Community Change Studies - Major #7663

Certificate of Achievement Program Map

The program map below represents an efficient and effective course taking sequence for this program. Individual circumstances might require some changes to this path. It is always recommended that you meet with your pathway counselor to develop a personalized educational plan.


The Community Change Certificate of Achievement is the curricular portion of the Interns for Community Change program. This "earn while you learn" program focuses on providing students with curricular opportunities primarily in the Social Sciences and Humanities, pairing those quality course offerings with paid placement in local non-profit organizations. Combined, students will be able to do both paid work in their communities while taking classes in this Certificate of Achievement. 


Upon completion of the program, students will:
  1. 1. Develop an understanding of their communities and themselves within them, as well as the impact of race, gender, class, sexuality, culture, historical trauma and oppression.
  2. 2. Develop cross‐cultural competencies by studying and practicing Community Organizing, including both a review of different approaches to collective action for social change and extensive practical organizing skill development.
  3. 3. Gain fluency in Community‐Based and Participatory Action Research, learning issue development, popular education and membership learning through participation in research and analysis of local issues.
  4. 4. Gain an understanding of the region’s Political Economy and Issues by studying social movements and community action in the context of race, income and demographic changes, the local economy, local and state government and politics.
  5. 5. Produce a Capstone Project -- a practicum involving practical experience helping bring people together to identify, address and move forward on a common issue.
Effective Term: 2024 Fall Semester

Program Requirements

16-29 units

Required Course

1-14 units

WKEXP 19
Work Experience Education

1-14 units
Effective Term: 2024 Fall Semester
The course discusses the acquisition of desirable work habits, attitudes and career awareness. Students will learn basic academic skills, workplace communication, adapt to new situations, and problem solve. (A, CSU)
Course Details:
      1. CSU Transfer

        List A: Select Two Courses

        6 units

        AFRAM 1
        Introduction to African American Studies

        3 units
        Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
        Introduction to African-American Studies: a critical interdisciplinary study of African American culture, history, and heritage from Pre Colonial West Africa through the 21st Century. This course will include an introduction to West African societies of the 15th and 16th centuries, prior to European Colonial Expansion; an examination of the transition into the era of African enslavement in Colonial America; an exploration of African American cultural development during the era of Reconstruction; an evaluation of African American political movements in response to social injustice and African American creative production; an analysis of the assimilation of African American culture into mainstream American culture during the 20th century; and finally, to examine and evaluate the African American community of the 21st Century. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
        Course Details:
        1. Advisory: ENGL C1000
          1. CSU Transfer

            AMIND 31
            American Indian Culture

            3 units
            Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
            The Native nations of North American (American Indians) from antiquity to the present. An interdisciplinary approach to examining pre- and post settler-colonial American Indian societies and cultures. Studying the effects of invasion and colonization with an emphasis on self-preservation and maintaining tribal sovereignty. This course analyzes the racialization of American Indians, Eurocentrism, relationship to place, forced assimilation, intergenerational trauma, Indigenous cosmology and ceremony, social justice, and self-determination. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
            Course Details:
            1. Advisory: ENGL C1000
              1. CSU Transfer

                ASAMER 15
                Introduction to Asian American Studies

                3 units
                Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                Historical and cultural background of major Asian groups that have immigrated into the United States; including Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, South Asians, and Southeast Asians. Examines immigration patterns, cultural identity, family influences, community formation, interracial relationships, civic participation, and experiences with discrimination. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                Course Details:
                1. Advisory: ENGL C1000
                  1. CSU Transfer

                    CLS 11
                    Introduction to Chicano-Latino Studies

                    3 units
                    Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                    The introductory course explores the Chicano/a/x and Mexican American community, culture(s) and heritage(s) in American society from an interdisciplinary approach. Focus on sociocultural challenges, struggles, and social justice movements that define the Chicano/a/x experience. Examination of the ancestral roots, dynamic migration/immigration trends, conflict, racialization processes, liberation struggles, socialization process, and sociopolitical patterns from ancient Indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica to the present. Overview of trends and patterns in Latino/a/x populations at-large will also be explored. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                    Course Details:
                    1. Advisory: ENGL C1000
                      1. CSU Transfer

