Cultural Competence For Students

Developing Cultural Competence (DCC) Student Certificate Program

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Prepare for your international career

The Developing Cultural Competence student certificate program is offered online for NC State students and those from our global partner institutions.

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“Having these conversations helped me dispel misconceptions about other cultures and share perspectives on my own culture. It was designed as a respectful, judgment-free environment and opened up my mind to the cultures of the world.”



Promoting Cultural Competence

The DCC program aims to improve students’ cultural competence and cross-cultural awareness by facilitating virtual exchanges among participants. The virtual training program consists of self-paced individual learning modules. There are also four 90-minute facilitated meetings where participants can discuss and apply the knowledge and skills they learned in the modules.

Applying Cultural Skills

The course is designed to provide a theoretical framework for understanding culture, learning about cultural dimensions, and improving cultural competence. The program also introduces cultural skills that are immediately applicable to activities on and off-campus. The certificate program appeals to students in all academic disciplines and prepares students to:

  • Identify their own cultural preferences and have the tools to understand the preferences of others
  • Promote cultural awareness in personal and professional settings
  • Implement strategies for working effectively across cultural differences

The virtual exchange experience includes four 90-minute live Zoom-facilitated discussions, independent learning, personal reflection, and a group presentation component. Global participants are enrolled in a shared learning management system for shared content and collaboration.

Orientation and Introductions

– Introduce the learning community
– Connect favorite traditions to cultural identities

Developing Cultural Knowledge

– Group presentation of a cultural knowledge report
– Identify cultural gaps

Foundations

– Describe one’s personal cultural identities
– Form cultural knowledge research groups

Skills and Application

– Consider how cultural skills bridge gaps
– Apply learning to past experiences and common scenarios

Exploring the World, From Home

Interest in the Developing Cultural Competence student certificate program has grown exponentially since its inception in 2018. In-person educational exchange programs are still limited because of travel restrictions and the COVID-19 pandemic, but students can still connect with others from around the world. Our live, facilitated online discussions promote cultural awareness and provide strategies for working across cultures. More than 1800 students have successfully completed the program already.

Contact Becky Cibulskis (rcibuls@ncsu.edu) for more information.


Register For Upcoming Sessions

Please note that all dates and times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time and Eastern Standard Time, reflective of their alignment with the NC State University academic calendar and time zone. All courses are facilitated in English.

Sessions will be offered depending on student enrollment preferences and facilitator availability. Spring 2023 courses are all month-long programs, meaning they will meet the same one day per week for four consecutive weeks with the final quiz due at the end of the course. Students should plan to dedicate 3 hours to DCC classes and assignments per week.


MARCH-APRIL 2023 SESSIONS

  • Mondays March 20 and 27, April 3 and 10 @ 8:00 – 9:30 PM (full)
  • Tuesdays March 21 and 28, April 4 and 11 @ 9:00-10:30 AM
  • Wednesdays March 22 and 29, April 5 and12 @ 9:00-10:30 AM

Sessions will be offered depending on student enrollment preferences and facilitator availability. GTI will only offer one meeting time for the month-long Summer program. The July session will meet the same one day per week for four consecutive weeks with the final quiz due at the end of the course. Students should plan to dedicate 3 hours to DCC classes and assignments per week.

JULY Wednesdays: 9:00-10:30 AM EST (July 5, July 12, July 19 and July 26)



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