Graduate Certificate in Race & Social Justice

RSJ Summer and Fall 2024 Course Offerings

See the course offerings

About graduate certificate courses

We are pleased to announce that the interdisciplinary certificate in "Race and Social Justice" is available via two pathways:

  • Currently Enrolled UNM Students
  • Stand Alone Certificate for students, community members, practitioners who are not currently enrolled students but have earned a BA or higher

Advisement sheet (.docx)

Syllabi Rubric (.pdf)

About the Certificate

This 15-credit transcripted "Race & Social Justice Interdisciplinary Certificate" is designed as an area of specialization for students pursuing a master's degree or a doctorate in disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, fine arts, or the professional schools at the University of New Mexico; and students, community members, and practitioners who are not currently enrolled graduate students but have earned a BA or higher

The monumental benefits of cross-disciplinary dialogues, reflection and collective insights are facilitated when faculty and students from different disciplines converge to explore the contours of race and social justice in the U.S and global context.

Application for the Study of "Race" & Social Justice Certificate

Please note we are currently not able to offer this program remotely, applicants must be able to attend classes in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Please download this supplemental document and submit here. Read the Frequently Asked Questions or the detailed instructions. (Updated October 2018)

**Note to all applicants: Please apply before you complete half of the course requirements for the certificate. No more than 50% of coursework can be applied to the certificate before admission.

 Who can apply?

Student Group

The 15-credit transcripted "Race & Social Justice Interdisciplinary Certificate" is open to all current graduate students already matriculated in a graduate degree-granting program (e.g. master's or doctoral program) at the University of New Mexico, regardless of field of study, and student, community members, and practitioners who are not currently enrolled graduate students but who have earned a BA or higher.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

In partnership with the Diversity Council, the Institute for the Study of “Race” & Social Justice Advisory Board at the University of New Mexico developed a graduate certificate that offers graduate and professional students across schools, colleges and departments the opportunity to have a transcripted specialization in "Race and Social Justice." Envisioned as an interdisciplinary experience, the graduate certificate in race and social justice contributes to UNM's portfolio of innovative engaged scholarship, teaching and service.

Broad Learning Goals

  1. Students will understand and identify the historical, political, social, psychological, cultural, and/or economic dimensions of race, racialization, difference and power, integrating these into an interdisciplinary perspective.
  2. Students will be able to critically read/write about, discuss, and engage in scholarly inquiry related to race and social justice.
  3. Students will acquire a basic level of knowledge about U.S. and/or local, global race and social justice movements.
  4. Students will be aware of community-engaged research and teaching opportunities as well as career and post-graduate opportunities their certificate makes possible.

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will recognize, assess and apply the major theoretical frameworks for understanding racial inequality and equity across a variety of social outcomes, including health, housing, education, early childhood, employment and criminal justice, the arts and other arenas
  2. Students will learn to recognize the macro (global, national, municipal/local), meso (institutional) and micro (experiential/individual) dimensions of the social construction of race and racialization processes in a given sociohistorical context.
  3. Students will learn how to understand the national and international processes and issues to identify and describe at least two dimensions of race as a social construction (e.g., historical, political, social, cultural, economic) and identify solutions to contemporary racial inequalities.
  4. Students will integrate knowledge and scholarly approaches across disciplines, apply an interdisciplinary approach, and account for the international context of race and social justice as they prepare for comprehensive exams, dissertations and masters theses in their respective disciplines.
  5. Students will develop critical thinking about the social construction of race and its intersections with other social/structural inequalities, such as class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, citizenship, disability, religion, etc.
  6. Students will enhance their research, writing and public speaking skills as they will present and discuss their research on race and social justice in compelling, coherent, clear analytical arguments.
  7. Students will complete their coursework with a minimum grade of B.
  8. Students will develop the ability to engage in deep self-reflection and develop competency for dialogues on race and social justice and/or communication skills.
  9. Students will find and evaluate career and post-graduate opportunities available to students who have a transcripted graduate certificates in race and social justice.

Examples of Approved Certificate Courses

Which courses can be counted toward certificate work? See the list of currently approved courses below. However, this list is not exhaustive; these are just some examples of courses that can be put toward certificate requirements.

If you are teaching or enrolled (or want to enroll) in a course you believe would satisfy these requirements, please send a syllabus to Dr. Nancy López ( nlopez@unm.edu).

Dept. and Course #TitleInstructor
AMST 516Religion, Race, RevolutionKathleen Holscher
AMST 530Social Justice & Academia
AMST 550Topics in Race, Class & EthnicityCynthia Young
AMST 556Critical Indigenous StudiesJennifer Denetdale
ANTH 530The Politics of RecognitionDavid Dinwoodie
ARH 582Art & Feminisms in Latin AmericaKency Cornejo
ARTE 577Social Justice Issues in Art EducationLaurel Lampela
CJ 506Critical/Cultural StudiesSusana Martinez Guillem
CJ 518Culture, Places and SpacesSusana Martinez Guillem
CCS 551Cultural Expressions in Chicana/o studies    Laura Elena Belmonte
CCS 564Raza, Genders, and SexualityFrank Aviles
CCS 670Culture and CommunicationPatricia Covarrubias
CRP 503Community Based PracticeClaudia Isaac
CRP 531Foundations of Community DevelopmentJennifer Tucker
CRP 535Community Economics for PlannersClaudia Isaac
CRP 570Policing the City: From Albuquerque to Rio de JaneiroJennifer Tucker
CRP 574The Cultural Aspects of PlanningJennifer Tucker
EDUC 552Social Justice in EducationLeila Flores-Dueñas
EDUC 553TestimonioDr. Mia Sosa Provencio
EDUC 652Teacher Education & Social JusticeShiv Desai
ENGL 660The Poetics & History of Race and MigrationBernadine Hernández
GEOG 445/575Geographies of New Mexico and the SouthwestNatasha Howard
GEOG 515Geographies of PowerNatasha Howard
GEOG 566The CityNatasha Howard
HIST 650Refugees, Exiles, and AsylumKimberly Gauderman
HIST 692Transnational Gender and RaceTiffany Florvil
LAW 593Race and the LawChristine Zuni Cruz
LAWLatinas, Latinos in the LawMarc Tizoc González
LLSS 500Issues in Language/Literacy/Sociocultural StudiesChristine Sims
LLSS 510Paulo FreireNancy Lopez
LLSS 524Critical Race TheoryNancy Lopez
LLSS 529Race, Ethnicity, and EducationNancy Lopez
LLSS 530Whiteness StudiesNancy Lopez
LLSS 558Literacy Across CulturesGarza Ayala
LLSS 588Feminist Epistemologies & PedagogiesRuth Trinidad Galvan
PH 501Determinants and Equity in Public HealthNina Wallerstein
PH 556Community-Based Participatory Research for Health: Indigenous & Critical MethodologiesMultiple
PSYC 636Diversity & Multicultural Perspectives in Clinical PsychologyKamilla Venner
SOC 430*Intersectionality: Race, Gender Class for Social PolicyNancy Lopez
SOC 520Racial and Ethnic RelationsNancy Lopez
SOC 528Sociology of Mexican AmericansPhillip Gonzalez
SOC 595Health InequalitiesJessica Goodkind
SPAN 536Colonial LiteraturesKathryn McKnight
WGSS 512Feminist Research MethodologiesAdriana Ramirez de Arellano
WGSS 579Transnational Gender and RaceTiffany Florvil

* An undergraduate course available for graduate student credit