Program Overview

Certificate in Civic Leadership

The Certificate in Civic Leadership is a program designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to become effective civic leaders. Upon completing the certificate, students will be able to integrate academic and experiential knowledge in civic contexts, analyze issues through the framework of democratic values, processes, and policies, and address real-world issues through interaction and collaboration with diverse community partners.

Program Learning Outcomes

The program learning outcomes for the Certificate in Civic Leadership include:

• Integrating academic and experiential knowledge in civic contexts.
• Analyzing issues through the framework of democratic values, processes, and policies.
• Addressing real-world issues through interaction and collaboration with diverse community partners.
• Communicating with and presenting their work effectively to a range of audiences both within and beyond the academic community.
• Employing reflection to express their individual values and goals and be able to act on them.
• Demonstrating motivation to realizing equitable and inclusive communities.

Requirements for the Certificate

Students pursuing the Certificate in Civic Leadership must complete:

• A minimum of 4 courses (12 credit hours) to satisfy certificate requirements.
• A minimum of 2 Experiential Learning Programs:
  • 1 LEARN Level Program
  • 1 ACT Level Program
• A Civic Leadership Portfolio.
• A Capstone Requirement.
• A minimum overall GPA of 2.00 in required coursework with a minimum grade of C (2.00 grade points) in each course.

Course Requirements

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this certificate:

• Core Requirements:
  • Select at least 1 course (minimum of 3 credit hours) from the Leadership Electives.
  • Select at least 1 course (minimum of 3 credit hours) from the Social Issues Electives.
• Required Experiential Learning Programs:
  • Select 1 LEARN Level Program from the following:
    • Alternative Spring Break Participant
    • America Reads Mentor
    • Houston Policy Experience Participant
    • Moody Global Fellows Participant
    • Urban Immersion/Civic Immersion Participant
  • Select 1 ACT Level Program from the following:
    • Alternative Spring Break Site Leader
    • America Reads Coordinator
    • Houston Action Research Team (HART)
    • Leadership Rice Summer Mentorship Experience
    • Loewenstern Fellowship
    • Moody Global Fellows Student Leader
    • Rich Family Endowment
    • Urban Immersion/Civic Immersion Coordinator
• Portfolio Requirement:
  • Civic Leadership Portfolio
• Capstone Requirement:
  • LEAD 402: CIVIC LEADERSHIP CAPSTONE I
  • LEAD 403: CIVIC LEADERSHIP CAPSTONE II

Leadership Electives

Select 1 course from the following:

• ENGI 315: LEADING TEAMS AND INNOVATION
• ENGI 320 / CEVE 320: ETHICS AND ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP
• LEAD 102: INTRODUCTION TO CIVIC LEADERSHIP
• LEAD 260 / POLI 260: ADVOCATING FOR IDEAS TO CHANGE THE WORLD
• LEAD 321: LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION
• LEAD 333: STEM (SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS) OUTREACH: INTRO TO CIVIC SCIENCE
• LEAD 340: PHILANTHROPY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
• NAVA 203: LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT I
• PHIL 360: ETHICS

Social Issues Electives

Select at least 1 course (minimum of 3 credit hours) from the following:

