Certificate Programs

Programs have various options when developing specialized studies for post-baccalaureate, graduate, and professional students. The Graduate School encourages programs to review the Options for Specialized Study before beginning their proposal.

A Certificate Program is a formal program of courses and other related experiences in a field of specialization. In some disciplines, a Certificate is akin to a professional credential, while in others, a Certificate is recognition of competence in a given skill, practice, or field of study.

Like an academic degree, a Certificate Program is offered by a host academic school, department, or curriculum and is related to an academic area of study. It carries academic credit. The campus encourages interdisciplinary and inter-institutional Certificate Programs where appropriate.

All Certificate Programs that award academic credit, regardless of intended audience, are governed within the Graduate School.

Guidelines for Certificate Programs

Proposals to create a Certificate Program should use the Certificate Program Application FormMicrosoft Word icon.

Prior to beginning any formal planning, programs should consult with the Graduate School to discuss the proper procedures and documentation necessary for a successful academic planning process. Please contact the Associate Dean for Academics for further information.

Last update: March 2024

  Name of Certificate Sponsoring Program Eligibility/Status
1 Graduate Certificate in African Studies CA&S, Department of African and Afro-American Studies, African Studies Center Graduate students
2 Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities CA&S, Department of American Studies and Carolina Digital Humanities Initiative Graduate/professional students; non-degree-seeking students (via Friday Center)
3 Graduate Certificate in Participatory Research CA&S, Department of Anthropology Graduate students
4 Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate Certificate CA&S, Department of Biology, Friday Center for Continuing Education Post-bacc program for non-degree-seeking students only
5 Graduate Certificate in Chemical Biology CA&S, Department of Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products Graduate students
6 Graduate Certificate in Natural Hazards Resilience CA&S, Department of City and Regional Planning, UNC Coastal Hazards Center Graduate students and non-degree-seeking students
7 Classics CA&S, Department of Classics Post-bacc program for non-degree-seeking students only
8 Graduate Certificate in Cultural Studies CA&S, Department of Communication Studies, University Program in Cultural Studies Graduate students
9 Graduate Certificate in Literature, Medicine, and Culture CA&S, Department of English and Comparative Literature Graduate students
10 Graduate Certificate in Film Studies CA&S, Department of English and Comparative Literature Graduate students
11 Graduate Certificate in Computational Linguistics CA&S, Department of Linguistics Graduate students and non-degree-seeking students
12 Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Sciences CA&S, Department of Geography Graduate students and non-degree-seeking students
13 Graduate Certificate in Developmental Psychology CA&S, Department of Psychology (UNC/Duke) Graduate students
14 Graduate Certificate in Biomedical Imaging Science CA&S, Department of Psychology, School of Medicine and CA&S, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Information and Library Science Graduate students
15 Graduate Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good CA&S, Department of Public Policy, School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior, School of Education Graduate students and non-degree-seeking students
16 Graduate Certificate in Middle East Studies CA&S, Department of Religious Studies Graduate students
17 Graduate Certificate in Jewish Studies CA&S, Department of Religious Studies Graduate students
18 Graduate Certificate in Russian and East European Studies CA&S, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies Graduate students
19 Graduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies CA&S, Department of Women's and Gender Studies Graduate students and non-degree-seeking students (via Friday Center)
20 Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies CA&S, Institute of Latin American Studies Graduate students
21 Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Carolina Center for Genome Sciences Graduate Students
22 Graduate Certificate in Developmental Biology Carolina Center for Genome Sciences Graduate students, postdoctoral trainees
23 Graduate Certificate in Nanomedicine Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Graduate students
24 Graduate Certificate in International Peace and Conflict Transformation Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center Graduate students
25 Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Science Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UNC McAllister Heart Institute Graduate students
26 Graduate Certificate in Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise Graduate students, faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows
27 Graduate Certificates in Leadership Development, Data Analytics and Decision- Making, Finance, and Entrepreneurship and Strategy Kenan-Flagler School of Business Non-degree-seeking students only
28 Graduate Certificate in Languages Across the Curriculum LAC Program, Center for European Studies Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students
