Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2017 SGPP Catalog and Handbook 
    
2016-2017 SGPP Catalog and Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Culturally Responsive Teaching Certificate


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The Graduate Certificate in Culturally Responsive Teaching at Saint Mary’s University offers educators in all school settings the opportunity to work collaboratively with their colleagues to explore and integrate their students’ cultures and prior experiences into instructional design. The 15-credit program provides educators the foundational theory and research as well as proven, practical strategies to enhance instruction for all learners. Intentional work on awareness, sensitivity, and professional disposition are embedded throughout the program. 

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the Graduate Certificate in Culturally Responsive Teaching program, graduates are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Evaluate beliefs that shape, inform, and guide their perspectives and practices.
  2. Understand and value students’ cultural and educational experiences to inform teaching and learning.
  3. Integrate the principles of culturally responsive teaching to create an inclusive, safe learning environment.
  4. Embed the principles of culturally responsive teaching into instructional and assessment plans.
  5. Identify and evaluate rich, relevant resources to support student learning.

Program Structure and Delivery

Courses in the program are delivered in a blended format, integrating face-to-face classroom meetings and online activities or interactions in a planned, instructionally valuable manner.

Degree Requirements


The certificate is 15 credits; all courses are required. The courses are designed to build upon one another and are taken in numerical sequence.

Admission Requirements


  1. Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution and must have maintained an overall GPA of 2.75 on a 4.00 scale. If GPA is below 2.75 or GPA is not available, provisional status may be granted.
  2. A valid teaching license and one full year teaching experience are required.

Admission Process


Applicants must submit:

  1. Completed application form.
  2. An official transcript issued to Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota from the institution posting the applicant’s completed bachelor’s degree.
  3. A one/two page reflective essay which includes the following:
    1. Brief description of the applicant’s background, training, and experience
    2. The career/teaching goals of the applicant and reasons for seeking admission to the program.
    3. Description of the areas the applicant considers to be his or her strengths and areas in which the applicant wishes to develop greater strengths and abilities.
  4.  A resume listing educational background and teaching experience.

Submit application materials to:

Twin Cities Campus
2500 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404-4403
(612) 728-5100
Toll-free: (866) 437-2788
Fax: (612) 728-5121
Email: tc-admission@smumn.edu

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