Democracy and Social Movements Undergraduate Certificate

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Introduction

Please click here to see Political Science department information.

The Democracy and Social Movements (DSM) certificate program in political science introduces students to current research and practice concerning the complex interplay between social movements and the processes for initiating and consolidating democracies. While contentious political activities have historically contributed to democratization, they have also led to repression, ethnic conflict and substantive human rights violations.

Students in the DSM program examine relevant theoretical and methodological literature in these aforementioned areas and apply it to current circumstances by taking specified courses in each of the four major subfields of political science: American, comparative, international politics and political theory.

The DSM certificate program is designed to appeal to persons who want to focus their studies on the recent state of democratization processes around the world, including explorations of the ways in which social movements can catalyze or even threaten those democratization processes. Students in the program will explore how globalization is simultaneously fragmenting and uniting the globe, enhancing wealth and impoverishing people, consolidating human rights regimes and transgressing them and provoking questions about the boundaries of our ethical commitments and the means whereby communities strive for democracy and justice.

These degree 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 major advisor and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

Program Delivery

This is an on-campus program.

Declaring This Certificate

Please see your advisor.

General Requirements

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Certificate Requirements

The undergraduate certificate requires five program courses (15 credits, with at least 6 credits at the upper division level), one in each of the four political science subfields and the capstone seminar, as well as completion of an appropriate experiential learning requirement.
All courses for the certificate must be taken in residency at CU Denver, and completed with a grade of C or higher.
A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for the undergraduate certificate.
Topics courses approved by the program advisor can also satisfy course requirements.
All students, whether working toward a degree or as a non-degree student, are eligible for the certificate.

Take one of the following International Politics courses*:
PSCI 4216 - International Politics: Human Rights
PSCI 4225 - Democracy and Democratization
PSCI 4265 - Social Justice And Globalization
PSCI 4808 - Strategies of Peacebuilding
Take one of the following Comparative Politics courses*:
PSCI 4146 - Indigenous Politics
PSCI 4224 - Dictatorships in 21st Century
PSCI 4225 - Democracy and Democratization
PSCI 4555 - International Women’s Resistance
PSCI 4808 - Strategies of Peacebuilding
Take one of the following American Politics courses*:
PSCI 3035 - Political Movements: Race and Gender
PSCI 3914 - The Urban Citizen
PSCI 4074 - Urban Politics
Take one of the following Political Theory courses*:
PSCI 4207 - Theories of Social and Political Change
PSCI 4265 - Social Justice And Globalization
*Note: Some courses appear more than once in different subfields; students should choose four different subfield courses, not count one toward two subfields.

Take the following Capstone course:
PSCI 4206 - Social Movements, Democracy and Global Politics
Complete the Experiential Learning Requirement:

Like the existing departmental experiential learning requirement for majors, this requirement can be fulfilled without taking course credits, for example, by documenting the inclusion of significant experiential learning/field work in regular course work, or by documenting significant relevant field work in one’s professional life.