Graduate Council Policies

The areas of study for the graduate certificates are created within the mission of graduate education. Students will be awarded certificates upon completion of specific course work, which has been approved by the Graduate Council. The graduate certificate is not defined as a degree by the Graduate School; rather, it is a focused collection of courses that, when completed, affords the student some record of distinct academic accomplishment in a given discipline or set of related disciplines. Moreover, the graduate certificate is not viewed as a guaranteed means of entry into a graduate degree program. While the courses comprising a graduate certificate may be used as evidence in support of a student’s application for admission to a degree program, the certificate itself is not considered to be a prerequisite.

I. Process of Approval for New Graduate Certificates

Proposals for new areas of study for graduate certificates are created and submitted by the academic unit that wishes to offer such a certificate. Proposals must be accompanied by endorsement from the department heads and deans of the colleges/schools in which the contributing course work is offered as well as from the academic unit or units whose students or degree programs could be impacted by the creation of the graduate certificate. The Graduate Council will consider all the proposals for new graduate certificates to assure proposal guidelines have been followed and that repetition and redundancy across areas of study for certificates are not evident. Those meeting the criteria set forth by Graduate Council will then be recommended to the Provost for approval.

II. Criteria for Approval

The general principles applied to the assessment of the academic quality of proposals for new graduate areas of study for certificates include:

1. The proposed sequence of course work must offer a clear and appropriate educational objective at the post-baccalaureate level.

2. The proposed curriculum will achieve its educational objective in an efficient and well-defined manner.

3. A perceived need for such a certificate should exist. This provision might be defined in terms of either external markets (i.e., external demand for the skills associated with such a certificate) or internal academic means (i.e., the need for a critical mass of students in a given discipline).

4. An appropriate number of credit hours must comprise the area of study for the certificate. The number of graduate credits cannot be less than 9 or more than one-half of the credits necessary for a related master’s degree from the Graduate School.

5. If the area of study for a certificate requires new courses, those courses must be approved by the appropriate College bodies or offices and the Graduate Council.

III. Student Eligibility and Admission Criteria

Students must apply and be accepted into the graduate certificate area of study to be eligible to receive a certificate. The prerequisites and general criteria of eligibility for admission to any graduate certificate area of study include:

1. An earned baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from a regionally accredited college or university or enrollment in a USF five-year academic program is required. Students in five-year academic programs may be admitted upon completion of 120 semester hours.

2. Each graduate area of study sets the requirements for admission, including minimum grade point average, standardized test scores, and other similar criteria as part of the application.

3. Students who wish to pursue a graduate certificate must apply and be admitted to the certificate area. Students are encouraged to contact the coordinator prior to applying. All students who wish to pursue approved graduate certificates must be admitted to such areas of study before one-half of the required credits are completed. Editor's Note: Non-degree students must apply before completing two graduate certificate courses - see Transfer of Credit Policy for information.

4. Certificate-seeking students not currently enrolled in a degree-granting graduate program will be admitted into a separate classification within the University, and will be classified as 
“ Graduate Certificate Students.” This separate classification will permit the University to monitor statistical and enrollment data for certificate areas of study, and will allow inclusion of such efforts in the annual reports and academic planning. The Graduate Certificate Office will note successful completion of a certificate on the student’s transcript upon completion.

5. Students pursuing a graduate certificate will be required to meet the same academic requirements as those defined for degree-seeking students to remain in “good standing”.

6. All graduate certificate students may apply one graduate course to two graduate certificates.

7. All graduate certificate students must meet all prerequisites for courses in which they wish to enroll. Should a graduate certificate student subsequently apply and be accepted to a degree-granting program, up to 12 hours of USF credit earned as a graduate certificate student may be applied to satisfy graduate degree requirements. Any application of such credit must be approved by the degree-granting college and must be appropriate to the program.

8. For information on transfer of credit policies pertaining to Graduate Certificates, refer to the transfer of credit policy in Section 7, Academic Policies, of this catalog.

IV. Certificate Requirements

To receive a graduate certificate:

1. Students must successfully complete certificate requirements as established by the University.

2. Students must submit a completion form. Degree-seeking students must submit this form before graduating from their degree program. Non-degree-seeking students must submit this form no later than one semester after completing their certificate course work.

3. Students must have been awarded a bachelor’s or higher degree.