Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor

Minor Description

The Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor focuses on critical perspectives on education history and policy and explores the tensions between education and social justice. Students who choose this minor will examine systems of inequity and learn about educational advocacy in schools and communities. Through reflection and community-engaged work, students will develop leadership skills to nurture partnerships with individuals, families, and communities, preparing them to amplify community voice and advocate for social change.

Why minor in Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement?

Students who minor in Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement are interested in:

  • Understanding the history of education, education policy, and struggles over issues of equity, including the ways education has been used to perpetuate and/or dismantle systems of inequity.
  • Examining power and systems of marginalization that impact communities to understand how educational advocacy can be a powerful means of social change.
  • Developing leadership skills to work toward social justice.

Academic Connections & Career Pathways 

The Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor provides foundational preparation for a wide range of careers and graduate programs.

Add the Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor to pursue these careers:

  • Advocacy nonprofit work
  • Arts education
  • College teaching & academic research
  • Community engagement management
  • Community organizing or advocacy campaigning
  • Corporate social responsibility specialist (CSR) work
  • Data & policy analysis and research
  • Environmental or wildlife education
  • Equity specialist work or consulting
  • Family outreach or liaising in the fields of healthcare or education
  • Grant writing or fundraising
  • Higher education e.g. academic advising, student engagement, multicultural affairs, ResLife, etc
  • Human resources
  • K-12 student services
  • Law, legislative affairs, or community development
  • Library science
  • Museum work – children’s museums, art museums, science museums
  • Professional development facilitation or workforce development
  • Public health & health education
  • Social work
  • Youth development and after-school programming

The Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor is a great addition to any major, including: 

  • American & Ethnic Studies
  • Biology
  • Business Administration
  • Culture, Literature & the Arts
  • Data Visualization
  • Educational Studies
  • Educational Studies: Elementary Education Option
  • Environmental Studies
  • Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies
  • Global Studies
  • Health Studies
  • Interdisciplinary Arts
  • Law, Economics & Public Policy
  • Media & Communication Studies
  • Psychology
  • Science, Technology & Society

Declaring the Minor

Students interested in the Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor should meet with their advisor to declare the minor as early as possible. 


Minor Requirements

To complete the Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor, students must complete 25 credits of Educational Studies coursework.

Required Coursework – 20 credits

  • B EDUC 220 Education and Society
  • B EDUC 230 Culture, Knowledge, and Education
  • B EDUC 328 Diversity, Leadership, and Engagement
  • B EDUC 438 Teaching & Learning Tribal Sovereignty

Elective Coursework – 5 credits

  • B EDUC 205 Education and Equity in the United States
  • B EDUC 250 Topics in Education & Popular Culture
  • B EDUC 255 Critical Diversity Studies
  • B EDUC 391 Special Topics in Education
  • B EDUC 441 Second Language Acquisition, Bilingual Education & the Structure of English
  • B EDUC 453 Children in Schools & Society
  • B EDUC 456 Adolescents in School and Society
  • B EDUC 461 Educational Implications of Gender Inequality
  • B EDUC 470 Disability Culture in Schools & Society 
  • B EDUC 491 Special Topics in Education
  • BIS 219 The Politics of Sex Education
  • BIS 483 Community Organizing

Minor Advising

Course Registration

Some Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor courses are restricted to students in SES majors for Registration Period I, but become available to all students from Registration Period II onwards. You can contact the academic advisor for the Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor for assistance with registration.

SES Policies & Petitions

SES undergraduate academic policies can be found here.

SES Course Petition

Minors may request that Educational Advocacy & Community Engagement Minor-related courses from UW Bothell or other colleges/universities that are not on the pre-approved elective lists count toward minor requirements. These requests are considered on a case-by-case basis through the SES Course Petition. Students can submit an SES Petition here.