The Graduate Certificate is a transcripted post-baccalaureate credential designed to allow prospective students the opportunity to enhance their skills and career potential through a coherent set of courses focused on a specific subject in a format that does not require commitment to a full graduate-level degree program.
Admission Requirements for Graduate Certificates
The Graduate Certificate is only available for certificate student enrollment. Applicants must apply for admission to a specific Graduate Certificate program. Admission requirements are set by the academic unit administering the Graduate Certificate program, but must at least meet the campus graduate certificate admissions criteria, which requires a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college in the United States or a comparable degree from a recognized institution of higher learning abroad and English proficiency. Individual programs may set admission requirements for GPA, and/or specific prerequisite coursework, though none are specifically required by the Graduate College for Graduate Certificate admission.
Program Requirements for Graduate Certificates
The Graduate Certificate is earned through successful completion of a pre-defined program of graduate-level courses. The program must encompass at least ten weeks of instruction and a total of at least twelve credit hours of graduate-level courses. All courses required by a Graduate Certificate must be at the graduate level, listed at the 400-level or higher. A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 is required for awarding of the Graduate Certificate.
No transfer credit from another institution may be used to satisfy the requirements for a Graduate Certificate.
The Graduate Certificate program must be completed within two years of admission to ensure that the course work is current and relevant to the learning outcomes of the program.
Credit hours earned toward a Graduate Certificate may be used, in part or in whole, toward no more than one graduate degree program, at the discretion of the graduate degree program. Admission into a Graduate Certificate program does not imply admission into a graduate degree program. Students completing a Graduate Certificate must apply to and be admitted into a graduate degree program before any credit hours earned through the Graduate Certificate can contribute toward a graduate degree. Per standard policy, completion of a graduate degree program requires enrollment for a minimum of one semester in the graduate degree program as a degree-seeking student.
Graduate Certificates are awarded at the end of each traditional semester (fall, spring, summer) following the campus graduate degree conferral schedule. Students are issued a Certificate Diploma by the Office of the Registrar as well as receiving a credential notation on their transcripts.
Funding Eligibility
Students enrolled as Certificate students are not eligible for waiver-generating graduate assistantships and fellowships unless they have received approval from the Graduate College. Graduate Certificates are intended to be eligible for financial aid. Approval for financial aid will be determined by the Department of Education as a part of the proposal process.