Certificate
Full-Time Only
Fall, Spring
Online
About the Empowering Women: South Asian Women & Girls Certificate at Loyola
From poverty to gender-based discrimination, South Asian women and girls face a wide variety of unique challenges. Through the Empowering Women: South Asian Women and Girls certificate program at Loyola, you will be prepared to empower and advocate for this underserved and high-need population, both locally and globally.
This fully online certificate program, the only one of its kind in the nation, will give you a greater understanding of and sensitivity to the needs of women from the South Asian region and culture. With the certificate, you will develop an awareness and understanding of the socio-psychological and cultural intersections of poverty, gender, and politics, particularly within the context of marginalized populations.
The Empowering Women certificate program is open to undergraduate juniors and seniors as well as graduate students and professionals across disciplines, including social work, theology, business management, nursing, law, education, and women and gender studies.
Program Structure
The Empowering Women: South Asian Women & Girls certificate can be pursued full-time and classes are held fully online.
Why Choose Loyola for the Empowering South Asian Women Certificate?
- Complete your certificate 100% online
- The nation's only program of its kind
- Well-structured curriculum
- Led by experts in the field
- Optional three-country immersion trip
- Finish in just one year
The six courses for the certificate program are offered fully online in 8-week modules.
Loyola's Empowering Women certificate is the first and only one in the nation to offer a curriculum focused exclusively on South Asian women and girls.
Build your knowledge and skills through a curriculum that includes policy, practice, materials, and lived experiences from the field.
Learn from scholars who have worked and studied in South Asia and whose research is focused on South Asian women and girls.
Deepen your studies through an optional immersive, three-country trip to India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Start taking courses in the fall semester and finish in just one year.
Meet the Faculty
Loyola is proud to have talented and nationally-recognized scholar-teachers as part of our diverse community of exceptional faculty, students and staff. Loyola faculty are known for their commitment to teaching, the dissemination of knowledge through innovative and interdisciplinary scholarly research, and a commitment to social justice and cura personalis, or care for the whole person. Visit the School of Social Work faculty and staff directory to learn more about the teachers and mentors involved with the Empowering Women SAWG Certificate program.
Faculty and StaffCareer Connections
Through the Loyola Empowering Women: South Asian Women & Girls online certification program, you will gain skills to advocate for and empower South Asian women and girls locally and globally through your work in your unique discipline, including social work, theology, business management, nursing, law, education, and women and gender studies.
Specific job options include:
- Clinical social worker
- Minister
- Business manager
- Nurse
- Lawyer
- Educator
- Victims' advocate
- Journalist
- Human rights advocate
- Health clinic coordinator
Because Loyola is a member of the Jesuit network of 27 colleges and universities nationwide, our graduates can access career advising services, resume and interviewing assistance, career fairs and events, and employment listings in our Career Services center, as well as at career centers at other U.S. Jesuit colleges and universities.
Job Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook is a good place to start exploring the job outlook and pay potential for specific careers and fields that interest you.
Curriculum and Program Outcomes
While courses for the Empowering Women SAWG Certificate program may vary from semester to semester, Loyola’s extensive Academic Catalog will always house the official listing of courses, programs of study, academic policies, degree requirements, and specialization or concentration options.
Additionally, this resource will provide Empowering Women SAWG Certificate learning outcomes, showcasing the commitment to specific skills and growth graduates can expect to achieve following completion of the program.
2023-2024 Catalog
Browse Academic CatalogEmpowering Women Certificate Results and Skills
Through the certificate, you will develop a wide range of skills and knowledge in areas that are critical to advancing gender equity and supporting the growth and development of South Asian women and girls. The skills include:
- Understand and articulate the idea of women as a population (focusing on women from South Asia) to be coached for empowerment - identities, leadership and paid work
- Explore and analyze the complexity of key social systems and social relationships of women belonging to South Asia in comparison to women from emerging economies
- Become aware and dismantle the stereotypes and generalizations prevalent about these cultures within the United States
- Realize and assess the impact of poverty, violence, and unemployment as systems of oppression experienced by women belonging to South Asia and similar low-resource economies
- Develop and advocate a global consciousness of rights and responsibilities for women and girls
- Engage and create for social and economic justice with new media and media for the global communities of marginalized women
Costs, Scholarships, and Aid
Loyola University Chicago is committed to making your graduate and professional studies a reality. Our Cost & Financial Aid page can help better inform you about the costs and potential funding opportunities through scholarships, loans, and aid for graduate and professional education.
If you are a current Loyola undergraduate or recent alum, you may be eligible for a Returning Rambler discount. Learn more and see if you qualify on our Returning Rambler Scholarship page.
Tuition and Costs
The estimated tuition and fees for the Empowering Women SAWG Certificate totals $13104.00, or 18 credit hours at a cost of $728.00 per credit hour. Please note that tuition and fees for all of Loyola's academic programs are subject to change.
For more detailed information about tuition and fees, and a breakdown of how these costs are calculated on a yearly basis, please visit Tuition and Fees from the Office of the Bursar.
School of Social Work Scholarships
View a complete list of School of Social Work scholarships, including external scholarship opportunities.
Appointments and Events
Whether you’re just beginning your search, in the midst of the application process, or eager to explore our graduate and professional programs, our admissions staff is here to assist you every step of the way.
Schedule an AppointmentThe School of Social Work offers graduate open houses, information sessions, individual appointments, open Zoom and text sessions, and a multitude of other ways to get to know us better.
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With our visit opportunities, you can tour our beautiful Chicago campuses and learn more about Loyola's ties to one of the most prestigious cities in the world.
Application Process
Application Deadlines
The available start terms and corresponding application deadlines for the Empowering Women SAWG Certificate are listed below. We encourage you to apply early for priority review. Please note that decisions may take longer during busy periods.
Spring: January 15
Fall: July 15
Application Requirements
Application requirements for the Empowering Women SAWG Certificate include:
Transcripts
Statement of Purpose
International Student Requirements
Additional information regarding the application process for international students can be found on the International Student Requirements page.
Additional Details
For general information and a step-by-step guide to applying for graduate and professional study, please visit our Admission Process page. There is no fee to apply to graduate programs at Loyola.
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