29 Survey Science Odom Institute for Research in Social Science Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students
30 Graduate Certificate in Innovation, Leadership and Management The Graduate School Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students
31 Postdoctoral Dental Specialty Foundation Certificate School of Dentistry Non-degree-seeking students only
32 Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Studies School of Education Graduate/professional students, non-degree-seeking students
33 Interprofessional Graduate Certificate in Improvement Science and Implementation School of Education Graduate/professional students, Non-degree-seeking Students
34 Business Communication School of Media and Journalism Considered special programs of study, undergraduates
35 Sports Communication School of Media and Journalism Undergraduate Students; Graduate students
36 Latino Media and Journalism Studies School of Media and Journalism Considered special programs of study, undergraduates
37 Health Communication and Marketing School of Media and Journalism Considered special programs of study, undergraduates
38 Digital Communication School of Media and Journalism Non-degree-seeking students only
39 Political Communication School of Media and Journalism Considered special programs of study, undergraduates
40 Fashion Communication and Marketing School of Media and Journalism Considered special programs of study, undergraduates
41 Certificate Program in Medical Education School of Medicine Graduate/professional students
42 Graduate Certificate in Translational Medicine School of Medicine, via the UNC Med-into-Grad Initiative in the Program in Translational Medicine Graduate students
43 Radiography School of Medicine, Department of Allied Health Sciences Post-bac program for non-degree-seeking students only
44 Molecular and Cellular Biophysics School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics Graduate students
45 Chromatin and Epigenetics School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics Graduate students
46 Graduate Certificate in Medical Devices School of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering (UNC/NCSU) Graduate students
47 Graduate Certificate in Nanobiotechnology School of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering (UNC/NCSU) Graduate students
48 Graduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities Graduate students
49 Graduate Certificate in College Science Teaching School of Medicine-OGE, CA&S, Department of Biology Graduate students
50 Acute Care Nurse Practitioner School of Nursing Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements
51 Adult/Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (and Oncology) School of Nursing Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements
52 Pediatric Nurse Practitioner School of Nursing Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements
53 Family Nurse Practitioner School of Nursing Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements
54 Health Care Systems (Areas: Administration, Clinical Nurse Leader, Informatics, Nurse Educator, Outcomes) School of Nursing Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements
55 Psychiatric/Mental Health School of Nursing Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements
56 Family/Women's Health Nurse Practioner School of Nursing Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements
57 Nursing Education School of Nursing Graduate students
58 Certificate in Rural Pharmacy Health School of Pharmacy PharmD students
59 Ambulatory Care Scholars Certificate Program School of Pharmacy PharmD students
60 Health System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership Certificate Program School of Pharmacy Non-degree-seeking Students Only
61 Community Preparedness and Disaster Management School of Public Health Degree seeking graduate and UG students, non-degree-seeking students
62 Core Public Health Concepts School of Public Health Non-degree-seeking students only
63 Field Epidemiology School of Public Health Non-degree-seeking students only
64 Public Health Leadership School of Public Health Non-degree-seeking students only
65 Biomedical Big Data to Knowledge School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, CA&S, Department of Mathematics Graduate students
66 Graduate Certificate in Total Worker Health School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students
67 Maternal and Child Health Leadership School of Public Health, Department of Maternal and Child Health Non-degree-seeking students
68 Graduate Certificate in Impact Evaluation School of Public Health, Department of Maternal and Child Health, CA&S, Department of Public Policy Graduate students
69 Graduate Certificate in Global Health School of Public Health, Office of Global Health Graduate students
70 Global Health (Online) School of Public Health, Public Health Leadership Program Non-degree-seeking students only
71 Graduate Certificate in Public Health Informatics School of Public Health, SILS Graduate students
72 Interdisciplinary Health Disparities School of Public Health, UNC Program of Ethnicity, Culture and Health Outcomes Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students
73 Applied Data Science SILS Undergraduate students, graduate students, non-degree-seeking students
74 Graduate Certificate in Digital Curation SILS Graduate students
75 Information and Library Science Post-Master's Certificate SILS Post-master's students
76 Graduate Certificate of Specialization in Bioinformatics SILS Graduate students

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