The Stanford Certificate in Poverty and Inequality recognizes undergraduates who have developed expertise in the science of poverty and inequality. The certificate is conferred as soon as the requirements listed below are completed. Although the certificate does not appear on an official University transcript, it provides formal recognition of a rigorous program of study.
Admission
Applications to the CPI certificate program are available here and may be filed at any time. The certificate program is only available to Stanford undergraduates. Please contact the CPI (inequality@stanford.edu) with any questions.
Requirements
There are two tracks for completing the certificate: 1) a research fellowship track; and 2) a coursework track. The requirements for each track are listed below.
TRACK 1: RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
- The Center on Poverty and Inequality offers opportunities for undergraduates to train and engage directly in faculty-led Center research projects. Openings are posted to our website and newsletter (subscribe here). To meet the Track 1 requirements for the certificate, students can either complete a full-time summer fellowship or engage part-time for at least two quarters. Research fellowships are typically eligible for stipend support, or may be completed for course credit.
TRACK 2: COURSEWORK
- Core Foundation Course (SOC 3. America: Unequal). This required introductory course examines the causes and consequences of poverty, inequality, and mobility. In years when SOC 3 is not offered, it can be replaced with a second elective foundation course. The two elective foundation courses may not come from the same category (i.e., students may not take two normative foundation courses to fulfill the foundation course requirements).
- Elective Foundation Course. The second foundation course should be selected from among the normative, empirical, and policy courses listed below. These courses examine the principles by which certain types of living conditions may be deemed unjust or impoverished (i.e., "normative analysis"), the social processes and forces by which poverty and inequality are generated and maintained (i.e., "empirical analysis"), and the types of policies and interventions that might reduce or increase poverty and inequality (i.e., "policy analysis").
The Normative Foundation
ETHICSOC 136R. Introduction to Global Justice (same as INTNLREL 136R, PHIL 76, POLISCI 136R, POLISCI 336)
PHIL 171. Justice (Same as: ETHICSOC 171, IPS 208, PHIL 271, POLISCI 3P, POLISCI 136S, POLISCI 336S, PUBLPOL 103C, PUBLPOL 307)
The Empirical Foundation
AMSTUD 268C. Poverty in America (same as CSRE 268C, HISTORY 268C)
ECON 22N. Causes and Consequences of the Rise in Inequality
ECON 113. Historical Perspectives on Inequality and Opportunity in America
HISTORY 12N. Income and Wealth Inequality from the Stone Age to the Present (same as CLASSICS 12N)
SOC 14N. Inequality in American Society
The Policy Foundation
ECON 11N. Understanding the Welfare System
EDUC 107. Education and Inequality: Big Data for Large-Scale Problems (same as EDUC 207, SOC 107E, SOC 205)
HUMBIO 122S. Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Health (same as AFRICAAM 132, CSRE 122S)
SOC 149. The Urban Underclass (same as CSRE 149A, URBANST 112)
URBANST 141A. Urban Schools, Social Policy, and the Gentrifying City (CSRE 291, EDUC 390) - Additional Elective. The third requirement is to take an “elective course” with a poverty or inequality focus. This requirement may be satisfied by taking an additional foundation course from the list provided above or by taking any of the preapproved elective courses listed below. Additionally, other unlisted courses addressing issues of poverty and inequality may also satisfy this requirement, although such courses require CPI approval (which is requested by submitting our Course Approval Form). It is suggested (but not required) that approval be secured in advance of taking an unlisted course. If a new applicant to the certificate program wishes to count a completed course toward the requirements, that should be indicated on the application form (and, if necessary, the Course Approval Form should be filled out).
List of Preapproved Elective Courses
Any courses approved for the the Minor in Poverty, Inequality, and Policy are also approved for the certificate.
Poverty
ANTHRO 30Q. The Big Shift.
