Certificate in Civic Leadership

Program Learning Outcomes for the Certificate in Civic Leadership

Upon completing the certificate in Civic Leadership, students will be able to:

  1. Integrate academic and experiential knowledge in civic contexts.
  2. Analyze issues through the framework of democratic values, processes, and policies. 
  3. Address real world issues through interaction and collaboration with diverse community partners.
  4. Communicate with and present their work effectively to a range of audiences both within and beyond the academic community.
  5. Employ reflection to express their individual values and goals and be able to act on them.
  6. Demonstrate motivation to realizing equitable and inclusive communities. 

Requirements for the Certificate in Civic Leadership 

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.

This certificate is not a freestanding degree program; in addition to fulfilling the certificate requirements outlined below, candidates will be required to complete successfully the degree program to which they have been admitted in order to receive this certificate. Upon completion, the certificate is awarded at the same time as the conferral of the student’s Rice degree, along with a formal notation on their academic transcript.

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this certificate. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the certificate’s academic advisor, or where applicable, the Program Director. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the certificate's Official Certifier.) Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Summary

Total Credit Hours Required for the Certificate in Civic Leadership 12

Certificate Requirements

Core Requirements
Select at least 1 course (minimum of 3 credit hours) from the Leadership Electives (see below for course list)3
Select at least 1 course (minimum of 3 credit hours) from the Social Issues Electives (see below for course list)3
Required Experiential Learning Programs
Select 1 LEARN Level Program from the following:
Urban Immersion/Civic Immersion Participant
Alternative Spring Break Participant
Houston Policy Challenge Participant
Select 1 ACT Level Program from the following:
Urban Immersion/Civic Immersion Coordinator
Alternative Spring Break Site Leader
Houston Action Research Team (HART)
Houston Policy Challenge Coordinator
Leadership Rice Summer Mentorship Experience
Loewenstern Fellowship
Rich Family Endowment
Portfolio Requirement
Civic Leadership Portfolio 1
Capstone Requirement
LEAD 402CIVIC LEADERSHIP CAPSTONE I3
LEAD 403CIVIC LEADERSHIP CAPSTONE II3
Total Credit Hours12

Footnotes and Additional Information

Course Lists to Satisfy Requirements

Leadership Electives

Select at least 1 course (minimum of 3 credit hours) from the following:
ENGI 315LEADING TEAMS AND INNOVATION3
ENGI 320 / CEVE 320ETHICS AND ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP3
LEAD 102INTRODUCTION TO CIVIC LEADERSHIP3
LEAD 260 / POLI 260ADVOCATING FOR IDEAS TO CHANGE THE WORLD3
LEAD 321LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION3
LEAD 333STEM (SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS) OUTREACH: INTRO TO CIVIC SCIENCE3
LEAD 340PHILANTHROPY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE3
NAVA 203LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT I3
PHIL 360ETHICS3

Social Issues Electives

Select at least 1 course (minimum of 3 credit hours) from the following:
ANTH 332 / ENST 332THE SOCIAL LIFE OF CLEAN ENERGY3
ANTH 344CITY/CULTURE3
ANTH 358THE FOURTH WORLD: ISSUES OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE3
ARCH 313 / ENST 313CASE STUDIES IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN3
ARCH 455HOUSING AND URBAN PROGRAMS: ISSUES IN POLICY3
BIOS 204ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: THE DESIGN & PRACTICE OF COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE1
BUSI 464 / GLHT 464 / SOSC 464SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP3
CEVE 302 / ENGI 302SUSTAINABLE DESIGN3
CEVE 307 / EEPS 307 / ENST 307ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT3
CEVE 406 / ENST 406INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW3
CHBE 281 / ENST 281ENGINEERING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES3
ECON 432POLITICAL ECONOMY3
ECON 450ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT3
ECON 460ADVANCED TOPICS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT3
ECON 462ECONOMICS OF HUMAN CAPITAL3
ECON 479ECONOMIC MODELING AND PUBLIC POLICY3
ECON 480 / ENST 480ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS3
ECON 481HEALTH ECONOMICS3
EDUC 202CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN EDUCATION3
EDUC 335URBAN EDUCATION: ISSUES, POLICY, AND PRACTICE3
EDUC 350EDUCATION POLICY: FROM LEGISLATURES TO CLASSROOMS3
ELEC 419 / BIOE 419INNOVATION LAB FOR MOBILE HEALTH3
ENGL 371 / SPAN 396 / SWGS 354CHICANO/A LITERATURE3
GLHT 201INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL HEALTH3
HEAL 222PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY HEALTH3
HEAL 360VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE3
HEAL 380DISPARITIES IN HEALTH IN AMERICA3
HEAL 460PLANNING AND EVALUATION OF HEALTH PROMOTION AND EDUCATION3
HIST 268MODERN SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING3
HIST 328POVERTY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN LATIN AMERICA3
HIST 421RACE, EDUCATION AND SOCIETY IN THE URBAN SOUTH3
HUMA 202 / ENST 202CULTURE, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT: AN INTRODUCTION TO ENERGY HUMANITIES3
POLI 250 / ASIA 251 / SWGS 250SEX, MONEY, AND POWER AROUND THE WORLD3
POLI 315U.S. ELECTIONS AND VOTING BEHAVIOR3
POLI 362COMPARATIVE URBAN POLITICS AND POLICY3
PSYC 345HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY3
PSYC 435POLLUTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT3
SOCI 238SPECIAL TOPICS1-4
SOCI 301SOCIAL INEQUALITY3
SOCI 306 / SWGS 324SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER3
SOCI 308HOUSTON: THE SOCIOLOGY OF A CITY3
SOCI 314SCIENCE AT RISK? OUT OF THE LAB AND INTO PUBLIC SPHERE3
SOCI 340SOCIOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION3
SOCI 343RACE, SOCIETY AND POPULATION CHANGE3
SOCI 365 / ANTH 365POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION: HOW WE UNDERSTAND "WAR" AND "THE RACIAL OTHER"3
SOSC 330HEALTH CARE REFORM IN THE 50 STATES3

Policies for the Certificate in Civic Leadership

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:

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. The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s transfer credit advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities. 

Program Transfer Credit Guidelines

Students pursuing the Certificate in Civic Leadership should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guidelines:

  • Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director (and/or the program’s official transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis.

​Additional Information 

​For additional information, please see the Center for Civic Leadership website: https://ccl.rice.edu/.

Opportunities for the Certificate in Civic Leadership

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.

Additional Information

​For additional information, please see the Center for Civic Leadership website: https://ccl.rice.edu/