Critical Cultural Competence, Certificate

This is the first version of the 2026–27 General Catalog. Please check back regularly for changes. The final edition and the historical PDF will be published during the fall semester.

The undergraduate Certificate in Critical Cultural Competence requires 18 s.h. of coursework. Students must maintain a grade-point average of at least 2.00 in work for the certificate. Ideally, students begin the certificate during their second year of undergraduate study.

The certificate may be earned by any student admitted to the University of Iowa who is not enrolled in a UI graduate or professional degree program. Undergraduate to Graduate (U2G) students may earn the certificate when the undergraduate classification is primary.

Students begin the certificate with CCCC:2220 Foundations of Critical Cultural Competence, which is offered fall and spring semesters and is a prerequisite to the coursework that follows. Students complete the certificate's requirements with the capstone course, CCCC:4490 Integrative Seminar in Critical Cultural Competence, which is offered in spring semesters.

In collaboration with the certificate program's coordinator, students establish study plans while completing the foundation course. The coordinator works with the student to ensure that the study plan complements the student's academic program and career interests.

For more information, students may contact the School of Social Work, their advisor, or the certificate coordinator to determine how the certificate would contribute to their degree.

The Certificate in Critical Cultural Competence requires the following coursework.

Core Courses

Course # Title Hours
CCCC:2220Foundations of Critical Cultural Competence (taken first)3
CCCC:4490Integrative Seminar in Critical Cultural Competence3

Immersion- or Service-Learning Course

Course # Title Hours
3 s.h. from these:
CPH:4755International Perspectives: Xicotepec2
HHP:3820Community Wellness Guided Practicumarr.
IS:3012Service Learning in International Studies3
LATS:3100Latinx Community Engagement3
LS:1024Hawkeye Service Breaksarr.
SPAN:3092/GHS:3092Spanish in the Community3
THTR:3615Action! Engage! Art! Creative Placemaking for the Public Good3
WRIT:2100Writing and Community Outreach3
WRIT:4100Iowa Youth Writing Project Mentorship Practicum3

Elective Courses 

Students complete 9 s.h. of electives in at least two diversity categories. No more than two courses can be taken from the same course subject prefix. At least 6 s.h. must be numbered 2000 or above.

Course # Title Hours
African American Studies
AFAM:1030Introduction to African American Society3
AFAM:1240/MUS:1740The Art of Listening to Jazz3
AFAM:2064/SOC:2064African American Families: Urban and Suburban3
AFAM:2070/COMM:2069Black Television Culture3
AFAM:2076/COMM:2076Race, Ethnicity, and Media3
AFAM:2079/SPST:2079Race and Ethnicity in Sport3
AFAM:2500Black Culture and Experience: Contemporary Issues3
AFAM:3110/SOC:3110Race, Organizations, and Workplace3
AFAM:3460/ENGL:3460African American Literature After 19003
AFAM:3500/HIST:3160/RELS:3808Malcolm X, King, and Human Rights3
AFAM:3630/SOC:3630The Racial Wealth Gap: Black Debt, White Debt3
AFAM:3758/HIST:3758The Ancient African Past3
AFAM:4250/EPLS:4250Education In Black America3
AFAM:4770/GHS:4770/SEES:4770Environmental Justice3
Asian Languages and Literature
ASIA:1040/HIST:1610/RELS:1404Introduction to Asian Religions3
ASIA:1601/HIST:1601Civilizations of Asia: China From Origins to the 17th Century3
ASIA:1602/HIST:1602Civilizations of Asia: China from the 17th Century to the Present3
ASIA:1607/HIST:1607Civilizations of Asia: Korea3-4
ASIA:3652/HIST:3652Twentieth-Century China3
ASIA:3685/HIST:3685Modern Korean History3
Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies
GWSS:1001Introduction to Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies3
GWSS:1002Diversity and Power in the U.S.3
GWSS:1003/SJUS:1001Introduction to Social Justice3
GWSS:1074/AMST:1074/SPST:1074Inequality in American Sport3
GWSS:1310/SOC:1310Gender and Society3
GWSS:2078/SPST:2078Women, Sport, and Culture3
GWSS:2674/GHS:2674/RELS:2674Food, Body, and Mind: A Global Perspective3
GWSS:2900/ANTH:2191Love, Sex, and Money: Sexuality and Exchange Across Cultures3
GWSS:3045/COMM:3045Cultural Politics of the Environment in the US3
GWSS:3078/AMST:3078/MUSM:3078/SPST:3078Archiving Women's History3
GWSS:3100LGBTQ/Queer Studies3
GWSS:3138/SJUS:3138Writing to Change the World3
GWSS:3171/ENGL:3571/SJUS:3171Higher Education and Social Justice3
GWSS:3200Theories for Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies3
GWSS:3350/ANTH:3125/IS:3350Transnational Feminism3
GWSS:3425/CRIM:3425Women, Crime, and Justice3
GWSS:3750/SOC:3750Born in the USA: Fertility and Reproduction3
Global Health Studies and International Populations/Culture
ANTH:2136Race, Place, and Power: Urban Anthropology3
ANTH:2140Food, Drink, and Culture3
ANTH:2164/GHS:2164Culture and Healing: An Introduction to Medical Anthropology3
ANTH:2181/ASP:2181/GHS:2181The Anthropology of Aging3
ANTH:3103Environment and Culture3
GHS:2000/ANTH:2103Introduction to Global Health Studies3
GHS:2674/GWSS:2674/RELS:2674Food, Body, and Mind: A Global Perspective3
GHS:3050/ASP:3135/SSW:3135Global Aging3
GHS:3600Development in a Global Context I: Preparing for an Internship in Health, Gender, and Environment2
GHS:3850/HHP:3850Promoting Health Globally3
GHS:4002Working in Global Health3
SEES:1090Globalization and Geographic Diversity3
Issues of Class and Poverty
SOC:1310/GWSS:1310Gender and Society3
SOC:2810Social Inequality3
Latina/o/x Studies
LATS:2280/HIST:2280Introduction to Latina/o/x Studies3
LATS:3095/AMST:3095Central America and Its Diaspora3
LATS:3100Latinx Community Engagement3
LATS:3415/AMST:3415/SJUS:3415Latina/o/x Protest, Movement, Resistance3
LATS:3467/ENGL:3467Latina/o/x Literatures and Cultures3
Native American and Indigenous Studies
NAIS:1049/AMST:1049/HIST:1049Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies3
NAIS:2165/AMST:2165/ANTH:2165Native Peoples of North America3
NAIS:2292/AMST:2292/HIST:2292Native American Law and Policy: A History3
NAIS:3110/ANTH:3110/CBH:4200/GHS:3110Colonialism and Indigenous Health Equity3
NAIS:3430/POLI:3430Environmental Politics and Indigeneity3
Religious Studies
RELS:1050/POLI:1050Big Ideas: Introduction to Information, Society, and Culture3
RELS:1250/HIST:1050Modern Religion and Culture3
RELS:1350/AFAM:1250Introduction to African American Religions3
RELS:1506/ASIA:1060/HIST:1612Introduction to Buddhism3
RELS:1702Religion in America Today3
RELS:1903Quest for Human Destiny3
RELS:2080/COMM:2080Public Life in the U.S.: Religion and Media3
RELS:2330Wealth, Inequality, and Islam3
RELS:2620/CLSA:2620Sex and the Bible3
RELS:2955/IS:2955Human Rights and Islam3
RELS:3655/ASIA:3655/HIST:3655Zen Buddhism3
Theory and Practice of Cultural Diversity
ANTH:1101/IS:1101Cultural Anthropology3