CSRE 10SC. Inequality and Poverty in the United States (same as SOC 11SC)
ECON 11N. Understanding the Welfare System
ECON 106. World Food Economy (same as EARTHSYS 106, EESS 106)
HIST 368C. Poverty in America (same as CSRE 268C, HISTORY 268C)
SOC 135. Poverty, Inequality, and Social Policy in the United States (same as SOC 235)
SOC 157. Ending Poverty with Technology (same as PUBLPOL 147)
SOC 158. Ending Poverty with Technology: A Practicum (same as PUBLPOL 148)
Educational Access and Achievement
AFRICAAM 112. Urban Education (same as CSRE 112X, EDUC 112, EDUC 212, SOC 129X, SOC 229X)
CSRE 121F. Pathways to College: Bridges and Barriers for First-Generation Latino Students
EDUC 102. Examining Social Structures, Power, and Educational Access
EDUC 107. Education and Inequality: Big Data for Large-Scale Problems (same as EDUC 207, SOC 107E, SOC 205)
EDUC 173. Gender and Higher Education: National and International Perspectives (same as EDUC 273, FEMST 173, SOC 173, SOC 273)
EDUC 181. Multicultural Issues in Higher Education (same as CSRE 181, EDUC 381)
EDUC 221A. Policy Analysis in Education
EDUC 232: Culture, Learning, and Poverty
EDUC 253X. Inequality, Society, and Education (same as SOC 353X)
EDUC 411. Early Childhood Education
ECON 146. Economics of Education
SOC 132. Sociology of Education (same as EDUC 110, EDUC 310, SOC 332)
SOC 134. Education, Gender, and Development (same as EDUC 197, FEMGEN 297)
Income Inequality
AMSTUD 50N. The Literature of Inequality: Have and Have-Nots from the Gilded Age to the Occupy Era (same as ENGLISH 50N)
CSRE 10SC. Inequality and Poverty in the United States (same as SOC 11SC)
ECON 22N. Causes and Consequences of the Rise in Inequality
MGTECON 327. Business and Public Policy Perspectives on U.S. Inequality
POLISCI 127P. Economic Inequality and Political Dysfunction
POLISCI 147P. The Politics of Inequality
SOC 14N. Inequality in American Society
SOC 117D. Recognizing Inequality
SOC 141. Controversies about Inequality (same as SOC 241)
Social Mobility
CSRE 34SI. The Chicago Gap: Bridging Latinx Youth Education
ECON 241. Public Economics I
EDUC 102. Examining Social Structures, Power, and Educational Access
SOC 144. Inequality and the Workplace (same as SOC 244)
Safety Net
ECON 11N. Understanding the Welfare System
PUBLPOL 101. Politics and Public Policy (same as POLISCI 123, PUBLPOL 201)
SOC 254. Welfare State (same as SOC 354)
Labor Markets
ECON 11N. Understanding the Welfare System
ECON 19Q. Measuring the Performance of Governments in the U.S. (same as PUBLPOL 19Q)
ECON 110. History of Financial Crises
ECON 118. Development Economics
ECON 145. Labor Economics
LAW 7019. Employment Discrimination
SOC 103D. Can Women (and Men) Have it All? Gender and Work in the 21st Century
SOC 114D. Sociology of the Great Recession
SOC 142. Sociology of Gender (same as SOC 242)
SOC 144. Inequality and the Workplace (same as SOC 244)
SOC 328. The Sociology of Work and Employment
Spatial Segregation
POLISCI 220. Place-Making Policies (PUBLPOL 225, URBANST 170)
SOC 149. The Urban Underclass (same as SOC 249, URBANST 112)
Race, Ethnicity and Immigration
CSRE 29SI. Migration is Beautiful: Histories, Realities, and Policies of Immigrant Justice
CSRE 34SI. The Chicago Gap: Bridging Latinx Youth Education
CSRE 54N. African American Women's Lives (same as AFRICAAM 54N, AMSTUD 54N, FEMGEN 54N, HISTORY 54N)
CSRE 121F. Pathways to College: Bridges and Barriers for First-Generation Latino Students
EDUC 127X. The Wellbeing of Children in Immigrant Families
EDUC 178X. Latino Families, Languages, and Schools
POLISCI 125S. Chicano/Latino Politics (same as CHILATST 125S)
SOC 45Q. Understanding Race and Ethnicity in American Society (same as CSRE 45Q)
SOC 46N. Race, Ethnic and National Identities: Imagined Communities
SOC 139. American Indians in Contemporary Society (same as NATIVEAM 139, SOC 239)
SOC 145. Race and Ethnic Relations (same as CSRE 145, SOC 245)
SOC 148. Comparative Ethnic Conflict (same as SOC 248)
SOC 165. Seminar on the Everyday Lives of Immigrants (same as SOC 265)
SOC 166. Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and Chicanos in American Society (same as CHILATST 166, SOC 266)
Health
BIODS 210. Configuration of the US Healthcare System and the Application of Big Data/Analytics
CHPR 291. Assessing the Health Effects of Economic Change
HRP 267. Life Course Epidemiology
MED 264. Social Epidemiology
PEDS 150. Social and Environmental Determinants of Health (same as PEDS 250)
PEDS 211. Medical-Legal Issues in Children's Health
Incarceration
AFRICAAM 189. Black Life and Death in the Neoliberal Era
CSRE 221. Sentencing, Corrections, and Criminal Justice Policy (same as PUBLPOL 221)
LAW 7037. Poverty Law: Policy and Practice
Housing
CSRE 99. Housing Justice Research Lab (same as URBANST 187)
CSRE 141. Gentrification (same as URBANST 141)
POLISCI 220. Place-Making Policies (same as PUBLPOL 225, URBANST 170)
PUBLPOL 158. Housing & Community Development--Policy and Practice (same as URBANST 168)