Program Details

The Tilford Diversity Studies Certificate is an 18-hour program designed for students whose academic interests and/or career goals could benefit from a focused but interdisciplinary exploration of diversity-related issues. The program is open to undergraduate students in the Barton School of Business and the colleges of education, health professions, and liberal arts and sciences. Students who complete the Tilford Diversity Studies Certificate will: acquire an appreciation for the world’s diversity and an understanding of the roots of privilege and oppression; learn to comprehend themselves and others beyond stereotypes; successfully interact with others in professional and personal settings; and be prepared to assume leadership roles in promoting diversity and inclusion.

Requirements

Students will complete one course (offered by any department) in each of the following three areas:

  • Race or ethnicity studies;
  • Gender or women’s studies;
  • The study of social or economic class.

In addition, three electives will be required, and students may, if they wish, use those electives to study aging, ability, biodiversity, or other diversity-related field. Of the six courses taken for the Certificate, one must have an international focus. The 18 hours of coursework counted toward the Certificate should be distributed from among at least three different academic departments or programs. One foreign language course at the intermediate level or above can count for the certificate.

Applicable courses are offered by a variety of departments and often can be applied to the student’s general education requirements. Courses taken before enrollment in the program can count toward the Certificate if they are determined by the Tilford Coordinator to meet the learning objectives of the program. Students must receive a final grade of C or better to apply a course toward the Certificate.

Students in the program will design a plan of study with the Tilford Coordinator, who will be responsible for approving all courses students take for the Certificate. During their final semester in the program, students will submit a portfolio of work completed in Certificate courses. The contents of the portfolio will vary depending on the coursework taken toward the certificate and will be determined by the student in consultation with the Tilford Coordinator.

Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the Tilford Diversity Studies Certificate will learn to:

  • Understand and appreciate the diversity of our human and natural world;
  • Evaluate their own and other cultures in ways that go beyond stereotypes;
  • Successfully interact, both professionally and personally, with others in an increasingly diverse domestic environment and an increasingly interconnected world;
  • Critically reflect on their own social identities and on their positions with respect to others;
  • Recognize and analyze the socially-constructed roots of oppression and privilege and how these have shaped them, the academic disciplines they study, and their society in general; and
  • Become leaders in promoting diversity and inclusion.

Requirements for courses to be counted toward the Tilford Diversity Certificate

The course content should:

  • Feature material that fosters knowledge of and appreciation for diversity, whether in cultures and categories of identity or in how we conceptualize knowledge;
  • Expose students to multiple paradigms or world views;
  • Promote students’ understanding of self and others that goes beyond stereotypes;
  • Help students to recognize and analyze the historical forces have shaped them, the academic disciplines they study, or their society in general.

The pedagogical approach to the course should:

  • Appeal to the learning styles of a diverse range of students;
  • Incorporate assignments that teach students how to successfully interact, both professionally and personally, with others and to critically reflect on their positions with respect to others;
  • Provide opportunities for students to connect their classroom experiences with their lives outside the classroom.

Assessment of the course should:

  • Include multiple forms of assessment (formal evaluations, reflective writing assignments, etc.) given throughout the semester.