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
.
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 Vice Dean for Academics for further information.
Note: Changes to undergraduate level certificate programs are expected in 2025. Prospective students should confirm a certificate program's availability with directly with program staff before applying.
Last update: June 2025
| 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 |
| 3 | Graduate Certificate in Participatory Research | CA&S; Department of Anthropology | Graduate students |
| 4 | Graduate Certificate in Chemical Biology | CA&S; Department of Chemistry; School of Pharmacy; Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products | Graduate students |
| 5 | Graduate Certificate in Natural Hazards Resilience | CA&S; Department of City and Regional Planning | Graduate students and non-degree-seeking students |
| 6 | Classics | CA&S; Department of Classics | Post-bacc program for non-degree-seeking students only |
| 7 | Graduate Certificate in Cultural Studies | CA&S; Department of Communication Studies; University Program in Cultural Studies | Graduate students |
| 8 | Graduate Certificate in Literature, Medicine, and Culture | CA&S; Department of English and Comparative Literature | Graduate students |
| 9 | Graduate Certificate in Film Studies | CA&S; Department of English and Comparative Literature | Graduate students |
| 10 | Graduate Certificate in Computational Linguistics | CA&S; Department of Linguistics | Graduate students and non-degree-seeking students |
| 11 | Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Sciences | CA&S; Department of Geography | Graduate students and non-degree-seeking students |
| 12 | Graduate Certificate in Developmental Psychology | CA&S; Department of Psychology (UNC/Duke) | Graduate students |
| 13 | 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 |
| 14 | 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 |
| 15 | Graduate Certificate in Middle East Studies | CA&S; Department of Religious Studies | Graduate students |
| 16 | Graduate Certificate in Jewish Studies | CA&S; Department of Religious Studies | Graduate students |
| 17 | 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 |
| 18 | Graduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies | CA&S; Department of Women's and Gender Studies | Graduate students and non-degree-seeking students |
| 19 | Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies | CA&S; Institute of Latin American Studies | Graduate students |
| 20 | Graduate Certificate in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology | Carolina Center for Genome Sciences | Graduate students |
| 21 | Graduate Certificate in Developmental Biology | Carolina Center for Genome Sciences | Graduate students, postdoctoral trainees |
| 22 | Graduate Certificate in Nanomedicine | Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence | Graduate students |
| 23 | Graduate Certificate in International Peace and Conflict Transformation | Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center | Graduate students |
| 24 | Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Science | Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; UNC McAllister Heart Institute | Graduate students |
| 25 | Graduate Certificate in Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship | Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise | Graduate students, faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows |
| 26 | 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 |
| 27 | Leadership Academy Certificate | Kenan-Flagler School of Business | Graduate students (Online MBA@UNC 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 Orofacial Pain | School of Dentistry | Non-degree-seeking students only (DDS or equivalent) |
| 33 | Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Studies | School of Education | Graduate/professional students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 34 | Interprofessional Graduate Certificate in Improvement Science and Implementation | School of Education | Graduate/professional students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 35 | Business Communication | School of Media and Journalism | Considered special programs of study, undergraduates |
| 36 | Sports Communication | School of Media and Journalism | Undergraduate students, graduate students |
| 37 | Latino Media and Journalism Studies | School of Media and Journalism | Considered special programs of study, undergraduates |
| 38 | Health Communication and Marketing | School of Media and Journalism | Considered special programs of study, undergraduates |
| 39 | Digital Communication (Digital Storytelling; Digital Communication Strategy; Digital Media Management) | School of Media and Journalism | Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 40 | Political Communication | School of Media and Journalism | Considered special programs of study, undergraduates |
| 41 | Fashion Communication and Marketing | School of Media and Journalism | Considered special programs of study, undergraduates |
| 42 | Certificate Program in Medical Education | School of Medicine | Graduate/professional students |
