Graduate Certificates

Approved 11/29/01; Revised 2018

Graduate-level certificates are graduate courses of study approved by an academic unit designed to provide professional development and career advancement opportunities, to broaden career options, or to enhance an individual’s skills or education as part of the process of life-long learning. These certificates are not part of degree programs, although courses completed as part of a certificate curriculum could be used in meeting degree requirements, where appropriate.

A non-degree graduate certificate student is one who has been formally admitted by a department or school to a specific course of study leading to a certificate. There are two types of non-degree graduate certificates. 

Post-Baccalaureate Graduate Certificate: Requires a minimum of nine semester hours of graduate courses beyond the baccalaureate degree, but fewer hours than a master’s degree.

Post-Master’s Graduate Certificate: Requires a minimum of 9 semester hours of graduate courses beyond the master’s degree, but fewer hours than a doctoral degree.

Admission

An applicant for a course of study leading to a Graduate or Post-Baccalaureate Certificate must have a bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university that is accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting association, or its equivalent as determined by the Graduate School. For a Post- Master’s Certificate, the applicant must have a master’s degree from a college or university that is accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting association, or its equivalent as determined by the Graduate School. Applicants must also meet the specific requirements stipulated by the academic unit offering the certificate.

Current students looking to add the certificate to the graduate program need to apply to the certificate before the last semester in the graduate program. There should be at least one additional course beyond the graduate degree the student needs to complete to be awarded the certificate. 

Advisor

A Graduate, Post-Baccalaureate, or Post-Master’s certificate course of study shall have a designated coordinator or director assigned by the academic unit chair that is sponsoring the certificate to advise students and confirm completion of the certificate requirements.

For a complete listing of each certificate program’s graduate coordinator(s) or director(s) please visit Grad.IllinoisState.edu/Faculty/Coordinators. 

GPA Minimum

In order to be awarded the certificate, a student must have a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0 in the set of courses required for the certificate.

Time Limitations

All requirements for a graduate level certificate must be completed within six calendar years, beginning with the date the student first registers as a graduate level certificate student. This limitation applies to enrollment in all graduate coursework for the certificate including work for which transfer credit is allowed. Refer to the time limitation regulation for master’s degrees for additional criteria which would apply.

Transfer of Credit

No more than 40 percent of coursework hours required can be transferred from other accredited institutions to satisfy the certificate requirements.

Additional Requirements and Information

Students must complete the same prerequisites or have the equivalent experiences as graduate degree candidates to enroll in specific courses.

No differentiation in course requirements will exist between graduate certificate courses and graduate degree courses.

Students seeking a graduate level certificate are subject to the academic policies and regulations indicated in this catalog. There will not be university recognition of graduate level certificate completion as part of the degree commencement activities except by agreement of the College whose academic unit sponsors the certificate.

A certificate will not be awarded after a student graduates from the graduate degree program, if they never applied to the certificate program, even if they took all the coursework as part of the graduate degree.

If a J1/F1 visa student is adding a certificate, they should not be using that to extend their graduate degree. The visa should only be extended because there are courses remaining for the graduate degree. Once a student has completed all courses for the graduate degree, they need to graduate in that term.

The granting of a graduate level certificate will appear on the University transcript.

Eligibility for Financial Aid, Assistantships, or Fellowships

Certificate students are not eligible for graduate assistantships or fellowships intended for degree- seeking students nor federal financial aid. Graduate tuition waivers are granted at the discretion of the awarding unit.

Use of Courses in Degree Programs

Courses taken as part of a graduate certificate can be counted towards a master’s degree following degree grading criteria if the courses are appropriate for the specific degree program and are taken within an approved time frame.

Admission to a Degree Program: Individuals in a graduate-level certificate program who wish to apply to a degree program will go through the usual admissions process for a master’s degree, using the usual documentation (transcripts, standardized scores, etc.).