Iowa State University

Graduate College Handbook

Appendix D. Graduate Certificate Programs

What is a Graduate Certificate

A graduate certificate provides a mechanism for bestowing formal recognition of focused graduate study in a specialized area that is less comprehensive than required for a master's degree. At Iowa State University, a graduate certificate may be earned either before, after, or concurrently with the master's or doctoral degree. As such, the standards of admission and the standards to which a certificate student is held are equivalent to those expected of a master's student.

Candidates for a graduate certificate must be admitted to the desired graduate certificate program in the Graduate College. All courses for a graduate certificate must be acceptable for graduate credit and each graduate certificate must require at least 12 graduate credits. A graduate supervisor will be appointed to oversee the certification for each student.

If a person who receives a graduate certificate decides to continue for a graduate degree, the person needs to seek approval from that degree program. Credits earned for the graduate certificate may also be used to meet degree requirements for the graduate degree if approved by the Program of Study Committee.

Academic Procedures for Graduate Certificates

• At the time of admission, known certificate seeking students will be designated as "Certificate" or "CRT" for the Degree entry on the Graduate Admission Evaluation form.
• Each certificate program will have a "Director of Certificate Studies (DOCS)-the equivalent of the DOGE for a graduate major.
• A POS form shall be filed for each Certificate student no later than the first week of the final term.
• Certificate students do not have a POS committee, but do have a supervising professor that can be the same as the Director of Certificate Studies. The supervising professor must be a member of the graduate faculty and of the program.
• The POS form will list the courses required to receive the certificate and be signed by the student, supervising professor and DOCS. The POS form notifies the Graduate College of the supervising professor.
• No "Recommendation for Committee" form needs to be filed with the Graduate College.
• The POS form must list at least one ISU graduate course.
• Certificate programs follow the same 5-year time limit that master's programs employ.
• The regular Graduate College course rules apply to certificates:
  • A student must have a graduate GPA of 3.00 or better, no course with less than a C may be applied to the POS.
  • All courses on the POS must be graduate courses or approved for non-major graduate credit taken as a graduate student.
  • Any transfer credits used must be B or better, have been taken as a graduate student for graduate credit, and be from an accredited university. Individual programs will determine the maximum non-major graduate credit and transfer credits they will allow for the certificate.
  • Transfer courses must be completed prior to submitting the POS and a transcript submitted to the Graduate College for review.
• Time limits for graduate certificate programs follow the same 5-year time limit that master’s programs employ.
• When a student has completed all requirements, the program will submit a "Certificate Completed" form signed by the DOCS to the Graduate College. The Graduate College will then certify that all requirements have been completed satisfactorily and inform the Registrar and the Graduation Office.
• The Registrar will add a notation to the permanent record (transcript) indicating that a Graduate Certificate in _____ was granted on a specified date and issue a printed ISU graduate certificate.
• The Registrar will provide a certificate document to each student after courses have been satisfactorily completed.
• Following completion of the certificate program, a hold will be placed on future registration unless a student has been approved to pursue a graduate degree.

Establishing a Certificate Program

The first step in establishing a new graduate certificate is the preparation of a proposal by qualified group of faculty (a Word version of the proposal below is also available). If the proposed program will be focused in an existing department, program or college, the proposal should be routed through the corresponding curriculum committees. College curriculum committees will forward the appropriately amended proposal to the Graduate College Catalog and Curriculum Committee. Proposals for interdisciplinary programs with no obvious departmental or college focus shall be submitted directly to the Graduate College Catalog and Curriculum Committee.

Required Background Information

1. Name of the proposed graduate certificate.
2. Name of the departments and/or programs involved.
3. Name of contact person.
4. Need for the graduate certificate.
5. Objective of the graduate certificate.
6. General description of the graduate certificate.
7. Graduate certificate requirements including:
   a) Admissions standards and prerequisites for the certificate program.
   b) Courses and seminars.
8. General description of the resources currently available and future resource needs:
   a) A list of supporting faculty members including a brief description of their expertise relating to the graduate certificate.
   b) The effects of any new courses on faculty workload.
   c) Other resources required for the program including graduate assistants, laboratories and other facilities, supplies, etc.
9. Relationship of the proposed graduate certificate to the strategic plans of the department, college and the university.
10. Plan for periodic review of the certificate program.

Programs Offering Graduate Certificates

Previous: Appendix C - Majors, Minors, Degrees, and Areas of Specialization or Table of Contents
Next: Appendix E - Master's Programs at Iowa State University

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