Certificate in Ethnic Studies for Teachers

The Undergraduate Certificate in Ethnic Studies for Teachers is specifically designed for pre- and in-service PK-12 teachers who are or will be teaching in the United States, especially in highly racially and ethnically diverse public school communities; accordingly, the certificate provides curricular and pedagogical scaffolding in Ethnic Studies that is uniquely geared to the work of PK-12 teachers across subject areas and grade levels.  

The certificate provides unique support for teachers to build, continuously grow, and sustain teaching dispositions that center:

• students and their families and communities as partners in the reciprocal process of teaching and learning; and,
• teachers’ commitment to evidence-based praxis, critical self-reflection, listening to understand, and problem-posing pedagogies.

All students are welcome in the Undergraduate Certificate in Ethnic Studies for Teachers.

There is no minimum GPA that students interested in the Undergraduate Certificate in Ethnic Studies for Teachers must have in order to be eligible for certificate admission. However, once admitted, certificate students must earn a C or better in all certificate courses. 

There is no pre-requisite for CME 480 - Ethnic Studies for Teachers . However, to enroll in CME 497 - Ethnic Studies for Teachers Capstone , certificate students must have completed the following pre-requisite courses: ENG 101  & ENG 102  OR ENG 113  & ENG 114 ; CME 480 ; and AAS 101 , OR LAS 100 , OR AIS 102 , OR AIIS 100 .

Certificate students will be advised by full-time faculty in the Cultural Studies, International Education, and Multicultural Education (CSIEME) program. The CSIEME program is part of the Department of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education.

Please see the UNLV College of Education Department of Teaching and Learning web page for information about department programs, faculty and facilities. Degree worksheets are available on the UNLV Degrees Directory.

Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the Undergraduate Certificate in Ethnic Studies for Teachers will be prepared to:

1. Cite key findings from evidence-based research in Ethnic Studies and use these findings to inform their work as PK-12 teachers.
2. Create subject-area specific and grade-level appropriate Ethnic Studies-informed curricula for their PK-12 classrooms that is informed by the lived experiences/realities of their students, their students’ families, and those in the larger communities from which students come.
3. Implement subject-area specific and grade-level appropriate Ethnic Studies-informed problem-posing pedagogical practices in their PK-12 classrooms that are intersectionally culturally responsive and relevant to their students.
4. Create humanizing PK-12 classroom communities in which all students’ families are valued and engaged as partners in the education of their children.