                        WSTS 47
                        Introduction to LGBTQ+ Studies

                        3 units
                        Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                        The interdisciplinary field of LGBTQ+ Studies through the disciplines of history, literature, law, science, political science, media, psychology, and education. Issues to be covered will include but not be limited to identity development and coming out, cultural ideology, sub-cultures, activism, marriage, parenting, and community. Theoretical perspectives concerning the historical development of sexual identity and the marginalization of sexual minority communities within social institutions in contemporary U.S. society and around the world will be explored. The intersectionality of class, race, and gender is an integral component of the course. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                        Course Details:
                            1. CSU Transfer

                              List B: Select One Course

                              3 units

                              AFRAM 34
                              History of the American Civil Rights Movement

                              3 units
                              Effective Term: 2026 Spring Semester
                              This course explores the history of the struggle for civil and human rights in the United States. We will study the historical forms of racism and white supremacy -- the many forms of discrimination, segregation and oppression -- and the variety of ways people resisted. We will focus on the modern African American civil rights movement from the end of World War II through the 1960s, but we will also dig into the historical roots of that struggle and the many other parallel movements. Finally, we will also trace the changes since the 1960s and discuss the legacy of the movement for us today. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                              Course Details:
                              1. Advisory: ENGL C1000

                                    ETHNST 11
                                    Law and Democracy

                                    3 units
                                    Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                                    Evaluation, debate, and critical analysis of law and legal issues that affect individuals, their families, and communities. Practical and historical aspects of civil, criminal, constitutional, immigration, and consumer law in a diverse society, with an orientation toward civic involvement in the local community. Includes an interdisciplinary exploration of themes such as equality, citizenship, access, and social justice. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                                    Course Details:
                                    1. Prerequisite: ENGL C1000
                                      1. CSU Transfer

                                        COMM 25
                                        Argumentation

                                        3 units
                                        Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                                        This course covers the analysis, reasoning, advocacy, and criticism of ideas. It emphasizes derived conclusions based on valid evidence and sound inferences without using fallacies of thought and language. Students demonstrate basic principles through a variety of oral presentations and written assignments, and students are required to write a minimum of 5000 words during the semester. (A, CSU, UC)
                                        Course Details:
                                        1. Prerequisite: ENGL C1000
                                          1. CSU Transfer

                                            List C: Select One Course

                                            3 units

                                            CLS 13
                                            Politics and the Chicano-Latino Community

                                            3 units
                                            Effective Term: 2023 Spring Semester
                                            An examination of Chicano-Latino political issues, interaction with governmental and political structures, legislation, political parties, pressure groups, political socialization, and political change. In-depth discussion of the Chicano Movement and Chicano-Latino political organizations. (A, CSU, UC)
                                            Course Details:
                                                1. CSU Transfer

                                                  CLS 33
                                                  Community Involvement: Service Learning

                                                  3 units
                                                  Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                                                  Service learning in community, civic, or legal setting from a Chicano/a/x Studies and community-based perspective and approach. Develop a working understanding of issues impacting the political, economic, and social fabric of the Chicano/a/x community. An introduction to Participatory Action Research and grassroots organizing. A working understanding of issues impacting the political, economic, and social fabric of the Latino community. Civic engagement related to coursework utilizing practical applications of course concepts. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                                                  Course Details:
                                                      1. CSU Transfer

                                                        COMM 25
                                                        Argumentation

                                                        3 units
                                                        Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                                                        This course covers the analysis, reasoning, advocacy, and criticism of ideas. It emphasizes derived conclusions based on valid evidence and sound inferences without using fallacies of thought and language. Students demonstrate basic principles through a variety of oral presentations and written assignments, and students are required to write a minimum of 5000 words during the semester. (A, CSU, UC)
                                                        Course Details:
                                                        1. Prerequisite: ENGL C1000
                                                          1. CSU Transfer

                                                            ETHNST 10
                                                            Introduction to Ethnic Studies

                                                            3 units
                                                            Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                                                            Interdisciplinary examination of race, ethnicity, racism, and racial and ethnic identity in U.S. society with focus on African American, Asian American, Native American, and Latina and Latino American communities. Emphasis on comparative and relational analysis and exploration of the intertwined histories of racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., institutional racism, resistance against racism, solidarity across racial and ethnic lines, and social and racial justice movements. Introduction to the history of Ethnic Studies as a discipline and key concepts in the field, such as the intersection of race and racism as they relate to class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, immigration status, ability, tribal citizenship, sovereignty, language, and/or age in African American, Asian American, Native American, and Latina and Latino American communities. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                                                            Course Details:
                                                                1. CSU Transfer

