The Theatre & Dance Department is proud to house CU Boulder’s interdisciplinary certificate in Hip-hop Studies. This consolidated certificate program for matriculated undergraduate and graduate students is designed to expose students to the richness, complexity, and vitality of Hip-hop as theory and practice. 

The graduate and undergraduate certificates in Hip-hop Studies are designed to be enriching, interdisciplinary supplements to other areas of study. They provide a broad base, which can serve as an entry point to more focused study and practice. While offering rich and rewarding experiences, these certificates are not a professional endorsement of the student’s skills from Rennie Harris or Larry Southall. Rather, they develop students’ appreciation and respect for one of the most important American cultural forms to have emerged in the last half-century.

Undergraduate Certificate

The certificate in Hip-hop Studies is is designed to emphasize both the theory and practice of hip-hop. Classes immerse students in the culture of Hip-hop and develop the critical thinking skills and theoretical context required for understanding Hip-hop's socio-historical development and political efficacy.

Undergraduate Certificate Courses and Requirements

Please find the list of course offerings and certificate requirements for undergraduate students in the CU Catalog. The CU Catalog page contains a list of all required courses and those courses that are pre-approved to count toward the certificate.

Undergraduate Certificate FAQ

Submit the online Statement of Interest Form.

Students will use the Hip-hop Studies Undergraduate Certificate Completion Form to keep track of their coursework for the certificate.

Yes. If you have taken a course that is pre-approved for the certificate, it will automatically count.

Yes, with approval. To request approval of a course, submit a Course Substitution Request Form. If you are requesting pre-approval for a course in an upcoming semester, you must submit the form by the last day of class the semester before you take the course. If you are requesting approval for course you have already taken, you will need to submit the course syllabus. We cannot approve course subtitutions for the same semester.

Take a paper copy of your Hip-hop Studies Undergraduate Certificate Completion Form and an unofficial transcript to the Theatre & Dance Main Office in the University Theatre Building. We will verify your work and submit a completion request to the Registrar's Office.

Please email your questions to hip-hop@colorado.edu.

Graduate Certificate 

This consolidated certificate program for matriculated graduate students is designed to expose students to the richness, complexity and vitality of Hip-hop—as theory and practice. The certificate’s community-based practicum ensures the students in the certificate will know hip-hop as a lived culture, not merely an object to be consumed inside the halls of academia.

Courses and Requirements

Please find the list of course offerings and certificate requirements for graduate students in the CU Catalog. 

Forms

To obtain the undergraduate certificate in Hip-hop Studies, students must first submit a Statement of Interest Form which will be reviewed and approved by the Hip-hop Studies Directors, Rennie Harris and Larry Southall. The directors will notify students of acceptance.

To obtain the graduate certificate in Hip-hop Studies, students must first submit a Statement of Interest Form which will be reviewed and approved by the Hip-hop Studies Directors, Rennie Harris and Larry Southall. The directors will notify students of acceptance.

Students may petition their Hip-hop Studies advisor to have additional courses approved on a case-by-case basis. To request a course substitution, submit a Course Substitution Request Form for the upcoming semester by the last day of classes. Note: if this is a course you have taken already, you will need to submit the course syllabus.

Upon completion of the Hip-hop Studies Certificate coursework, please take a paper copy of your Undergraduate Certificate Completion Form for to the Theatre & Dance Main Office in the University Theatre Building.

Upon completion of the Hip-hop Studies Certificate coursework, please submit a Graduate Certificate Completion Form for review.

For More Information

Please email hip-hop@colorado.edu.