Undergraduate Certificates
Undergraduate Certificates are offered in the following disciplines. See below for general information on Undergraduate Certificates.
African and African Diaspora Studies
American Indian Studies
Citizen Engagement
Creative Writing
Critical Reasoning
Cultural Competency
Cybersecurity
Deafblind Intervener
East Asian Studies
European Studies
Fermentation Science
Global Governance and Advocacy
Governance of Nations
Human Geography
International Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Administration
International Security Studies
Latin American and Latino Studies
Lawmaking and Legal Processes
Middle East and Islamic Studies
Political Advocacy and Elections
Public and Social Entrepreneurship
Public Policy Analysis
Social Justice in Global Health
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Technical & Professional Writing
Translation (English and Spanish)
Students may not receive an Undergraduate Certificate with the same name as their major, minor, concentration or option OR due to the fact that the subset of courses is already on a student’s major, minor, concentration, or option. For more information, see Graduation Requirements.
Requirements
Certificate programs are designed to be completed quickly, usually in less than one year, and are independent of all general education and degree requirements. Certificates are awarded at all levels from undergraduate through continuing education and signify that a student has knowledge, skills, or competencies in an area of specialization.
- Undergraduate certificates are 12 to 18 credit hours. A minimum of six credit hours must be offered at the 300 level or above for a 12- to 15-hour certificate, and a minimum of nine credit hours must be offered at the 300 level or above for a 16- to 18-hour certificate. Non-degree seeking students must meet the existing admission standards to the University for Non-degree Special Admission for on-campus enrollment or Special Admission for off-campus enrollment. The student must consult with an advisor and declare a certificate program (on-campus) or a degree plan (Global Campus). Degree-seeking students must meet the undergraduate admission requirements.
- Certificates must not include hidden prerequisites and/or co-requisites.
- All courses on the certificate must be letter graded with the exception of those courses exclusively offered as credit/no credit.
- The minimum cumulative GPA based on all graded coursework for the certificate must be established by the ‘proposing entity’ but can be no lower than a 2.0. Courses may be repeated according to the existing rules for degree programs.
- When completed with all coursework required for the certificate, students can initiate an official review by the Registrar’s Office through Degree Progress. Once verified as complete, the certificate will be recorded on the student transcript.
- Certificates may be housed in one department or they may be interdisciplinary, in which case the responsible Interdisciplinary Council must be identified.
Certificates are noted in the margin of the transcript when all courses are completed. Certificates are offered to both degree-seeking and non-degree students. If the student completes only a certificate, the student is not allowed to participate in commencement ceremonies since no degree is awarded.