| 43 | Graduate Certificate in Translational Medicine | School of Medicine, via the UNC Med-into-Grad Initiative in the Program in Translational Medicine | Graduate students |
| 44 | Radiography | School of Medicine; Department of Allied Health Sciences | Post-bac program for non-degree-seeking students only |
| 45 | Molecular and Cellular Biophysics | School of Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics | Graduate students |
| 46 | Chromatin and Epigenetics | School of Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics | Graduate students |
| 47 | Graduate Certificate in Medical Devices | School of Medicine; Department of Biomedical Engineering (UNC/NCSU) | Graduate students |
| 48 | Graduate Certificate in Nanobiotechnology | School of Medicine; Department of Biomedical Engineering (UNC/NCSU) | Graduate students |
| 49 | Graduate Certificate in Women’s Health Research | School of Medicine; Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine | Graduate students |
| 50 | Graduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities | School of Medicine; Department of Psychiatry; Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities | Graduate students |
| 51 | Graduate Certificate in College Science Teaching | School of Medicine-OGE; CA&S; Department of Biology | Graduate students |
| 52 | Acute Care Nurse Practitioner | School of Nursing | Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements |
| 53 | Adult/Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (and Oncology) | School of Nursing | Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements |
| 54 | Pediatric Nurse Practitioner | School of Nursing | Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements |
| 55 | Family Nurse Practitioner | School of Nursing | Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements |
| 56 | 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 |
| 57 | Psychiatric/Mental Health | School of Nursing | Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements |
| 58 | Family/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner | School of Nursing | Post-Master's Advanced practice area designed to meet professional licensure requirements |
| 59 | Nursing Education | School of Nursing | Graduate students |
| 60 | Certificate in Rural Pharmacy Health | School of Pharmacy | PharmD students |
| 61 | Ambulatory Care Scholars Certificate Program | School of Pharmacy | PharmD students |
| 62 | Business of Healthcare | School of Pharmacy | PharmD students |
| 63 | Health System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership Certificate Program | School of Pharmacy | Non-degree-seeking students only |
| 64 | Community Preparedness and Disaster Management | School of Public Health | Degree seeking graduate and UG students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 65 | Core Public Health Concepts | School of Public Health | Non-degree-seeking students only |
| 66 | Field Epidemiology | School of Public Health | Non-degree-seeking students only |
| 67 | Healthcare Management | School of Public Health;Department of Health Policy and Management | Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 68 | Public Health Leadership | School of Public Health; Public Health Leadership Program | Non-degree-seeking students only |
| 69 | Biomedical Big Data to Knowledge | School of Public Health; Department of Biostatistics; CA&S; Department of Mathematics | Graduate students |
| 70 | Graduate Certificate in Total Worker Health | School of Public Health; Department of Health Behavior | Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 71 | Maternal and Child Health Leadership | School of Public Health; Department of Maternal and Child Health | Non-degree-seeking students |
| 72 | Graduate Certificate in Impact Evaluation | School of Public Health; Department of Maternal and Child Health; CA&S; Department of Public Policy | Graduate students |
| 73 | Graduate Certificate in Global Health | School of Public Health; Office of Global Health | Graduate students |
| 74 | Graduate Certificate in Public Health Informatics | School of Public Health; SILS | Graduate students |
| 75 | Interdisciplinary Health Disparities | School of Public Health; UNC Program of Ethnicity, Culture and Health Outcomes | Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 76 | Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership | School of Social Work | Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 77 | Specialty Certificate in I/DD and ND (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Neurodiversity) | School of Social Work | Graduate students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 78 | Applied Data Science | SILS | Undergraduate students, graduate students, non-degree-seeking students |
| 79 | Graduate Certificate in Digital Curation | SILS | Graduate students |
| 80 | Information and Library Science Post-Master's Certificate | SILS | Post-master's students |
| 81 | Graduate Certificate of Specialization in Bioinformatics | SILS | Graduate students |
- College of Arts and Sciences (CA&S)
- School of Information and Library Science (SILS)
- Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC)
- Office of Graduate Education (OGE)
- North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Download the current Official Listing of Certificate Programs