• ANTH 332 / ENST 332: THE SOCIAL LIFE OF CLEAN ENERGY
• ANTH 344: CITY/CULTURE
• ANTH 354 / SWGS 353: ILLNESS, DISABILITY, AND THE GENDERED BODY
• ANTH 358: THE FOURTH WORLD: ISSUES OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
• ARCH 313 / ENST 313: CASE STUDIES IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
• ARCH 455: HOUSING AND URBAN PROGRAMS: ISSUES IN POLICY
• CEVE 302 / ENGI 302: SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
• CEVE 307 / EEPS 307 / ENST 307: ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
• CEVE 406 / ENST 406: INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
• ECON 432: POLITICAL ECONOMY
• ECON 450: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• ECON 460: ADVANCED TOPICS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• ECON 461: URBAN ECONOMICS
• ECON 462: ECONOMICS OF HUMAN CAPITAL
• ECON 479: MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR COMPUTATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ECON 480 / ENST 480: THE ECONOMICS OF ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT
• ECON 481: HEALTH ECONOMICS
• EDUC 202: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN EDUCATION
• EDUC 335: URBAN EDUCATION: ISSUES, POLICY, AND PRACTICE
• EDUC 350: EDUCATION POLICY: FROM LEGISLATURES TO CLASSROOMS
• ENGL 273 / SWGS 273: MEDICINE AND MEDIA
• ENGL 371 / SPAN 396 / SWGS 354: CHICANO/A LITERATURE
• ENGL 382 / SWGS 380: FEMINIST THEORY
• ENST 100 / ARCH 105: ENVIRONMENT, CULTURE AND SOCIETY
• ENST 312: JUSTICE IN THE FOOD SYSTEM
• GLHT 201: INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL HEALTH
• HEAL 222: PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
• HEAL 360: VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE
• HEAL 380: DISPARITIES IN HEALTH IN AMERICA
• HEAL 460: PLANNING AND EVALUATION OF HEALTH PROMOTION AND EDUCATION
• HIST 328: POVERTY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN LATIN AMERICA
• HIST 329: OUR AMERICA: LATIN AMERICA AND THE UNITED STATES
• HIST 421: RACE, EDUCATION AND SOCIETY IN THE URBAN SOUTH
• HIST 455: THE HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
• PJHC 371: POVERTY, JUSTICE, AND HUMAN CAPABILITIES
• POLI 250 / ASIA 251 / SWGS 250: SEX, MONEY, AND POWER AROUND THE WORLD
• POLI 315: U.S. ELECTIONS AND VOTING BEHAVIOR
• POLI 321: AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: STRUCTURES AND POWERS
• POLI 323: AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES
• POLI 324 / FREN 324 / RELI 476: FROM DECOLONIZATION TO GLOBALIZATION
• POLI 328: LATINO POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES
• POLI 362: COMPARATIVE URBAN POLITICS AND POLICY
• PSYC 331 / SWGS 331: PSYCHOLOGY OF GENDER
• PSYC 345: HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
• PSYC 435: POLLUTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
• RELI 216 / AAAS 217: RELIGION AND BLACK LIVES MATTER
• SOCI 238: SPECIAL TOPICS
• SOCI 301: SOCIAL INEQUALITY
• SOCI 306 / SWGS 324: SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER
• SOCI 308: HOUSTON: THE SOCIOLOGY OF A CITY
• SOCI 310: URBAN SOCIOLOGY
• SOCI 314: SCIENCE AT RISK? OUT OF THE LAB AND INTO PUBLIC SPHERE
• SOCI 340: SOCIOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION
• SOCI 343: RACE, SOCIETY AND POPULATION CHANGE
• SOCI 344: SOCIOLOGY OF MENTAL HEALTH
• SOCI 358: CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND SOCIETY
• SOCI 366: HOUSING AND SCHOOLS: THE SOCIAL LOCATIONS OF INEQUALITY
• SOCI 367 / ENST 367: ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY
• SOCI 396 / ANTH 396: LAW AND RESISTANCE IN THE EVERYDAY
• SOCI 451: IMMIGRATION IN A GLOBAL WORLD
• SOCI 453: RACE, MIGRATION, AND HEALTH SEMINAR
• SOCI 470: INEQUALITY AND URBAN LIFE
• SOSC 330: HEALTH CARE REFORM IN THE 50 STATES

Policies for the Certificate

Admissions

Upon completing an advising plan to complete the Required Electives and Experiential Learning Programs, students may apply in the spring of their sophomore or junior year for admittance to the certificate in Civic Leadership.

To apply, students must submit the following:

• An Official Transcript
• Curriculum Choice Statement
• 3 Supplemental Questions

Only students who demonstrate a coherent path of preparation will be admitted to the certificate program.

Program Restrictions and Exclusions

Students pursuing the Certificate in Civic Leadership should be aware of the following program restriction:

• As noted in Majors, Minors, and Certificates, students may declare their intent to pursue a university certificate only after they have first declared a major.

Transfer Credit

For Rice University's policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the designated transfer credit advisor for the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course.

Opportunities for the Certificate

Academic Honors

The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate's academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.