Certificate requirements

Eligibility and Declaration of Candidacy

Only students enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree program are eligible to earn a certificate.  Students must complete an enrollment form and have a short meeting with the Certificate Directors.

Requirements

Students must successfully complete five courses on Indigenous topics, drawn from the list of approved courses posted each semester on the Indigenous Studies website or tagged as “NAIS certificate” in courses.yale.edu. Credit towards the certificate for other courses with substantial NAIS content may be approved by the certificate director(s) and the course instructor. Courses should be drawn from at least three of the following five areas, with no more than two courses from any single area: 

  • language and culture; 
  • literature and arts; 
  • environment and politics; 
  • history, society, and law; 
  • science and education.

In addition, students are encouraged to complete a capstone project. This could be done either as part on an independent study (e.g. LING 4710, ENGL 3100, AMST 9000, SOCY 4100) or in an upper-division core seminar (ER&M4020). Students should submit a 1-page project proposal to the Certificate coordinators in the spring of their junior year or early in the fall of their senior year before beginning capstone work. In the Spring semester of senior year, students will have the opportunity to present their research at a public event. The project component counts as one credit towards the certificate. Students are encouraged, where appropriate, to work with Yale’s cultural heritage collections and/or with an Indigenous Community. We understand that certificates are not usually intended to have ‘capstone’ projects. However, the steering committee felt that students should have the opportunity to put the material they learn about in their classes into practice, and to have the opportunity to give back appropriately to Indigenous communities. We recognize, however, that this might not be appropriate in all instances, and so wish to encourage students to avail themselves of this opportunity, while not requiring it.

In addition to the course requirements, students are expected to participate in NAIS events at and beyond Yale by attending at least three Indigenous community events and submit a write-up of 1-2 pages per event. A list of local events may be found on the NAIS certificate web site. For events outside Yale please check with the certificate coordinator.

No more than two course credits may overlap in the fulfillment of the requirements of the Indigenous Studies Certificate or of a major, a simultaneous degree, or another certificate. Additionally, no course credit may be applied toward the requirements of more than two curricular programs. For example, the same course credit may not be used to fulfill the requirements of two certificates and a major. 

No courses taken Credit/D/Fail may be counted toward the certificate.

Declaration of Candidacy

Students interested in applying to the certificate program should complete the form found on the Indigenous Studies website. This should be done as early as the fall of sophomore year and no later than the beginning of the student’s junior year. Students must declare their intent to earn a certificate by the last day of add/drop period in their final term of enrollment. Declaring the intent to earn the certificate is done on the Declare Major, Concentration within the Major, Certificate page on Yale Hub. Once declared, Degree Audit will track students’ progress toward completion of the certificate. 

Summary of Requirements 

Number of courses: 5 course credits

Distribution of courses: Courses drawn from at least 3 of 5 areas of focus, with no more than 2 courses in any one area

Capstone Project: Individual/Independent study or project conducted within an upper division core seminar; may include a focused and engaged community component; formally presented in the spring semester of the student’s senior year. Encouraged but not required

Additional requirements: attendance at 3 Indigenous studies and/or community events, each followed by a 1–2 page account of the event

Credit/D/Fail: No courses taken Credit/D/Fail may be counted toward the certificate.

FAQ

Yale College students in the class of 2027 and later are eligible (so, current first years, sophomores, and juniors). 

Unfortunately yes. It’s because the certificate was approved after the official list of courses, certificates, and programs was finalized for 2025-2026. It becomes officially available in Fall, 2026, but students can start preparing for it now.

Yes, as long as they satisfy the requirements.

Possibly – please send the information (e.g. the course description and a syllabus, if you have one) to Prof Blackhawk and Prof Bowern.

For now, please see the list at /courses. Eligible courses will be tagged and searchable in courses.yale.edu in the near future.

No, not at the moment.

No. Students can do 5 courses, or 4 courses with an independent study/community project (with approval from the certificate coordinators).

No. You are very welcome to propose projects that benefit specific communities, but this is not a requirement, and we welcome students from all backgrounds. 

No, students from any major or program are eligible. Just keep in mind that there’s a limit on the number courses that can count for both a certificate and a major.

Please join the NACC’s announcement list; details are here. You can also look at other Indigenous community events either around New England or near where you are from.

Yes! We will hold several events for students each year so you can get to know each other. 

Please contact the certificate coordinators: Prof. Ned Blackhawk and Prof. Claire Bowern.