Ethnic Studies Graduate Certificate
The Ethnic Studies Graduate Certificate explores the ways racial and ethnic identities, social relations, cultures, and geographical spaces have been shaped over time. Focusing on the institutions and political/economic/social processes that have staged race at the center of the nation’s histories, Ethnic Studies provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the significance of race in contemporary US society. The scholarship and training of the faculty of Ethnic Studies is interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary. While the core courses offered by the department speak to the intellectual roots of Ethnic Studies in the US civil rights movement and student activism, our faculty also has strong expertise in globalization, immigration, and diaspora and cultural studies. Thus, Ethnic Studies provides an ethically and socially responsible scholarship that engages you in thinking critically about the world you live in and your place in it.
An Ethnic Studies Graduate Certificate can be pursued along with an MA or Ph.D. program or as stand-alone credential. The certificate strengthens your credentials in race and ethnic studies in both national and global contexts. It demonstrates your training in issues relating to diversity, globalization, migration, social and economic inequities, and contemporary realities.
All applicants seeking admission to the certificate program, must complete the application required by the Graduate College and upload the requested materials.
In addition to filling out the Graduate Application, applicants will be asked to submit the following materials:
Applicants not currently admitted to a BGSU master’s or doctoral program must submit: 1) three letters of recommendation, and 2) a personal statement (2 pages maximum) of career goals and reasons for applying to the program.
Students currently enrolled in a BGSU master’s or doctoral program should submit a personal statement (2 pages maximum) of career goals and reasons for applying to the program.
Students currently enrolled in the ACS MA, ACS PhD, or POPC MA program should NOT submit a graduate application - instead email ccs@bgsu.edu regarding your interest to be added to the certificate program.
To earn the Ethnic Studies Graduate Certificate, you must complete 15 credit hours (five 3-credit courses) including:
This course provides an advanced introduction to classical theories of race and ethnicity, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, critical race theory, and the politics of multiculturalism. It focuses on questions of racial and ethnic systems of social organization and signification.
This course is typically offered every Fall semester.
Select From: ETHN 6820, ETHN 6800, ETHN 6730, ETHN 6700, ETHN 6600, ETHN 6500, ETHN 6400, ETHN 6300, ETHN 6250, ETHN 6050
One course may be substituted by with a cognate course offered by another program or department at BGSU. Cognate courses need to be approved by the Ethnic Studies Graduate Committee.
ETHN 6200
ETHN ______
ETHN ______
ETHN ______
ETHN ______ (may be a cognate course)
Current Course Offerings:
- Summer 2025 Courses
ETHN 6820 501W (42759) – The Civil Rights Movement in History and Culture (Edge)
Tom Edge | 6W2 6/30/2025 - 8/08/2025 | ONLINE
Description: This course will highlight different historiographical and cultural approaches to the study of the Black Freedom Struggle of the mid-twentieth century. Our focus will include a strong emphasis on historical memory of the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power eras, grassroots activism beyond the South, intersectional analysis of movement history, the impact of the urban rebellions, cultural depictions of activism, and the role of culture within social movements.
Previous ETHN Graduate Certificate Course Offerings
Fall 2024 Courses
ETHN 6200 5001 - Theories of Race Relations, Ethnicity, and Multiculturalism (Messer-Kruse)
ACS 6730 5001 /ETHN 6730 5001 - Building the American City (Kinney)
Summer 2024 Courses
ETHN 6820 501W - Teaching Hard History (Edge)
Spring 2024 Courses
ETHN 6800 5001/WS 6800 5001 – Black Resistance & Black Women (Stanley)
Fall 2023 Courses
ETHN 6200- Theories of Race, Ethnicity, and Multiculturalism (Messer-Kruse)
Summer 2023 Courses
ETHN 6820 - Applied Ethnic and Gender Studies (Edge)
Spring 2023 Courses
ETHN 6500/WS 6800 - Sexuality, Race, and Nation (Peña)
ETHN 6730/ACS 5001- Concepts in CRT: Myth and Reality (Messer-Kruse)
Approved Cognate Courses:
ACS 6750/ENG 6750 - Recentering the 60s (Sheffer)
ACS 6760/HIST 6760 - Reconstruction (Jackson)
ACS 6820 - Digital Media Activism (Gajjala)
ACS 7400 - Genealogies of American Culture (Schocket; Messer-Kruse; Martin)
ENG 6750 - Black Protest and Black Joy (Sheffer)
HIST 5820 - Black Diaspora (Jackson)
MC 7610 - Race & Communication (Faulkner)
POPC 6610 - International Popular Culture (Rudisill)
THFM 6610 - Theatre/Performance in Cultural Contexts II (Nees-Carver)
THFM 6620 - Black Feminisms and Performance (Forbes-Erickson)
THFM 7670 - Native American Theatre & Performance (Nees-Carver)
WS 7800/MC 7800 - Critical Ethnographies and Data Feminism (Gajjala)
WS 6820/SPAN 6820 - Transliguistics: Living and Speaking Outside the Lines (Attig)
Updated: 03/05/2025 12:41PM