The Intercultural Competence for Global Citizenship certificate provides a pathway for students to engage in deep intercultural learning and develop intercultural competence through experiential learning, and will be available for all undergraduate students in autumn 2022. To earn the certificate students will complete a specific set of courses as well as participate in global learning experiences, which provide real-world intercultural interactions and reflection opportunities.
Coursework and Experiential Learning
The selected courses combine theoretical understanding and purposeful reflection that aim to increase self-awareness on identity, values, beliefs and behaviors through the lens of race, gender and ethnicity. For experiential opportunities, students can choose between global learning experiences and full-immersion world language study with explicit intercultural learning. Global learning experiences include courses with education abroad or Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) components that provide meaningful and substantive intercultural interactions across differences. For language courses, students can take two courses in a world language or one 5-credit intensive course (e.g. Italian 5101). The courses, primarily offered in the College of Arts and Sciences that satisfy GE requirements, incorporate theories about and self-reflection on race, gender and ethnicity. Since students can overlap two courses with the GE, this certificate offers a way to partially organize their path to meet the GE requirement.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Increased cultural self-understanding: Students will be able to demonstrate their consciousness and understanding of their own cultural values and beliefs and
how culture shapes perceptions, biases and behaviors. - Development of empathy: Students will be able to identify and explain their reactions to people whose cultures differ from their own, reflect upon those responses, and demonstrate the ability to act in a supportive manner that recognizes the perspectives of another cultural group.
- Effective and appropriate communication in various intercultural contexts: Students will be able to recognize and negotiate cultural differences in verbal and nonverbal communication and will be willing and able to adapt appropriately to those differences.
Curriculum Requirements
FRIT 3054: The 21st-Century Skill
Intercultural Competence for Global Citizenship: In this course students will develop cultural self-awareness, intercultural empathy, and an understanding of the patterns of behavior and values of people from different cultural contexts - all skills necessary for working and succeeding in the 21st century.
COMM 3668 - Intercultural Communication
An examination of the role of intercultural communication in organizational contexts and the attendant effects on the creation and transmission of cultural consciousness, knowledge, tradition, and practices.
One 2000-level or above course from the Race, Ethnic and Gender Diversity category of the new GE program.
A study abroad or COIL course that meets the criteria of the GE integrative course (4 credits). OR A 3-credit study abroad/COIL course + another 2000-level or above course from the Race, Ethnic and Gender Diversity category of the new GE program. OR Two courses in a world language or a one-semester five-credit intensive course, such as Italian 5101.