About the Sexual Health Educator Certificate

The curriculum for the Sexual Health Educator Certificate will train you to identify various markers of sexual health, which will enable you to promote healthy and safer sexual relationships in client populations.

You will be able to teach others to negotiate sexual situations with more confidence, knowing their limits, recognizing danger zones, assessing risk factors, & respecting their own and their partners鈥 needs.

Explore Potential Careers

Earning the Sexual Health Educator Certificate will prepare you to work as a paraprofessional in safe and healthy sexuality including violence prevention and intervention, HIV/STI prevention, and the promotion of mature intimate relationships.

Program Options 

The Sexual Health Educator Certificate can be completed in one semester. Credit earned to obtain the Certificate of Achievement satisfies graduation requirements, transfer requirements and several of the required and elective courses of the Community Health Worker, Infectious Disease Prevention in Priority Populations, and Trauma Prevention and Recovery Certificates.

Please note that the course map provided is just an example to help you get started. Please meet with a counselor to personalize the plan to you and your Academic goals.

Courses can be taken in any order and completed in as little as one semester. Below is a sample two-semester course sequence, based on the principle of maximizing students鈥 paid job experience opportunities by becoming trained as a Project SURVIVE peer educators during their first semester of study. The experience as peer educators was highlighted as a job-readiness priority by members of our industry advisory board during both our 2018-19 and 2019-20 meetings.

Semester 1 

Course Number Course Title Units
WGST 55 Ending Sexual Violence: Peer Education 3
Choose One HLTH 67 - HIV and Hepatitis Navigation Skills OR HLTH 54 - Introduction to Public Health 3
Elective Specialization Select an elective from the  (total 4.0 units by end of certificate) 1 - 3

Total Units: 7 - 9

Semester 2

Course Number Course Title Units
WGST 54 The Politics of Sexual Violence 3
IDST 17 Human Sexuality 3
Elective Specialization Select an elective from the  (total 4.0 units by end of certificate) 1 - 3

Total Units: 7 - 9

Transfer Options

The program coursework you complete at City College Credit satisfies the G2 and H2 graduation requirements, and course work is transferable to the California State University.

Have questions about transfer? Visit the Transfer Center for help, transfer information, and/or to speak with college representatives.

Sexual Health Education Work Experience available via Project SURVIVE

Project SURVIVE, a program of the City College of San Francisco Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Department, trains and employs student workers to make classroom presentations on promoting healthy relationships. Peer educators suggest resources and information to help students build intimate relationships based on respect and trust. They also offer students strategies for identifying, avoiding and leaving abusive relationships. Students become peer educators by enrolling in two courses: WGST 54, 鈥淧olitics of Sexual Violence鈥 and  WGST 55, 鈥淓nding Sexual Violence:  Peer Education鈥 鈥 both core courses for the Sexual Health Educator Certificate.