This undergraduate certificate gives students an opportunity to gain a practical, historical and theoretical understanding of strategies for promoting social change through collective action. If you’re seeking an undergraduate degree at UWM, you’ll receive the certificate upon completion of your degree. If you already have an undergraduate degree, you’ll receive the certificate once you complete the program requirements. Students without a bachelor’s degree receive a certificate from the UWM School of Continuing Education after completing the program’s required coursework.
Please contact the coordinator of the Certificate, Aaron Schutz (schutz@uwm.edu) to discuss admission to and requirements for this program.
Outcomes
- Understand power relations
- Build coalitions
- Hold government officials accountable
- Work with the media
Careers
With a focus on urban issues, this certificate is excellent preparation for students who are interested in becoming community organizers, youth and social workers, politicians, community researchers, and nonprofit administrators. It’s also useful for students interested in specializing in other areas, such as international, environmental or union organizing.
Requirements
The certificate program consists of 21 credits.
Foundation Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory Course | ||
| ED POL 111 | Introduction to Community Action and Change | 3 |
| External Practical Training 1 | ||
| ED POL 508 | Advanced Problems in Community Change and Engagement 2 | 3 |
| Historical Perspectives on Organizing, Inequality, and Social Change | 3 | |
| Choose one of the following: | ||
| Order and Disorder: The Quest for Social Justice | ||
| Global Black Social Movements | ||
| Change in African-American Communities | ||
| The Black Woman in America, Africa, and the Caribbean | ||
| The Chicano Experience | ||
| The Exceptional Individual | ||
| The History of Latinos in the United States | ||
| Asian Americans in Historical Perspective | ||
| The 1960s in the United States: A Cultural History | ||
| History of the American Working Classes | ||
| African Americans Since the Civil War | ||
| The History of Poverty in America | ||
| The American Feminist Movement | ||
| History of Wisconsin Indians | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
- 1
A second practical training may be approved in some cases by a student's advisor. Practical training must occur at time credits are taken and written permission must be included in student's file prior to enrollment.
- 2
Enrollment in this course involves participation in a community organizing training offered by a non-UWM organization approved by the Program Committee. Contact the Department of Educational Policy & Community Studies to obtain approval before attending any program or combination of programs.
Issue Area Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Choose 3 credits from one area (practical or foundations) and 6 credits from the other | 9 | |
| Practical Issue Area | ||
| Leadership | ||
| Introduction to Group Leadership | ||
| Leadership and Management of Volunteer Programs | ||
| Communications/Public Relations/Applied Writing Skills | ||
| Public Speaking | ||
| Persuasive Speaking | ||
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Communication in Human Conflict | ||
| Theory and Practice of Persuasion | ||
| Writing in the Professions: | ||
| Rhetoric and Professional Writing | ||
| Advertising and Public Relations Campaigns | ||
| Fundraising | ||
| Proposal Writing and Fundraising Skills for Community-Based Organizations | ||
| Evaluation/Applied Research Skills/Statistical Understanding | ||
| Introduction to Statistics in African and African Diaspora Studies | ||
| The Black Family | ||
| Evaluation of Adult, Continuing, and Higher Education Programs | ||
| Action Research on Milwaukee Institutions | ||
| Survey Research | ||
| Organizational Change in Non-Profit Organizations | ||
| Coordination of Staff Development and Training Program | ||
| Organizing/Negotiating | ||
| Introduction to Mediation | ||
| Community Policies and Urban Minority Youths | ||
| Fieldwork in Multicultural Education | ||
| Negotiation Theory and Practice for Urban Planners | ||
| Foundations Issue Area | ||
| Economics, Politics, and Urban Contexts in the United States | ||
| Introduction to Black Political Economy | ||
| Survey of African-American Political Philosophy | ||
| Black Politics and City Government | ||
| Cities and Culture | ||
| Economics of Discrimination | ||
| Economic Development | ||
| The Milwaukee Community | ||
| The History of Milwaukee | ||
| History of the American City | ||
| State Politics | ||
| Urban Government and Politics | ||
| Urban Political Problems | ||
| Urbanism and Urbanization | ||
| Urban Planning Solutions to Contemporary Urban Problems | ||
| Exploring the Urban Environment | ||
| Social Science Perspectives on Organizing, Inequality, and Social Change | ||
| Change in African-American Communities | ||
| The Black Woman in America, Africa, and the Caribbean | ||
| Communication and Social Order | ||
| Reproduction of Minoritized Communities | ||
| Race Relations in Education | ||
| The Exceptional Individual | ||
| Introduction to Social Welfare Policy | ||
| Families and Poverty | ||
| Solving Social Problems | ||
| Social Inequality in the United States | ||
| Perspectives on Latino Communities | ||
| Race and Ethnicity in Global Contexts | ||
| Social Change | ||
| Small Groups | ||
| Collective Behavior | ||
| Environmental Sociology | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Capstone Internship/Seminar in Community Organizing
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ED POL 442 | Intermediate Community Education Practice I 3 | 3 |
| Total Credits | 3 | |
- 3
A second internship in addition to ED POL 442 may be approved in some cases by a student's advisor. Internships must occur at the time credits are taken & written permission must be included in student's file prior to enrollment. The Program Committee is the final arbiter with regard to the relevance of internship opportunities to the mission of the certificate.
Undergraduate Advising
Our purpose is to provide collaborative, mentoring relationships which promote educational, career, and professional development. We value a student-centered, holistic, and ethical approach to advising based on strong partnerships with students, faculty and staff, and the larger campus community. We are committed to creating a respectful and supportive environment. We encourage students to be self-reliant through informed decisions and choices based upon dissemination of accurate information. We value our own continuous professional development to enhance the quality of the advising experience.
How to Prepare for an Advising Meeting
- Review your Advisement Report in PAWS.
- Come prepared with questions or topics for discussion.
- Make a list of courses you think you should take.
- Investigate opportunities to prepare for the job you want.
- Keep a record of your academic progress.
- Understand you are ultimately responsible for creating your educational, life, and career plans.
- Maintain honest and open communication with your advisor.
- Take responsibility for choices you make as a student and member of the UW-Milwaukee community.
Scheduling an Appointment
Office of Student Services
Enderis Hall, Room 209
(414) 229-4721
soeinfo@uwm.edu
Graduate Advising
If you are a School of Education graduate student, you may schedule an appointment with your faculty advisor by contacting your faculty advisor directly. Faculty contact information can be found in the Directory. Your faculty advisor will be listed in your PAWS account.
Student-Designed Issue Area Option
May replace up to 6 credits of either Practical or Foundations focus areas.
There are many courses at UWM not listed under the Practical and/or Foundations certificate focus areas that may be especially relevant to students with interest in a particular area of organizing. Therefore, with the written permission of the Program Coordinator, students with special interests may develop an issue area that may take the place of up to 6 credits of the Practical or Foundations areas.
Examples of possible student-designed issue areas might include:
- International Contexts and Organizing
- Organizing in Rural Settings
- Health Care Organizing
- Organizing around Issues of Sexuality and/or Sexual Orientation
- Contesting the Criminal Justice System
- Organizing around Disability Issues
- Pollution and Inequality
Courses for a student-designed focus area will only count towards the Community Engagement certificate if they are taken after a student is officially admitted to the program, and must be officially approved prior to enrollment. Students must show evidence that they cannot pursue their interest under the current constraints of the Practical and Foundations focus areas. A maximum of three credits of independent reading may be included in this student-designed focus if a relevant course or topic is not available at the University.