CARA Certificate Program
While any Oakes student may enroll in our service learning courses (though some are by application only), the courses are geared to support our CARA (Community-Based Action Research and Advocacy) Certificate Program, which encourages ongoing and deepening investment in collaborative community. CARA courses pose rigorous interdisciplinary academic questions about how to expand justice in our time and place. Students use course readings, seminar practice, writing, and field immersion and research with local organizations and community groups to learn a variety of research and communication techniques, and to contribute data and analysis to deepen their own understanding and to contribute to justice initiatives.
The completed certificate describes an articulated thread of four courses, which demonstrates special investment and skill, and as such becomes part of a student’s resume, and documentation of their expertise.
Courses do not need to be taken in this order. However, students must have completed at least four PR-S credits before declaring their intent to complete the CARA certificate.
CARA Certificate Sample Planner
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Requirement
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Courses Satisfying Requirement
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Course Type, Credits
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Foundation Course:
Social Justice & Identity Theory
Writing Workshop
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First-year students: OAKS 1, Communicating Diversity for a Just Society (Core);
or OAKS 80, Communicating Diversity for a Just Society, before Fall 2018.
OR
For Transfer students: CRES 10 or CMMU 10, plus C Requirement.
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5 credits
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Introduction to Community
Engagement for
Social Justice
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4-5 credits of PR courses from approved list (e.g. OAKS 48, Slugs Speak, 2 credits;
OAKS 73B, Mentoring, 2 credits;
OAKS 76, Social Geography and Justice in Santa Cruz, 5 credits;
CLNI 120 and CLTE 120, Practical Activism Conference Planning and Development, 2 credits.
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PR
4-5 credits
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Intermediate Course:
Social Justice Methods/
Field Production
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OAKS 76, Social Geography and Justice in Santa Cruz;
or OAKS 151A and OAKS 151B, Corre la Voz: Community Literacies;
or OAKS 152, Transformative Literacies;
or OAKS 153, Community Mapping.
OR
Other qualifying courses (especially in students’ majors/minors), e.g. ANTH 150, ANTH 151, ANTH 154, CRES 101, EDUC 174, FILM 173, FILM 175, LALS 128, LALS 148, LALS 164, PRTR 22G, PRTR 32A, PSYC 149, PSYC 155, PSYC 159H, SOCY 143, SOCY 176A, any field study.
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PR-S
5 credits
Field studies, community
engagement, social field
methods, documentary
media
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Final Course:
Project-based final course
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Advanced CARA course, such as:
OAKS 151A and OAKS 151B, Corre la Voz, 5 credits total;
or OAKS 152, Transformative Literacies, 5 credits;
or OAKS 153, Community Mapping, 5 credits.
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PR-S
5 credits
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Total Credits: 19-20 Credits
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Students must declare certificate no later than the beginning of the winter quarter of the year they plan to complete the certificate
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