Why pursue a Multicultural Bilingual Certificate?
The Multicultural Bilingual Certificate offers specialized professional training for students pursuing careers in speech-language pathology and audiology, preparing them to meet the evolving needs of our increasingly diverse communities. As the diversity of the populations we serve continues to grow, professionals in these fields must be equipped to serve clients from a wide range of backgrounds. This certificate program provides students with the skills necessary to accurately assess and treat bilingual and multilingual individuals, ensuring that care is appropriate, effective, and culturally responsive. Importantly, students do not need to be bilingual to enroll in the program.
Overview of MBCP
Our MBC Program in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Students gain practical clinical experience with diverse patient populations, training in working with interpreters, and education on culturally responsive practices, humility, and understanding differences—key components in improving client engagement and outcomes. By reducing the risk of misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment, clinicians trained in this program play a critical role in addressing systemic inequities in education and healthcare. This specialized certificate not only enhances job market competitiveness—where healthcare settings, schools, and private practices increasingly seek candidates who can meet the needs of diverse communities—but also demonstrates a professional commitment to inclusive, equitable care, and continuous professional development.
The certificate program requires the following graduate coursework (9 units):
1. SLHS 535 Bilingualism, Multiculturalism, and Nonmainstream Dialects (3 units). [Spring] If a student has taken SLHS 435 as an undergraduate, then this requirement may be met by an elective graduate course approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.
2. SLHS 597: Workshop: Topics in Service Delivery for Bilingual Populations (1 unit) [Fall]
3. Clinical Practicum with Multicultural/Multilingual Experiences (SLHS 558/658 or SLHS 559/659; 2 units)
4. One appropriate elective course (3 units) – Examples include:
- LRC 504 Language and Culture in Education
- LRC 510 Foundations of Bilingual Education and Second Language Learning
- LRC 512 Educating Culturally Diverse Students in a Pluralistic Society
- LRC 514 Reading and Writing in Bilingual and Second Language Settings
- LRC 581 Multicultural Literature and Literacy
- LRC 641 Immigration and Education
- LRC 595a Language Socialization Across Cultures
- LRC 595a Issues in Educating Bilingual/Multicultural Children
- LRC 795a Biliteracy
- ANTH 679 Language and Ethnography
- ANTH/MAS 508 The Mexican-American: A Cultural Perspective
- SPAN 580 Introduction to Spanish Sociolinguistics
- SPAN 574A Bilingualism 1--Language in the Mexican American Experience
- SPAN 574B Bilingualism 2 --Heritage Language Research
- SPAN 584A Sociolinguistics 1--Spanish in Contact
- SPAN 584B Sociolinguistics 2--Variation in Spanish
- SPAN 584C Sociolinguistics 3--Research Methods in Sociolinguistics
- LING 500 Linguistics for Native American Communities
- LING 501 Formal Foundations of Linguistics
- LING 511 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics (or Chinese, Arabic, language of choice)
- LING 544 Typology and Universals
- SPAN 583A Phonetics 1--speech production and applications
- SPAN 583B Phonetics 2--speech perception and applications
Other classes or independent study experiences may be identified to fulfill the elective requirement. For more information, make an appointment with the MBCP director, Dr. Genesis Arizmendi (genesis@arizona.edu), or the coordinator, Karen Guilmette (kguilmet@arizona.edu).
VAMOSS and Comm*unity sessions
Students in our department also have the opportunity to expand their cultural and linguistic preparation by participating in the Vamos A Mejorar Our Spanish in SLHS (VAMOSS) Spanish speaking club. VAMOSS is open to anyone in the department and led by Dr. Arizmendi and research assistants in the BABEL Lab.
Dr. Arizmendi is pleased to introduce Comm•unity Sessions, a new educational outreach opportunity and initiative under the Multicultural Bilingual Certificate Program. Comm•unity sessions will serve as a platform for learning and accountability, where we will engage with real issues impacting our communities. This is a chance for us to strengthen our commitment to equitable practices in education and clinical care by presenting and discussing topics that matter to our students, faculty, and the populations we serve. These sessions can include presentations and workshops, driven by the needs and requests of our students and faculty, with the goal of creating opportunities for our department to engage in meaningful discussions, explore diverse perspectives, and deepen our understanding of the unique cultural contexts that shape language, learning, and communication. These sessions are open to all students in the department, and are not a requirement for students pursuing the certificate. All are invited to participate, contribute ideas, and help shape these sessions into a meaningful resource for our department. Topic requests can be proposed by any students or faculty and can reach out to Dr. Arizmendi for topic requests.
The Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination -- in the classroom, the clinical setting, and the workplace. The University of Arizona Office of Institutional Equity provides education and support for these efforts.
The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University prohibits discrimination in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information and is committed to maintaining an environment free from sexual harassment and retaliation.