Certificate & Courses

This course is part of the Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL)’s course series, which equips students with the skills, knowledge, and commitments necessary to collaborate with communities for the public good.

As members of the Denver community, we have the responsibility and right to investigate important issues and co-create solutions that center equity and inclusion. There is a wide array of actions that can be taken to create social change, depending on what the issue demands and the strengths, skills, and talents of those working for change. The aim of this course is three-fold. First, you will learn how the history of Denver, including how legacies of violence, displacement, forced migration, and resettlement of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities, have shaped the issues we see today. Second, the course will introduce you to some of the most critical issues facing Denver and local efforts to address those issues. Lastly, the course will provide the space for you to explore the variety of social change actions that can be taken, weighing the pros and cons of each and considering how to assess fit for the issue(s) you care about and your own strengths.

This course is part of the Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL)’s course series, which equips students with the skills, knowledge, and commitments necessary to collaborate with communities for the public good.

In this course, you will learn about the history of community organizing in the United States, the role of community organizing in contemporary social movements, and the components of the community organizing process. Students will first learn how to critically examine power, privilege, oppression, and white supremacy in the context of working for social change. Then, you will explore various community organizing practices including identifying self-interests; building relationships; defining issues using an anti-oppression analysis; understanding root causes; centering the experience of the communities most impacted by injustice and systemic oppression; and creating a vision, strategies, tactics to support campaigns for social justice.

This course is part of the Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL)’s course series, which equips students with the skills, knowledge, and commitments necessary to collaborate with communities for the public good.

Through this course, you will integrate your personal, professional, and academic goals with a focus on social change. In doing so, you will gain a clear sense of your identity as a public good scholar as well as a personal action plan that you can implement to address a social justice issue of your choosing. You will apply an anti-oppression analysis to your plan including how the I’s of Oppression manifest in your selected topic, ways you center the knowledge/voices of the communities most impacted by the injustice/systemic oppression, and how white supremacy shows up in your issue and how to actively work to address racist and oppressive practices.

The Public Good Pathways Independent Study provides academic credit for reflection, integration, and synthesis of a student’s current and previous work that contributes to the University of Denver’s public good vision. This work is overseen by the Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL) and may be completed in collaboration with one or more community partner(s). Public Good Pathways Independent Study opportunities are individually designed as experiences for students who have completed at least one community-engaged class, and they require approval from the Executive Director of CCESL.

Students who complete a special project as part of an internship with a community organization can register for 1-8 Community Engagement Internship credits. 

In the 2024-2025 academic year, there will be two special internship opportunities offered by the office for Public Good Strategy & Research: 

- What Are the Costs of Campus Sexual Assault? | Students will collaborate with faculty and community partners to address the economic cost of campus sexual assault.

- Food Justice Collaborative | Students will collaborate with other students, faculty, and community partners to advance food justice.

To learn more about these internships or receive registration approval, reach out to Dr. Anne DePrince below.

During some quarters, special topics in community engagement are offered. Check back at the beginning of each quarter to see upcoming courses.

For Winter 2024, the course below will be offered by the Center for Sustainability. To learn more, check out the course catalog on MyDU. 

Leveraging Eco-Distress to Create a Regenerative Future |CENG 1700/2700

This special topics course explores the imperative of addressing global environmental change through co-creating a future that is equitable, just, joyful, and based on mutually beneficial relationships with other humans, all other species, and the natural world. Students will develop knowledge of how global environmental change and the polycrisis impact our thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and will learn skills to support them in their ability to take intentional action in the creation of a regenerative future for all beings and the Earth.