Civic Change Agent Undergraduate Badge
A digital badge, or badge, is a record of achievement that recognizes a student's completion of a coherent and meaningful academic experience. GVSU offers both credit and non-credit bearing badges as digital credentials. Credit-bearing badges include anywhere from 0.5 to 15 academic credits and may include additional noncredit criteria. Credit-bearing badges are also posted to the academic transcript.
Program Overview
The civic change agent badge aims to inspire students to align democratic ideals and civic commitment with deep knowledge of context, history, and policy. It teaches students the values and practices required to sustain democracy through formal curricula, project learning, and co-curricular activities.
You must be a degree-seeking undergraduate in good standing to pursue the badge.
Why Earn a Civic Change Agent Badge at Grand Valley?
- Badges are an efficient way to obtain a specialization and can be completed in a year.
- Completing a badge is an opportunity to highlight marketable and desirable skills to potential employers while enhancing your education.
- Pursue coursework, co-curricular activities, and experiential learning opportunities centered in civic learning and democratic engagement.
- Build on the extracurricular activities and engagements you are already doing.
- Connect with the community, civic, and research projects conducted by faculty and staff, helping to save democracy locally, nationally, and internationally.
Career Insights
This tool shows an overview of potential career opportunities for this major. Actual salaries, employment opportunities, and job titles may change over time.
Admissions
Admissions to complete a digital badge is open to both degree and nondegree seeking students. If you are not currently a Grand Valley student, start your application here.
For current GVSU students:
- Declare your badge via myBanner. Login to Banner Self-Service, click on Student, Student Records, Add a Certificate or Badge to your Program, Select the appropriate badge from the drop down list, and click Submit.
- Speak with the appropriate badge coordinator to ensure criteria are being met. You will be able to track your progress toward the badge in myPath as well!
- Once you are done with the requirements, apply to receive the badge via myBanner.
- Once the completion of your badge has been verified, the badge will be posted to your student record and will be viewable on your transcript. In addition, your digital badge will be posted on Credly.com.
Location & Format
Undergraduate students in this program study at Grand Valley's Allendale Campus. This badge can be completed online or a combination of in-seat and online.
Formats:- Face To Face
- Hybrid
Coursework
A total of 15 credit hours is required for this badge: 12 hours of course work in political science, history, sociology, education, anthropology, area and global studies, communications, integrated studies, English, philosophy, and classics and three hours of project-based learning with a cocurricular and/or experiential focus.
Upon declaring for the badge, the student will be assigned a
faculty/staff advisor. The advisor and student determine the best
pathway to complete the program. Criteria to complete the badge
- at least six credits from each of two different departments/programs;
- at least six credits at the 300-level or higher; and
- you must complete a co-curricular and/or experiential-learning
project. The project must be supervised by a faculty or staff member
and summarized in a formal presentation or paper. The project will
be kept on file with the Department of History for postassessment.
Helpful Links
For More Information
Department of HistoryMichael Huner
D-1-136 Mackinac Hall
[email protected]
(616) 331-3420