Character and Citizenship Education Graduate Certificate

The three program goals of the Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) graduate certificate program are: (a) the understanding of theory and research in citizenship education as it relates to civic participation, concepts of democracy, the democratic purposes of education, and the development of civic identity and political thinking, attitudes, and engagement as well as the competence to apply this knowledge to analysis and design of practical programs in citizenship education; (b) the understanding of character development and character education in childhood and adolescence, including the empirical and conceptual study of the nature of how moral character develops, as well as how it can be fostered in schools by school reform, curriculum development, professional development, and practical pedagogical methods; and (c) the understanding of the connections between character and citizenship development and education.

The Sanford N. McDonnell Professor of Character Education and the Teresa M. Fischer Professor of Citizenship Education serve as program directors.

Admission Requirements

Requirements for admission to the CCE certificate program are current good standing in an UMSL graduate program or all three of the following:

  1. Undergraduate degree with a GPA of 3.0 or better
  2. Two letters of recommendation with at least one from a current or former college-level instructor
  3. Two-page personal statement explaining the applicant's personal and professional goal

The CCE certificate may be pursued as a stand-alone credential or in conjunction with the Master’s Degree in Education and/or the Ph.D. in Education. With advance planning, all 18 credit hours from the CCE certificate can be applied to these degrees. Completion of the CCE certificate, however, does not guarantee acceptance into any of those degree programs, which requires a separate application.

Credit Requirements

A minimum of 18 credit hours of graduate course work is required for the graduate certificate. Twelve of these hours must consist of the four core courses in character and citizenship education. A minimum of six additional hours are to be chosen from the list of electives. At least twelve hours must be completed in residence at UMSL.

Core
ED PSY 62173
ED PSY 6417Current Perspectives On Citizenship Education 13
ED PSY 6445Character Education And Development3
ED PSY 6450Advanced Methods in Character Education 13
Electives
Choose 6 hours from the following list of courses offered at the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences (with departmental permission)6
Educational Psychology
Personality And Social Development
Advanced Studies in Child and Adolescent Development
Psychology Of Learning Processes
Educational Program Development and Evaluation
Seminar in City Administration
Seminar in Social and Political Philosophy
Seminar in Ethical Theory
Proseminar in American Politics
POL SCI 6450
Proseminar in Urban Politics
Seminar: Cognitive and Affective Processes 2
Building Character and Competence with Diverse Learners
Total Hours18
1

Course-embedded capstone assessments occur in ED PSY 6417 and ED PSY 6450. 

2

Course instructor approval required.