Multicultural Education

The Graduate Certificate in Multicultural Education (GCME) is housed in the Department of Teaching and Learning and coordinated through the Cultural Studies, International Education, and Multicultural Education (CSIEME) program. The certificate targets full- or part-time graduate students who seek academic preparation in multicultural education in order to build/improve their capacity for working well/effectively with diverse populations. Further, the GCME targets full- or part-time graduate students who have completed an undergraduate teacher education licensure program, and/or an alternative route to licensure program, in which multicultural education coursework (or related content (e.g., cultural diversity, cultural competency, etc.) was not a significant part of the program to build/improve their capacity for working well/effectively with diverse PK-12 student populations and their families.

The GCME curricula is aligned with the six points of consensus regarding multicultural education established by the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME). The certificate curricula is also aligned with the state-level educator endorsement in "cultural competency" that was established by the state legislature/Nevada Department of Education through passage of Regulation 160-18/NAC 391.229. Students who are pursuing or already hold a Nevada educator license can--in completing the 12-credit certificate--concomitantly fulfill requirements for the "initial" level cultural competency endorsement. Once completed, these credits can be transferred into a Masters or Doctoral degree program, notably the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction/Multicultural Education and the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction/Cultural Studies, International Education, and Multicultural Education (CSIEME).

Master's and doctoral students enrolled in various disciplines, as well as current administrative professionals who already possess an undergraduate degree and have 1-2 years' full-time work experience, will particularly benefit from this certificate.

Though the GCME targets full- or part-time graduate students who have completed an undergraduate teacher education licensure program, and/or an alternative route to licensure program, students need not be licensed to take the certificate, but should be aware that the GCME is not a licensure program.

While it is generally best for students to apply to and enter a certificate program first, and then apply to and enter the degree program that houses that certificate, it is also allowable for students to do the opposite. Accordingly, students who may already be in a CSIEME degree program who now want to complete this certificate program can do so, however, they can only "share" credits between this certificate and the CSIEME degree program, if they complete both together, or complete this certificate first and then the degree. Students may not return after earning a graduate degree and use their degree courses/credits toward earning a graduate certificate.

Certificates will be awarded upon the student's successful completion of the certificate requirements.

Qualified students must apply for admission to the Graduate College via the online application. All minimum Graduate College requirements MUST be met. Additionally, ME certificate applicants must also complete and submit a résumé/vita and a 250-750-word personal statement detailing their interest in the ME certificate.

Applications for admission into the graduate certificate in ME may be submitted at any time during an academic term and are accepted three times a year as follows: for a Fall admission by June 1, for a Spring admission by November 1, and for a Summer admission by March 15. Applicants, domestic and international, apply for admission through UNLV's Graduate College Admissions "Gateway." To gain login access to the Gateway, applicants must create an account.

Additional information about what you will be required to submit through the Gateway system is available on the UNLV Graduate College Admissions page and the UNLV Graduate College page.

(12 credit hours) - See also, Graduate Catalogue. Enrollment may be limited based on class size. Students must earn a B or better in all courses.

Required Courses: 12 Credits

• CME 750: Critical Multicultural Education* (3 credits, aligned with "initial" level cultural competency endorsement requirement #1)
• CME 755 Teaching about Latina/Latino Experiences in Education (3 credits, aligned with "initial" level cultural competency endorsement requirement #2 and #3)
• CME 705: Multicultural Education*
  OR
  CIG 773: Critical Literacies/Critical Pedagogies
  (3 credits, aligned with "initial" level cultural competency endorsement requirement #4)
• CME 765 Analysis of the School-to-Prison Pipeline
  OR
  CME 770 Critical Inquiry and Praxis
  (3 credits, aligned with "initial" level cultural competency endorsement requirement #5)
  
  *Note: CME 750 and CME 705 have been approved by the Nevada Department of Education as meeting Regulation 130-18/NRS 391.0347

Additionally, through passage of Regulation 130-18/NRS 391.0347, all state licensed teachers are required to take 6 additional credits after 5 years of teaching to qualify for licensure recertification/renewal. Of these 6 credits, 3 must be in multicultural education. As noted above and below, CME 750, CME 705, and CME 735 have been approved by the Nevada Department of Education as meeting 130-18/NRS 391.0347. GCME students seeking to concomitantly meet the requirements for Regulation 130-18/NRS 391.0347 should complete one of these courses in consultation with the Nevada Department of Education based on when they need to renew their license.

Once students complete the GCME, secure the initial level endorsement in cultural competency, and have at least three (3) years of Nevada Department of Education-verified employment experience in a “high-needs school” in Nevada in a position that requires licensure (in accordance with NRS 391), they can complete any three (3) of the following Nevada Department of Education Regulation 160-18/NAC 391.229 approved courses to secure the "specialist" level endorsement:

• CME 735 Multicultural Curriculum Transformation
  [this course has also been approved by the Nevada Department of Education as meeting Regulation 130-18/NRS 391.0347]
• CME 775 Multicultural Organizational Development
• CME 740 Intergroup Dialogue Facilitation
• CME 700 Social Justice Education
• CME 785 Restorative Justice Practices in Schools and Communities

Students can complete these courses as non-degree graduate students or, as noted above, as a part of a Masters or Doctoral degree program.