THEC: The Human Experience Humanities Certificate

The Human Experience Certificate program seeks to integrate an intentional and connective humanities experience into students’ existing degree plans and career pathways.  Drawing primarily on core curriculum courses, THE Certificate program provides students with clearer criteria for selecting their courses. THE Certificate program is based on two major elements: Transformative Texts and Transformative Projects. Transformative Texts refers to a list of core texts, broadly defined. Some examples of the categories that “texts” include are: books, films, artworks, music, and documents. The source of theses texts range from the traditional canon to diverse, pluralistic, and critical sources that reflect marginalized voices. These diverse sources emerge from many regions, cultures, ethnicities, ideologies, religions, and genders--around the world and through time--that reflect core ideals, ethics, and moralities of the human experience. Transformative Projects refers to the major projects used to assess THE Certificate program and course outcomes. These elements connect the various courses that make up THE Certificate. They provide the starting point for the humanities-based inquiries and explorations of the human experience, and they are the starting point for engaging students to make connections between their course investigations and their personal goals and pathways. Throughout THE Certificate program coursework, students use Transformative Texts and Transformative Projects to build the skills of humanities and interdisciplinary inquiry and to hone their ability to transfer those skills to their majors/disciplines. Students will learn to read, analyze, and develop an understanding of texts and their connections to students' own lived experience, goals, and beliefs; conduct research; and communicate their ideas.

Students can select courses from across the core curriculum that are designated as THE Certificate courses (THEC). To become THE Certificate-designated courses, faculty must apply to the Certificate program committee and must include in their course a commitment to using Transformative Texts and a Transformative Project.

To fulfill the requirements and earn the Certificate, students will complete and submit to the Certificate committee an Adobe Portfolio that presents their CV, reflects on the skills they have acquired through their Certificate courses, and includes the Transformative Projects completed for their Certificate courses.  Students will begin to build their portfolios in the foundational course and continue to develop them through their Certificate coursework.

The Certificate program will be administered through the College of Innovation and Design. It will be supervised by a Certificate committee, who will make determinations about courses to be included as THE Certificate-approved courses and assess program outcomes.  All faculty approved to teach core courses in the Certificate program will be trained in using the Adobe Creative Campus suite of programs.

Required Courses (12 Semester Hours)
CID 2301The Human Experience3
Two Additional Advisor Approved Core Curriculum Courses6
One Advisor Approved Upper-Level Humanities Course3
Total Hours12

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