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OSUN Certificate in Civic Engagement

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The Certificate in Civic Engagement provides a structured path for students to merge curricular and co-curricular civic pursuits and interests and to deepen their knowledge and understanding of civic engagement.
What is the Certificate?

What is the Certificate?

Certificate Courses focus on a theme related to civic engagement and/or the practice of it. Students will learn about theories of citizenship, democratic participation, civil society, and social action; familiarize themselves with their local community, and develop an understanding of ways in which the local, the national, and the global are linked.

Students are also required to develop firsthand experience with civic engagement through co-curricular activities outside of the classroom setting and to use their experiences to inform their academic work. The certificate is acknowledged on each student’s transcript.

Certificate Requirements

  • Course Requirements
    To complete the certificate, students need to take four courses (4 US / 8 ECTS credits each) that focus on a theory or practice of civic engagement. At least one course needs to be an OSUN network or OSUN course. Courses for the certificate must include:
    1. The OSUN / Network / summer course on Civic Engagement
    2. Two courses that connect classroom learning/theory with practice, such as the network course on Social Entrepreneurship or the OSUN summer course on Women and the Pandemic: Activism, Leadership, and Civic Engagement. BCB options may include IS331 Berlin Internship Seminar: Working Cultures, Urban Cultures (with suitable internship).
    3. One course that studies the theories of civic engagement, democracy, and social action, such as the OSUN network course on Global Citizenship or Human Rights Advocacy.

    For a list of current eligible Certificate courses, please refer to the course list.
  • Co-Curricular Activities
    Students participate in at least 100 hours of co-curricular civic engagement activities during the course of their study. The civic engagement activity can be developed through:
    - Student project coordination (i.e. through Civic Engagement Fellowship)
    - Participation in student projects at BCB
    - Participation in BCB-organized volunteer programming in Pankow and Berlin
    - Independent community engagement activity or volunteer work
    - On-campus programming with Civic Engagement office
    - Co-curricular workshops on leadership and project management
    - Engagement for social change through other activism: organization/participation in events or conferences (example REAL TALK), writing, publishing, producing for and about topics of social change
    - Training done through Civic Engagement Fellowship / Global Fellowship programs
    - Suitable internship through BCB (if not previously applied to fulfill coursework requirements)
    - Summer volunteer programs or an OSUN Community Action Award
  • Culminating Project
    Every student enrolled in the certificate program will complete a culminating writing activity or an engagement analysis. In their junior or senior year, students will prepare a 10-page analytic essay or other form of work (SWOT analysis, film accompanied by a short essay) linked to their engagement activities. They will be required to make a public presentation of this culminating activity.

    There are a number of OSUN funding opportunities available to support civic engagement activities or summer internships (for example BCB Civic Engagement Fellowships or OSUN Community Action Awards), students are encouraged to use this support.

How to Apply 

The application is open to first year, second year, and third year undergraduate students. At the time of applying, students should already have completed or be in the process of completing one of the course requirements and 20 hours of co-curricular activities. Therefore, first-year students are advised to apply during the second semester of their first year. To ensure curricular coherence, each student will be required to obtain approval from their academic adviser and the BCB Civic Engagement Office.

Certificate in Civic Engagement Application

The deadline for applications in fall is September 30, 2022. Students will have the opportunity to apply again in spring 2023. Students will be notified of acceptance into the program within 30 days of the application deadline.

Visit the OSUN Certificate in Civic Engagement webpage or contact Faiza zu Lynar at [email protected].

 

More Information

  • OSUN Civic Engagement Certificate
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Bard College Berlin, A Liberal Arts University gGmbH

Mailing address: Platanenstrasse 24, 13156 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 30 43733 0
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Bard College Berlin is institutionally accredited at the national level in Germany by the Wissenschaftsrat.

In the United States, Bard College Berlin is accredited through
Bard College by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Qualifying students receive both a German BA and an American BA. 
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