Intergroup Relations

Get ahead on your undergraduate career and get a minor with IGR 

Submit interest form →
 

The 15-credit minor in intergroup relations education will change your life forever. Students learn critical analytical skills, problem-solving in groups, intercultural leadership, and a synthesis of intellectual and practical skills to help them create a more just and equitable world. This minor combines with any major at the university to provide students with skills to bravely achieve change together. IGR minors will develop skills to:

• Raise critical consciousness
• Interrupt dominant narratives
• Collaborate across difference

Intergroup education focuses on intergroup contact across social identities, the examination of inequality and conflict, and how groups build coalitions in the face of power inequities. The IGR minor is a valuable complement to any major. Now more than ever, it is crucial for students to become competent national and global citizens who are prepared to understand this nation's history and to work across social divisions and conflict toward a more just and peaceful world. Students who earn a Minor in intergroup relations education will develop the insight and skills to lead diverse organizations and work effectively across difference.                     

 - Kelly Maxwell, Ph.D., assistant dean for undergraduate education, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts

Express interest and speak to an advisor

Please complete our minor interest form and an advisor will contact you.  If you have questions or need further assistance, please email IGRcourses@umich.edu.

Curriculum

Minimum 15 credits

Foundation core courses

Choose either of the following classes

• ALA/PSYCH/SOC 122: Intergroup Dialogues (2 credits), or
• ALA 220/PSYCH213/SOC 218: Foundations of Intergroup Relations (3 credits)

Tracks

Choose ONE of the following tracks

• Facilitation
  • ALA/SOC 320, PSYCH 310: Training in Intergroup Dialogue Facilitation (2 credits)
  • ALA/SOC 321, PSYCH 311: Practicum in Facilitating Intergroup Dialogues (3 credits)
  • ALA 270: Special Topics in Intergroup Dialogue (2 credits)
• Campus Communities and Research
  • Research Methods Course (SOC 210 or STATS 250 or STATS 280) (4 Credits)
  • Campus Community Course (ALA 324) (3 Credits)
  • IGR Research Practicum (ALA 329), ALA 323, PSYCH 326, or SOC 394 (2 or 3 Credits)

LSA elective course

• ALA 228 Conflict and Co-existence; ALA 322 Advanced Practicum, ALA 324 Facilitation for Effective Leadership, ALA 471 Leading Community Building, or other approved electives from other departments, see below* (2-4 credits)
• Here is a list of approved LSA Elective Courses for the Minor

Senior Capstone course

• ALA 429/SOC 471/PSYCH 411 Senior Capstone (3 credits)

Visit IGR's course descriptions for more information about each course. 

*If students are taking or would like to take a course that they believe qualifies as an LSA elective course for the IGR minor, please first reference the elective criteria:

• The course must address social identities and intergroup relations in some way
• The course should discuss issues of inequality, power, privilege, and oppression
• Or the course should focus on leadership and social change
• The elective must be at least a 200-level course

If students think a course meets the requirements, they must email their advisor and include the following information: a brief write up of the course and why you believe it should be an IGR minor elective AND a copy of the course syllabus.

Questions? 

Check our frequently asked questions page, and reach out to us any other questions at IGRcourses@umich.edu.