3 |
| SOCY 2044 | Crime and Society | 3 |
| SOCY 2077 | Environment and Society | 3 |
| SOCY 2150 | Gender, Race, and Chainsaws | 3 |
| SOCY 3001 | Classical Theory | 3 |
| SOCY 3012 | Gender and Development | 3 |
| SOCY 3016 | Marriage and the Family in the United States | 3 |
| SOCY 3044 | Race, Class, Gender, and Crime | 3 |
| SOCY 3052 | Medical Sociology | 3 |
| SOCY 3141 | Social Movements and the Politics of Protest | 3 |
| SOCY 3161 | Global Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity | 3 |
| SOCY 4014 | Criminology | 3 |
| SOCY 4018 | Sport in Society | 3 |
| SOCY 4024 | Juvenile Justice and Delinquency | 3 |
| SOCY 4027 | Inequality, Democracy, and the Environment | 3 |
| SOCY 4052 | Social Inequalities in Health | 3 |
| SOCY 4084 | Punishment, Law and Society | 3 |
| WGST 2000 | Introduction to US Gender, Race and Sexuality Studies | 3 |
| WGST 2020 | Femininities, Masculinities, Alternatives | 3 |
| WGST 2030 | Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | 3 |
| WGST 2600 | Introduction to Global Gender, Race and Sexuality Studies | 3 |
| WGST 3044 | Race, Class, Gender, and Crime | 3 |
| WGST 3100 | Feminist Theories | 3 |
| WGST 3311 | Gender and U.S. Politics: Protest, Polls and Policy | 3 |
| WGST 3314 | Violence Against Women and Girls | 3 |
| WGST 3510 | Gender, Sexuality and Global Health | 3 |
| WGST 3520 | Gender and Sexuality in Africa | 3 |
| WGST 3600 | Latina/x Studies | 3 |
| WGST 3620 | Women of Color and Activism | 3 |
| WGST 3640 | Black Feminist and Womanist Theories | 3 |
| WGST 3672 | Who Runs the World? Sex, Power, and Gender in Geography | 3 |
| WGST 3930 | Women and Gender Studies Internship | 1-6 |
Plan(s) of Study
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credit Hours | |
| SSCI 2000 | Organizing for Social Change | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Lower-division elective (1000- or 2000-level) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| Upper-division elective (3000- or 4000-level) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Upper-division elective (3000- or 4000-level) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 | |
Learning Outcomes
By the completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Think critically about social systems and structures. Through coursework, students will have learned about different social science approaches (whether theoretical, qualitative or quantitative) to understanding and critically analyzing social systems and structures. They will have developed the ability to think critically about different analyses of the same social systems and structures, and understand different approaches to altering those systems and structures.
- Gain a deeper understanding of how disciplines approach similar problems differently, while also developing the ability to connect approaches and ideas across disciplinary boundaries.
- Identify issues of social justice in their immediate community around which they will organize a campaign to create change, building the habits and the skills necessary for a lifetime of engaged citizenship.