Workplace Intercultural Competence Certificate

Program Coordinator/Contact

Christine Garst-Santos, Associate Professor of Spanish and Director
School of American and Global Studies
Wagner Hall 121
605-688-5102

Program Information

The Workplace Intercultural Competence Certificate prepares graduates with the knowledge and skills needed to provide management of diverse workplaces in a variety of settings including business, construction, and agriculture. Students gain a basic understanding of the challenges of second-language acquisition and intercultural communication, and acquire and hone the skills required to work in a diversity-rich setting and engage in intercultural communication. Students are introduced to basic theories and research regarding communication between cultures.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• Identify the basic challenges of second-language acquisition.
• Demonstrate novice-high competency in a second language; according to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, this means that students can sometimes but not consistently maintain simple conversation and can communicate via a combination of learned utterances and spontaneous language mostly in the present tense.
• Demonstrate an understanding of cultural frames by comparing and contrasting aspects of a non-U.S. culture with U.S. culture.
• Identify and apply basic theories of intercultural praxis: Through dialogue and reflection, demonstrate an inquiry into cultural contexts; awareness of one’s own cultural frame of reference; and consideration of one’s own geographical, sociopolitical and historical relation to knowledge.
• Demonstrate an ability to appropriately adapt behavior to cultural differences.
• Demonstrate competency in workplace management.

Course Delivery Format

Program courses are taught on campus, online, and in field-based settings appropriate to the course content.