                                                                  PHIL 2
                                                                  Critical Reasoning and Analytic Writing

                                                                  3 units
                                                                  Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                                                                  This course examines the principles and methods of good reasoning and analytic writing, emphasizing deductive logic (including formal techniques of sentential logic), thesis-driven argumentation, and research strategies. Student will learn how to identify arguments, develop and assess basic deductive and inductive written arguments, common fallacies, and apply each element to various areas of study and real-world situations. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                                                                  Course Details:
                                                                  1. Prerequisite: ENGL C1000
                                                                    1. CSU Transfer

                                                                      WSTS 10
                                                                      Changing Roles of Women

                                                                      3 units
                                                                      Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                                                                      The traditional and changing roles of women in Western society, including the effects of these roles on women as individuals, in their personal relationships, and their status in society. The contributions and contrasting perspectives of minority/ethnic women are an integral part of the course content. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                                                                      Course Details:
                                                                          1. CSU Transfer

                                                                            List D: Select One Course

                                                                            3 units

                                                                            AFRAM 2
                                                                            African American Cultural Adaptation

                                                                            3 units
                                                                            Effective Term: 2023 Spring Semester
                                                                            This course provides a chronological in-depth examination of how the systems and social institutions of the United States of America have influenced and impacted the lives of African Americans and their communities from the Colonial Era through the first decade of the 21st Century. This course will examine and analyze cultural norms and value systems retained from traditional African societies that were adapted for survival in the United States; evaluate and analyze the impact of the Great Migration from 1865 through 1975, compare and contrast the social political and economic bases of the Reform Movement, Civil Rights Movement, and Pan African Liberation Movement, and evaluate and interpret how the underlying economic, political, and ethnocentric issues of racism in the United States have impacted African American communities and social institutions from Reconstruction to the election of President Barack Obama. (A, CSU, UC)
                                                                            Course Details:
                                                                                1. CSU Transfer

                                                                                  ASAMER 25
                                                                                  Asian American Social Issues

                                                                                  3 units
                                                                                  Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                                                                                  Issues of contemporary relevance related to Asian Americans, including: stereotypes, anti-Asian violence, educational inequities, workplace discrimination, media representations, race relations, community leadership, law and public policy, and civic and political engagement. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                                                                                  Course Details:
                                                                                  1. Advisory: ENGL C1000
                                                                                    1. CSU Transfer

                                                                                      CLS 13
                                                                                      Politics and the Chicano-Latino Community

                                                                                      3 units
                                                                                      Effective Term: 2023 Spring Semester
                                                                                      An examination of Chicano-Latino political issues, interaction with governmental and political structures, legislation, political parties, pressure groups, political socialization, and political change. In-depth discussion of the Chicano Movement and Chicano-Latino political organizations. (A, CSU, UC)
                                                                                      Course Details:
                                                                                          1. CSU Transfer

                                                                                            CLS 14
                                                                                            Sociology of the Mexican American Community

                                                                                            3 units
                                                                                            Effective Term: 2023 Spring Semester
                                                                                            A sociological examination of the Chicano and Latino in American society: this course examines family, religion, education, race and racialization, social class, gender, and political and social institutions. An emphasis is placed on social problems, social issues, and social change relevant to the Chicano-Latino community. (A, CSU, UC)
                                                                                            Course Details:
                                                                                                1. CSU Transfer

                                                                                                  CLS 24
                                                                                                  La Chicana and Latina

                                                                                                  3 units
                                                                                                  Effective Term: 2025 Fall Semester
                                                                                                  This course offers an interdisciplinary analysis of Chicana and Mexican American women in contemporary society. Special emphasis is placed on the role and impact of family, church, education, economics, and politics. An exploration of gender, sexuality, racialization, and intersectionality will occur, as well as a critical review of how struggle, resistance, racial and social justice, solidarity, and liberation emerge in Chicana experiences. (A, CSU, UC, Cal-GETC)
                                                                                                  Course Details:
                                                                                                      1. CSU Transfer
                                                                                                        Total: 16-29 units