Urban Civic Education, Minor

The Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual, and Special Education

Urban Civic Education Minor Requirements

The Urban Civic Education Minor (15-units) prepares students to become leaders of civic engagement working to address community issues. This interdisciplinary minor is available to all students in any academic discipline and is an excellent complement for students pursuing careers in education, psychology, criminal justice, social services, international affairs, and community advocacy. Through an emphasis on service-learning pedagogy, the program has been developed to provide an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of diverse urban cultural communities, issues facing these communities, and cultural and community influences on urban children’s education. Students will actively engage in service-learning experiences to support community organizations in diverse urban contexts. Students will also implement projects with local K-12 school districts in order to learn how service-learning can serve as an instructional method to impact children’s academic achievement and civic engagement. Such knowledge and skills are essential for students to become leaders who are able to transform our region and society as a whole.

Core Faculty

Steven Hart, Literacy, Early, Bilingual, and Special Education, Coordinator
James Mullooly, Anthropology
Matthew Jendian, Sociology/Humanics
Chris Fiorentino, Richter Center

Affiliated Faculty

Janell Morillo, Liberal Studies Coordinator
Meta L. Schettler, Africana Studies Program
Xinchun Wang, Linguistics

Requirements for the Minor

A total of 15 units, which will include the following:

COMS 1 - Com Serv-Learn (3 units)
LEE 144S - Service-Learning Pedagogy and Practice (3 units), and LEE 180T - Literacy and Service Learning (3 units)
3-6 units from Area I: Diverse Families and Communities
3-6 units from Area 2: Educational Issues
The minor also requires a minimum 3.0 GPA and six upper-division units in residence.
Courses also can fulfill General Education requirements as appropriate.

Areas of Study

Area I Diverse Families and Communities:

AFRS 104W - Writing About American Inequality Units: 3
CFS 134 - Culture and Diversity Units: 3
ASAM 110 - Asian American Communities Units: 3
CLAS 3 - Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies Units: 3
CLAS 120 - Latina/o Cultural Changes Units: 3
SWRK 128 - Child Welfare Units: 3
SWRK 137 - Principles in Cross-Cultural Competence Units: 3
SOC 130WS - Contemporary Social Issues Units: 4
SOC 144 - Social Policy Analysis Units: 3

Area II Educational Issues:

ANTH 111 - Ethnographic Fieldwork Units: 3
COMM 114 - Communication and Learning Units: 3
LING 141 - TESOL/SLAT (Second Language Acquisition & Teaching) Units: 3
LING 147 - Bilingualism Units: 3
SOC 148 - Sociology of Education Units: 3
SPED 120 - Introduction to Special Education Units: 3
SPED 121 - Teaching Students with Special Needs in the Secondary General Education Setting Units: 2

Advising Notes

Students must consult with an advisor to plan the minor. The advisor and minor coordinator must approve the minor program before it can be filed with the Degree Advising Office and recorded on the transcript.

Complete an Urban Civic Education Minor advising sheet with an advisor for selection of courses.
Courses in a major cannot be applied toward a minor unless designated as additional requirements.
A minor may be earned only at the time a student earns the first baccalaureate degree.