The Veterans Studies Certificate Program
Since 2019, UCI’s School of Social Sciences has offered an undergraduate multidisciplinary Veterans Studies Certificate Program that critically analyzes the diversity and complexity of veterans’ experiences, past and present. It is designed to provide veteran and non-veteran students with a deeper understanding of veterans’ issues and experiences, and to prepare students for careers working with veterans. This program is one of five such programs in the nation, and first to be offered by a California university.
The Veteran Studies certificate courses include:
Soc Sci 132: Veterans in History and Society (UCI GE VII)
In this seminar-style class, students gain a deep understanding of the wide range of historical experiences, changing social roles, and the unique cultures, identities, and worldviews of the diverse community of U.S. military veterans, as well as to the meanings that have been attributed by others to veterans and their service. Students will compare the experiences of veterans from a wide range of backgrounds, identifying the historical, political, economic and sociocultural factors, including race, class, gender, sexuality and national origin, that have differently (and inequitably) structured their experiences of military service from the early republic to the present day. They will analyze the different ways that diverse groups of veterans have made sense of their military service and how it has shaped their varied interactions with one another, their families, communities, and the nation, over time. They will also trace shifting perceptions of diverse veterans and their roles in civilian society during different moments in U.S. history.
Soc Sci 134W: Veterans’ Voices (UCI GE I(b))
Students in this upper division ‘W’ (writing) course use the medium of academic writing to develop a broad understanding of the wide range of worldviews, priorities and values embodied in the creative production and activism of diverse U.S. military veterans. Students explore how veterans have made their voices heard as authors and artists; as individual political actors and leaders/participants in social movements; through powerful veterans’ and “patriotic” societies like the VFW, the G.I. Forum, AMVETS, and the American Legion; and through veteran-activism in activities like the Bonus March, the founding of the VA, the building of the Vietnam Memorial, as well as anti-war and international de-mining campaigns. While exploring the changing political and social contexts that have informed varied forms of expressions across different historical moments, students will also consider how veterans’ complex and multifaceted intersectional identities, including their race, class, gender, sexuality, national origin and citizenship status, political ideologies and spiritual beliefs, have shaped the ways they have used their voices.
Soc Sci 133: Veterans’ Transitions (UCI GE III)
This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of the complex and multi-faceted transition from active military service into civilian life. Emphasizing the generational and conflict-specific contexts of veterans’ transitions, and recognizing the ways that factors including race, class, gender, sexuality and national origin have shaped these processes, the class consider how diverse veterans have negotiated the employment, educational, familial and interpersonal, as well as mental and physical health-related transitions that are part of adapting to life after military service. Focused primarily on the experiences of veterans from the Vietnam era to present day, the course pays special attention to “present-day” veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, and other current theaters of military operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Can Enroll in the Certificate?
The certificate and its individual courses are open to UCI undergraduate and graduate students in all majors/programs, as well as non-UCI students. Students who are not currently enrolled at UCI should contact our Division of Continuing Education for information on enrollment and fees.
Who teaches in the Veteran Studies Certificate Program?
All of our courses are taught by military veteran scholars or military-connected faculty, with doctoral or other terminal degrees in their respective fields, as well as extensive experience with military connected and/or veteran communities and organizations.
When are Veteran Studies courses offered, and in what format?
As of 2025/26, all Veteran Studies courses are offered during UCI Summer Sessions I and II, which run from late June through early September. In order to provide maximum flexibility to our students, all courses are offered online in an asynchronous format.
Do I have to complete all of the Certificate courses, or can I choose the ones that interest me?
Students may enroll in one or more of the classes–all of which fulfill UCI General Education (GE) requirements–or complete all three classes in order to earn the certificate.
For more information about the Veterans Studies Certificate Program, please contact:
Professor Anita Casavantes Bradford
Director, Veteran Studies Certificate Program
acasavan@uci.edu