Citizen Engagement, Graduate Certificate

Minimum Totals for Graduation: 18 hours

The 18 credit-hour graduate certificate in Citizen Engagement is designed to provide awareness of trends in engagement in public life, as well as training in how to enhance citizens' participation in democratic processes, civil society and political institutions. The program includes two required courses in addition to a required applied practicum in citizen engagement. The remaining credits are elected from three groupings of courses: Public Opinion Polling, Elected Institutions and Processes, or Appointed Institutions and Processes. Requiring both electives to be taken from the same category is intended to help students develop citizen engagement skills tailored to their specific political interests and to a traditional point of access in American government.

The certificate addresses a democratic society's need for elected officials, public servants, and civil society leaders who not only value authentic citizen engagement in public life, but are trained in various techniques for promoting their participation.

Students seeking the certificate must hold a competed baccalaureate degree or have acceptance into a graduate degree program at CMU.

Upon completion of the certificate program, students will be able to:

Assess the current state of citizen participation in public life.
Evaluate factors that affect citizens' willingness and ability to participate in public life.
Identify citizen engagement techniques used by government to enhance authentic participation in democratic processes, civil society and political institutions.
Identify the techniques used by citizens and advocacy groups to engage their community, political groups, and governmental institutions.
Demonstrate the ability to effectively use techniques that promote deliberation and democratic decision-making.
Use social science research methods to assess the effectiveness of various citizen engagement techniques.

Program Requirements

Required Courses (12 hours)

PAD 795	Internship in Public Administration	1-6(Spec)
PSC 513	Citizen Engagement in Public Life	3(3-0)
PSC 681	Qualitative Research in Political Science and Public Administration	3(3-0)

Note: Six (6) hours are required for PAD 795.

Electives (6 hours)

Select two courses from one of the following categories:

Electives I - Public Opinion Polling (0-6 hours)

Select PSC 794 for three (3) hours and one other course:

PSC 583	Survey Research	3(3-0)
PSC 680	Methodology of Political Research	3(3-0)
PSC 682	Techniques of Political Research	3(3-0)
PSC 794	Practicum in Public Polling	1-12(Spec)

Electives II - Elected Institutions and Processes (0-6 hours)

Select two courses:

PAD 661	Administration and Policy in American State Government	3(3-0)
PSC 514	American Public Policy Making	3(3-0)
PSC 520	American National Government and Politics	3(3-0)
PSC 761	Seminar in American State Government	3(3-0)

Note: Select 3 credits of PAD 661 OR PSC 761, not both.

Electives III - Appointed Institutions and Processes (0-6 hours)