IPSL Global Engagement Certificate in Community Organizing and Social Activism

The Graduate Certificate Program in Community Organizing and Social Activism is an interdisciplinary professional level program that blends unique coursework, hands-on ethical volunteer service, and research opportunities in IPSL partner communities around the globe. Students learn from international scholar-practitioners and engage in real-world service activities in resource-scarce environments in support of empowering communities. IPSL allies with marginalized and vulnerable groups in Europe, SE Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The emphasis is on the inequalities present in global development, with particularly focus on economic justice, racial justice, environmental justice, and human rights. This program mimics the first term of the IPSL Community Organizing & Social Activism graduate program.

This program is 8 total credits and mimics the first term of the Community Organizing & Social Activism graduate program. Students who complete the certificate program have a credential upon completion, but they can also apply it to the graduate program if they find they liked the experience and want to earn the master's degree in either International Development & Service (IDS) or Community Organizing & Social Activism (COSA). This certificate counts as your first semester of the degree program thereby giving you a running start and potentially reducing the cost of the degree program.

Drawing from the fields of international development, nonprofit leadership, global health, international education, human right and social justice, sustainability, and global studies, this program educates leaders for professional careers with NGOs, educational, and community development organizations with an international and/or diversity focus. This 8-credit custom program is excellent for those that are service-minded and want to be part of tangible change since service-learning lies at the heart of this certificate program. Students engage in 10-15 hours per week of ethical service in the field during their time abroad. 

This Certificate is suitable for professionals who want to expand their knowledge of international development and community-initiated activism, people who want to get a taste of what the development field can encompass as well as students who want to use this certificate as a stepping-stone to a an IPSL master’s degree in either Community Organizing and Social Activism or International Development and Service.