Certificates allow you to complete a specific group of university courses (for credit) as either part of your degree studies or separately. Additional details on certificates. 

Transform research into action. 

The Certificate in Advocacy & Public Engagement offers students the opportunity to explore how anthropological knowledge can be used to address pressing public issues and support social change. Rooted in public and engaged anthropology, the certificate program affirms the role of students and scholars as active participants in civic life—researchers, collaborators and advocates working across communities, institutions and movements. 

Through a critical, cross-cultural lens, students gain the analytical tools and practical skills needed to engage with public debates and build meaningful partnerships beyond the university. 

The certificate (30 credits) provides focused, hands-on training in: 

• The ethics and politics of advocacy and community-based research 
• Formulating socially relevant, action-oriented research questions 
• Ethnographic and qualitative methods for investigating complex social issues 
• Public engagement strategies—oral, written, digital and visual—for communicating research persuasively and effecting change 

Students in this certificate learn to think critically, work collaboratively and engage the world around them with care and creativity—whether pursuing careers in law, policy, media, education, health, social justice or community work. This certificate is ideal for students in Anthropology, Disaster & Emergency Management, Political Science, International Development Studies, Social Work, Human Rights & Equity and Communications, as well as for those pursuing careers in advocacy, policy, law, journalism, education, community organizing, or the non-profit sector. 

This certificate program in Advocacy and Public Engagement requires 30 credits of which 24 credits are required courses. There is one required course at each year level (2 through 4) plus an additional work placement capstone experience with community and/or industry partners. 

The certificate can be completed on its own (after graduation) or concurrently with an undergraduate degree.