EDIB Leadership Certificate Overview
With a graduate certificate in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB) Leadership, you can become a powerful voice for strategic change within your organization. You will gain critical knowledge and skills to address bias and marginalization and to foster an inclusive corporate culture.
Through your coursework, you will:
- Develop a strong understanding of history, bias, and power and privilege in the workplace
- Identify the opportunities and challenges of developing diverse, inclusive, and equitable initiatives and policies
- Become a more effective diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) leader
- Learn to facilitate productive conversations that address equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Create a plan for addressing a real-world organizational challenge in DEI
EDIB Course Curriculum
Our Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Leadership Graduate Certificate is designed to give you an interdisciplinary perspective. You’ll learn strategies and techniques to advance DEIB initiatives within your organization. Your coursework covers topics ranging from history, government, and psychology to management, leadership, and even legal studies.
To complete the certificate, you take one course from each of the following four categories.
History and Context (1 Course)
Recommended as your first course, you can choose from a variety of courses from this category, including:
- AAAS 122 Understanding Race and Racism
- HIST 1680 Riots, Strikes and Conspiracies in American History
- GOVT 1045 Justice
Core (1 Course)
- IORP 1501 Industrial-Organizational Psychology
- PSYC 1506 Groups and Culture
- PSYC 1507 Psychology of Diversity
Leadership Principles (1 Course)
- MGMT 4100 Managing Yourself and Leading Others
- MGMT 4105 Cultivating Authentic Leadership
- MGMT 4189 Nonprofit Leadership and Community Engagement
Applied Learning (1 Course)
Recommended as your last course, you can choose from a variety of course options, such as:
- MGMT 4400 Diversity and Inclusion Management
- MGMT 4422 Institutions and Equitable Transformation
- PSYC 1586 Confronting Bias in the Self and Others
Course Search
You can find courses by course group and term — fall, spring, or summer — in the certificate course search within DCE Course Search & Registration platform.
Featured Faculty
-
![Tracie Denise Jones]()
Tracie Denise Jones
Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, MIT
Teaches Diversity and Inclusion Management
-
![LaChaun Banks]()
LaChaun Banks
Director for Equity and Inclusion, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
Teaches Racial Equity and Economic Development
-
![Bobbi Wegner]()
Bobbi Wegner
Adjunct Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Teaches Applied Coaching, Groups and Culture, Motivation
Careers in EDIB
Whether you are seeking to expand your current role in EDIB or you are interested in starting a new career in EDIB leadership, an EDIB Leadership Certificate is a step in the right direction.
Executives, HR specialists, and managers will enhance their inclusive leadership skills to drive change in their organizations.
The certificate will also benefit analysts, program managers, and project coordinators responsible for policies and programs. The toolkit you develop will enable you to develop powerful initiatives to ensure a diverse and equitable workforce.
Earning Your Certificate
Most of our certificates can be completed online and no formal application process is required to pursue a certificate.
To meet the requirements of the EDIB Leadership Certificate you must:
- Complete the four certificate courses for graduate credit.
- Earn at least a B grade in each course.
- Complete the courses within three years.
Courses taken before Fall 2021 cannot be counted toward this certificate.
Learn more about pursuing a certificate and the process of requesting your certificate.
Stack Your Certificate Into a Degree
Stackable credential pathways allow you to earn multiple credentials by completing courses that meet overlapping requirements. In the short term, you can earn your EDIB leadership certificate. Once completed, those four courses may put you a third of the way toward earning a master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology.
This stackable pathway offers an efficient, cost-effective way to earn short-term credentials to help fill immediate skill gaps and acquire specialized knowledge while building a foundation for long-term success that showcases your expertise in the field.
Learn how to plan a stackable credential pathway.
The we are all in this together spirit among classmates representing as many layers of diversity imaginable has left a powerful impression on my heart and mind. I now know that Harvard is a place to which I’ll belong for the rest of my life.
Cost
Affordability is core to our mission. When compared to our continuing education peers, it’s a fraction of the cost.
| Our Tuition (2024–25 rate) | $3,340 per course |
|---|---|
| Average Tuition of Peer Institutions | $5,476 per course |
| Average Total Cost | $13,360 |
FAQs
What is an EDIB Leadership Graduate Certificate?
An EDIB Leadership Graduate Certificate is an academic credential designed to help you create and lead strategic initiatives relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Through DEI coursework, you’ll gain a greater understanding of how history, bias, power, and privilege impacts DEI today. And you’ll enhance your ability to become a powerful voice for change.
Why is EDIB leadership important?
Creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive corporate culture is key to staying competitive in today’s marketplace — for attracting and retaining both talent and customers. Thus, demand for inclusive leaders is increasing.
Today’s inclusive leaders must have the skills and tools to create and sustain a diverse and inclusive workforce. They must design inclusive policies, facilitate dialogue, and lead strategic initiatives.
This credential—demonstrating inclusive leadership skills—will provide you with a competitive advantage in even the tightest job markets.
What can you do with an EDIB Leadership Graduate Certificate?
With a graduate certificate in EDIB leadership, you’ll be able to lead DEI-related programs, policies, and initiatives. You’ll have the skills and tools you need to facilitate dialogue, address unconscious bias, and build an inclusive organizational culture.
This certificate is ideal for individuals seeking to enhance their toolkit in their current role or move into a new role focused exclusively on EDIB.
How long does it take to complete this EDIB Leadership Graduate Certificate?
The EDIB Leadership Graduate Certificate can be completed in one year, depending on how many courses you take per term. You must complete all four courses within three years.
Most of our students are professionals working full time. The average completion time for a certificate at Harvard Extension School is 1.5 years.
How will this EDIB Leadership Graduate Certificate help me in my career?
