Certificate in the Liberal and Creative Arts

College of Professional & Global Education 

Dean: Dr. Alex Hwu 

Center for Global Engagement
1600 Holloway Ave, Hum 101
San Francisco, CA 94132
Phone: 415-338-1438
Email: globaled@sfsu.edu
Website: https://cpage.sfsu.edu/global

The Liberal and Creative Arts certificate is a 24-29 unit program that provides an introductory experience to the liberal arts. Students will take a wide range of courses, many of which are also general education courses, gaining broad exposure to the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Course substitutions may be approved with the LCA certificate faculty coordinator's written approval. 

Admission Criteria

Non-matriculated applicants must have earned a high school diploma with a minimum high school GPA of 2.0 or have an overall college GPA of at least 2.0. Non-matriculated international students must demonstrate English language ability through submission of proof of English Proficiency as listed at https://cpage.sfsu.edu/global/english-proficiency.

Program Learning Outcomes

  1. Critical evaluation of information as well as reading, writing, and listening effectively.
  2. Awareness of cultural practices and production in the critical humanities, social sciences, media, and visual and performing arts in an inclusive global context.

  3. Critical engagement with other cultures’ beliefs, values, perspectives, practices, and artifacts.

Certificate in the Liberal Arts — 24 units minimum

Required Courses (9-14 units)

Select One:3
Fundamentals of Oral Communication
Oral Communication - Multilingual
Select One:3-8
Writing the First Year: Finding Your Voice Stretch I
and Writing the First Year: Finding Your Voice Stretch II
Writing the First Year: Finding Your Voice
Writing the First Year: Global Perspectives of Multilingual Speakers Stretch I
and Writing the First Year: Global Perspectives of Multilingual Speakers Stretch II
Writing the First Year: Global Perspectives of Multilingual Speakers
PHIL 110Introduction to Critical Thinking I3

Electives (15-16 units)

Select at least one course from each of the following categories.

Media Arts
BECA 201Life on TV: A Critical View3
BECA 235Digital Media Basics3
BECA 301Media Literacy3
CINE 102Introduction to Contemporary Cinema3
CMX/HUM 325Comics and Culture3
DES 252Rethinking Digital Visual Media: History, Technology, and Content3
JOUR 304Cultural Diversity and News Media3
Humanities
AMST 410/HUM 450California Culture3
COMM 120Language, Culture, and Power3
C W 101Introduction to Creative Writing3
CWL 230World Literature3
ENG 122The Evolution of Language in the Digital Age3
ENG 250Topics in Literature and Culture3
ENG 425Language in Context3
ENG 426Second Language Acquisition3
HUM 130The Humanities: Major Works3
HUM/AMST 225Values in American Life3
HUM 376San Francisco3
JOUR 205Social Impact of Journalism3
LS 410Social Justice Themes in the Interdisciplinary Humanities3
WGS 200Introduction to Women and Gender Studies3
Social Sciences
ANTH 120Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology3
COMM 240Introduction to Nonverbal Communication3
HIST 450History of California3
HIST 451/A U 303Bay Area History and Society3
I R/PLSI 322Policy Analysis: The Latin American Cases4
I R 331Global Environmental Crisis4
I R 337/PLSI 432Introduction to the European Union4
I R/MLL 345Conflict and Cooperation in Asia4
LS/AMST 200Self, Place, and Knowing: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Inquiry3
LS 401International Development and Resource Justice3
PLSI 200Introduction to American Politics3
WGS 150Women and Gender in U.S. History and Society3
WGS 160Gender, Politics, and Citizenship3
Creative and Performing Arts
ART 240Introduction to Contemporary Sculpture3
ARTH 202Western Art History II3
ARTH/HUM 205Asian Art History3
CINE 309/LTNS 409Latina/o/x Cinema3
CLAR 420/ARTH 401Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece3
CLAR 425/ARTH 402Art and Archaeology of Ancient Rome3
CLAS 240Greek and Roman Drama3
DANC 170Integrated Dance Technique I3
M S 202Introduction to Museum Exhibits3
MUS 120Basic Music I3
TH A 130Acting Workshop I3
TH A 200Introduction to the Theatre3
TH A 305Foundational Elements of Theatre Design3