Ethnic & Gender Studies in the Workplace Certificate

The certificate program in Ethnic and Gender Studies in the Workplace at SDSU is an interdisciplinary program integrating coursework from multiple CAL departments to prepare pre-professional students as leaders in issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and oppression/discrimination—topics of pressing and urgent interest across professional fields. The mission of the program is to ensure that as our society continues to diversify, individuals entering a variety of professional fields are well prepared, and well poised, to disrupt the way systems and structures perpetuate institutional and interpersonal bias, and hinder the struggle to achieve racial/ethnic and gender equity in the workplace.

Through coursework that attends to (a) the unique perspectives on history, institutions, culture, and sociopolitical realities offered by Ethnic and Women’s studies, (b) knowledge of how systemic and institutional oppression operate in professional fields, and (c) toolkits and strategies for advocacy and allyship in the workplace, students completing the certificate can expect to be well prepared to speak confidently about issues of diversity, inclusion, and marginalization in the workplace, and equipped with a unique skillset that will make them professionally competitive in their fields.

The program requires 12 units of study. Students must apply for admission to the program before completing nine certificate units, and should consult with an advisor.

This certificate complements existing departments, degree programs, programs, and initiatives by preparing students to be adept, articulate, and innovative leaders in fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

  1. Define historical marginalization in the U.S. and global contexts, with respect to histories of oppression of Ethnic and Racial minority groups, Women, and LGBTQIA+ communities.

  2. Distinguish between interpersonal and institutionalized manifestations of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexuality, and other marginalized identities.

  3. Identify how the mechanics of institutionalized and systemic oppression operate in the legal system, educational system, public policy, media narratives, and cultural life.

  4. Describe how systemic/institutionalized oppression hinders the inclusion of Women and Racial/Ethnic minorities in the workplace, despite efforts to promote diversity.

  5. Demonstrate tools for promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, including tools to mediate identity-based conflict, facilitate intercultural dialogue, challenge implicit bias, and raise structural concerns with employers.

  6. Craft strategies for advocacy/allyship that respond actively to the needs of marginalized communities in the workplace, both on interpersonal and institutional levels

Students wishing to attain the certificate should pursue the following course of study:

One Women’s Studies Course selected from:

  • WMNST 310 Global Cultures and Women's Lives
  • WMNST 320 Socialization of Women
  • WMNST 325 Psychology of Women
  • WMNST 336 Women of Color in the United States
  • WMNST 355 Feminist approaches to Popular Culture
  • WMNST 360 Women's Sexuality and the Body
  • WMNST 370 Women, Law, and Policy
  • WMNST 375 Sex, Power, and Politics
  • WMNST 385 Women's Work: Invisibility and Empowerment
  • WMSNT 382 Gender, Science and Technology

One Ethnic Studies Course selected from:

  • AFRAS 320 Political Economy of Arican Diaspora
  • AFRAS 321 Black Political Participation in America
  • ARFAS 322 African American Political Thought
  • AFRAS 327 Critical Theories in Africana Studies
  • AFRAS 332 Black Women: Myth & Reality
  • AFRAS 341 Cultural Patterns and African American Identity
  • AFRAS 363 Socicultural Analysis of Black Languages
  • AFRAS 380 Blacks in the American Justice System
  • AFRAS 421 Black Urban Experience
  • AFRAS 422 Modern Civil Rights Movement
  • AFRAS 455 Africana Class, Gender, and Sexualities
  • AFRAS 476 History and Culture of Hip Hop


  • AMIND 320 American Indians in Contemporary Society
  • AMIND 331 American Indian Political Experience
  • AMIND 370 Tribal Gaming: Cultural and Political Context
  • AMIND 420 Indian Peoples of California
  • AMIND 451 American Indian Identity
  • AMIND 460 American Indian Languages
  • AMIND 480 Issues in American Indian Education
  • AMIND 485 Federal Indian Law


  • CCS 301 Political Economy of the Chicana/o People
  • CCS 303 Chicana/o Community Studies
  • CCS 306 Mexican Immigration
  • CCS 320 Chicana/o Lifestyles
  • CCS 355 The United States International Border
  • CCS 376 Chicana/o Culture and Thought
  • CCS 405 Performing Transnational Citizenship
  • CCS 580 Chicana/os and the Schools
  • CCS 548 Race and Ethnicity in United States History

One intersectional elective course, selected from:

  • WMNST 336 Women of Color in the United States
  • WMNST 536 Gender, Race, and Class
  • AFRAS 332 Black Women: Myth & Reality
  • AFRAS 455 Africana Class, Gender, and Sexualities
  • AMIND 370 Tribal Gaming: Cultural and Political Context
  • CCS 340B Chicana Women’s History: 1848-Present

Required course (may be taken at any point in the program of study):

  • AMIND/WMNST/CCS/AFRAS 456 – Ethnic & Gender Studies in the Workplace


Download this road map

Advising

Department of American Indian Studies
Email: [email protected]