Civic Engagement, Minor
Are you concerned about the many severe problems that are piling up at the outside of the 21st century? Are you distressed by a lack of leadership that creatively and effectively responds to these challenges? Are you interested in learning how to become a leader who can foster changes that contribute substantially to building a better world?
Students in the Civic Engagement Minor will learn the theory and practice of leadership and grassroots democracy that enables them to become powerful agents of creative change who are able to inspire and effectively work with others to address the key challenges of the 21st century - including climate change, inequality, deteriorating education, health care, intolerance, immigration, indigenous rights, sustainable food systems, appropriate technologies, and more. Through experiential collaboration with community partners in all sectors across our region, students will learn how to work with diverse constituencies to foster solutions that enhance the public good. Civic Engagement minors will learn to bring the arts of democratic leadership and effective citizenship to bear on whatever career they choose and will thereby become empowered to create a better future.
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University Requirements
University Requirements
A minor is earned in conjunction with a bachelor's degree.
To receive a minor (18 to 24 units) at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject matter areas with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0. At least 12 units of the minor must be unique to that minor and not applied to any other minor.
Overview Accordion Closed
Overview
In addition to University Requirements:
- Complete individual plan requirements.
Please note that you may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.
No more than 50% of the units used to satisfy minor requirements may be used to satisfy major requirements.
| Minimum Units for Completion | 18 |
| Major GPA | C |
| Fieldwork Experience/Internship | Required |
| Research | Required |
Purpose Statement
Students will acquire a broad education in democracy, power, and the skills that bring about change to enhance the commonwealth from the local level, to national and transnational scales through a series of intentional and sequenced learning experiences. Experiential and leadership training will provide students with a deep and broad understanding of a career as a vocation, in which personal flourishing and broad public purposes are intertwined. This will enhance students’ employability, vocational connections, and relationships, as well as their capacities to work in diverse, complex, and dynamic situations. The minor enables students to participate in a transformative initiative in which the NAU community participates in numerous partnerships with surrounding communities in order to become better stewards and citizens. Students who complete this degree will acquire a broad education and real world experience in democratic action, empowerment, and build skills that bring about change on local, national, global levels.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Civic Engagement Minor, students will be able to:
- Mentor peers and engage in collaborative leadership practices;
- Implement strategies of community-based organizing, political action, social innovation, and/or advocacy;
- Analyze and engage with structures of power and privilege that shape our world;
- Understand and apply different theories of social change toward the collective creation and visioning of democratic, equitable, and resilient communities;
- Think critically, as demonstrated by problem-based research, analysis, and communication of real-world issues;
- Engage in diverse perspectives and traditions, attentive listening, and thoughtful communication.
Details Accordion Closed
Details
Minor Requirements
Take the following 18 units with a Grade of "C" or better:
- SUS 230, SUS 320, SUS 330, SUS 450 (12 units)
- SUS 208 - one unit each taken concurrently with SUS 230, SUS 320, SUS 330 (3 units)
Select one course from (3 units):
- ANT 230, ANT 306, ANT 480
- COM 402
- (ENV 101, ENV 101L), ENV 181
- ES 100, ES 150, ES 160, ES 391, ES 420
- FYS 111, FYS 121, (FYS 131, or FYS 141)
- HUM 195
- SOC 333
- SUS 101, SUS 220
- VC 380
In addition, at least 12 of the 18 units required for this minor must be from courses offered by Northern Arizona University.
Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also take. For prerequisite information click on the course or see your advisor.