Community Engagement for Collaborative Change
Website: Community Engagement for Collaborative Change
The Community Engagement for Collaborative Change certificate is designed for students from any major who want to meaningfully combine their academic coursework and 400 hours of required service to catalyze collaborative change for the public good. The certificate prepares students for careers in nonprofit leadership, community development, public health, policy, law, environment and sustainability, public arts, advocacy, and research. Students participating in a variety of community-based internships, service work, or research experiences are eligible.
Requirements for the Certificate
| Code | Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Course Requirements | ||
| CIVC 200 | Introduction to Community Engagement | 4 |
| CIVC 400 | Capstone in Collaborative Change | 4 |
| Select four semester hours from courses that provide Exposure to Issues of Concern to Communities (attribute CEIC) | 4 | |
| Select four semester hours from courses that provide Skills for Working/Researching/Engaging in Communities (attribute CEWR) | 4 | |
| Select four semester hours from courses that provide Project-Based Learning with Community Partners (attribute CECP) | 4 | |
| Total Semester Hours | 20 | |
| Code | Title | Semester Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Additional Requirements | ||
| Completion of the certificate program requires students to fulfill 400 service hours over a four-year period, which equates to 100 hours annually or 50 hours each semester. | ||
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For the purpose of the certificate, hours of service are defined as those when a student works with a community partner on a project that addresses issues of community concern. These hours could include direct service, capacity building, artistic outputs, educational outputs, research, project design, evaluation, and/or advocacy. The partner can be local (including the University, if serving the community), national, or global. The service hours can include research with a faculty person, as long as a community partner is in some way involved.The hours cannot be part of a requirement for a course or an independent study for which the student is gaining academic credit. Students can receive a stipend for these hours. Activities such as Bonner/Canale service hours, Summer Undergraduate Research with a faculty and community partner(s), Outreach trips, summer internships with a community partner, service during a study abroad program (if not for credit), AmeriCorps service, Sewanee volunteer firefighters, and Biehl, Newman, and Gessell Fellowships that include community-based research are all examples of activities through which students can gain the 400 service hours. Students with questions or whose service experiences may fall outside of these examples should speak to the director of the Office of Civic Engagement about approval.