Appalachian Studies Certificate

The Graduate Humanities Program is home for the Graduate Certificate in Appalachian Studies, an all virtual certificate program of 16 hours composed of foundation courses, electives to meet specific educational goals, and a capstone research experience.

Appalachia

As defined in legislation, Appalachia is a region of 200,000 square miles following the contour of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. West Virginia is the only state to lie entirely within the region. Parts of twelve other states are included: New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.

Marshall University commits faculty and resources to Appalachian Studies. In addition to faculty and library resources, the University houses the office of the Appalachian Studies Association, and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Gender in Appalachia.

The Graduate Certificate in Appalachian Studies allows students and professionals to focus on the region in which they live and work. The interdisciplinary approach ensures that issues and subjects are covered from different perspectives. Individuals may select courses to meet personal educational goals. Lifelong learners are invited to select individual courses for information and enrichment.

Certificate Curriculum – 16 hours

Interdisciplinary Core Classes (3 hours). Choose One:

• CULS 611 Appalachian Studies: Themes and Voices
  Orients students to the significant political, social, and cultural issues and research in Appalachian studies.
• CULS 612 Time and Place in Appalachia
  Examines the importance of geography, topography, and geology to the history and development of the Appalachian region.

Electives (9 hours). Students may take a broad range of rotating and Special Topics courses. Examples include:

• Appalachian Cultures
• Appalachian Archaeology
• Geography of Appalachia
• West Virginia History
• First Peoples of Appalachia
• Images of Appalachia
• Religious Traditions in Appalachia
• Ethnic History of West Virginia
• Coal Mine Life, Work and Culture
• Sociology of Appalachia
• Appalachian Writers –20th C.

> Please note: CULS 611 or 612 may count as an elective if not used for the interdisciplinary core requirement above.

Capstone Experience (3-6 hours):

• HUMN 680 Independent Research Seminar
  This research colloquium affords students the opportunity to complete independent research or field work under the guidance of faculty mentors teaching in the certificate program. Seminar meetings allow students to share research and examine issues arising from the research. The completed research is shared in a public symposium.

Admission

Students may pursue the graduate certificate in Appalachian Studies while enrolled in the Humanities M.A. program OR as a certificate-only student. Students already enrolled in the M.A. degree program should submit to Graduate Admissions a Secondary Program Request form.

Applicants interested in the certificate-only program should apply for admission to Marshall University as a Certificate/ Professional Development student and select on the application form the Certificate in Appalachian Studies. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Admission Procedure

1. Students are especially encouraged to contact the Director before officially submitting their application.  An application will not be approved until the applicant has confirmed in writing (e.g., via email) that the following two items are fully understood:
   • All Appalachian Studies courses are synchronous courses taught in real time, in a virtual seminar format emphasizing engaged seminar discussion.  More on this can be found on our Seminar Schedules page, but see, especially, the Seminar Rules of Engagement link on that page.
   • The Program focuses on engagement with the Appalachian region, which may require fieldwork on some level.  Though not a part of every virtual seminar, some courses include, for example, oral history or ethnographic research in Appalachia, and may require travel.  The final capstone project must also include some level of engagement with the region, meaning in most cases research or application within Appalachian communities.
2. As outlined in the Graduate Catalog, all students should apply to the Certificate of Appalachian Studies through Marshall University’s Graduate Admissions, following these procedures:
   • fill out a Marshall University Graduate Application for Admission, being sure to identify
     • the “Type of Admission” as “Certificate/Professional Development Program”;
     • the “Major Program to which you are applying” as “GX00 Graduate Certificate Program” (it’s near the end of the list);
     • the “Area of emphasis within your intended major” as “Appalachian Studies GXL3” (it’s also near the end of the list);  you may do this on on-line via Graduate Admissions.
   • send your application to the Graduate Admissions; and have the registrars at all colleges and universities you have attended to send official transcripts of your academic records directly to the Graduate Admissions Office (if you have not already had them sent for another application).
3. For provisional enrollment, students must first apply to the certificate program following the procedure above. Should the Humanities Program decide to admit the student provisionally, the Director will contact the student directly.
4. After submitting your application to Graduate Admissions, notify the Graduate Humanities Program Director.

Admission into Certificate Program

The Program Director will contact admitted students directly via email.  Upon admission, be sure to read I’ve been accepted to the Graduate Humanities Program. Now what?