Requirements

To earn the Graduate Certification in Community Engagement, graduate and professional students must complete three requirements:

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Flexibility

The Graduate Certification in Community Engagement is designed to reinforce coherent integration of community-engaged scholarship into the student's academic program. Each aspect of the certification offers maximum flexibility:

• Timing: The program is organized so that students may complete the graduate certification in one year or over multiple years, depending on how the certification's requirements can best be coordinated with their degree program plans.
• Competencies: The core engagement competency requirement may be fulfilled through workshops offered by University Outreach and Engagement, through other academic experiences or coursework, or through some combination of the two options. On a case-by-case basis, the program coordinator strategizes with students about the best option for fulfilling the seminar requirement, and, as needed, reviews and approves alternatives.
• Experience: The mentored community engagement experience requirement may be fulfilled by community work that the student is already undertaking (or planning to undertake). The majority of students in the Graduate Certification in Community Engagement use experiences associated with their program of study for this requirement, including practicums, internships, thesis or dissertation research, graduate assistantships, or teaching experiences—as long as it meets the definition of community-engaged scholarship.
• Written portfolio: While there are guidelines for the engagement portfolio, students are encouraged to reflect upon and share their views on community-engaged scholarship in a manner consistent with their disciplinary and professional norms. As a result, engagement portfolios vary in length, format, and voice.
• Portfolio presentation: Engagement portfolios may be presented on an ad-hoc basis when it is convenient for the graduate students—fall, spring, or summer. All presentations are made via Zoom to accommodate participation by community partners and peers. Flexible timing of engagement portfolio presentations reinforces the primary importance of students completing their program degree requirements first and their Graduate Certification in Community Engagement requirements second.
• Evolving plans: Throughout the program, graduate students are required to meet with the program coordinator once a semester (fall and spring) to discuss their community partnerships, additional professional development opportunities, portfolio preparation, and evolving plans. Because students often take a break from the program due to teaching, research, international travel, or personal responsibilities, these meetings keep the program coordinator apprised of the participants' changing needs and interests.

Portfolios must be completed no later than three semesters after the student leaves the university or graduates.

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• Key Concepts in Community-Engaged Scholarship