Graduate and Professional School Certificate Programs
A graduate certificate program awards a certificate of completion to an already-enrolled post-baccalaureate student who completes a defined and limited set of additional requirements focused on a specific theme. It provides the student with a credential, typically for use on a resume or curriculum vitae, to document study in a particular sub-field during the course of the graduate degree program in which the student is enrolled.
Any department or program wishing to offer and award graduate certificates must submit their proposed programs for approval. Only a certificate awarded by an authorized, approved graduate certificate program may be advertised or be noted on a student’s transcript.
Graduate certificate programs fall under the administrative jurisdiction of the school deans, as follows, with the Dean of the Graduate School serving as the overall principal point of contact in the Provost’s Office. The Dean of the Graduate School will approve and oversee (1) all graduate certificate programs offered individually or collaboratively by the Graduate School’s graduate-degree programs and (2) all graduate certificate programs that are open broadly to post-baccalaureate students enrolled at Vanderbilt (i.e., programs not limited to those in a single professional school). The Dean of each professional school will approve and oversee any graduate certificate program open only to students already enrolled in a professional degree program in that school and will keep the Dean of the Graduate School informed of all such certificate programs. In all cases, programs wishing to establish graduate certificate programs must adhere to guidelines established by the aforementioned deans.
Certificate Programs Overseen by the Graduate School
With the approval of the appropriate faculty, department chair(s) or program director(s) and the local college/school dean(s), a program may propose that the Graduate School offer a Graduate School Certificate Program focused on a specific academic theme.
Graduate Certificate Programs Outside of the Graduate School
The Dean of each professional school will approve and oversee any graduate certificate program open only to students already enrolled in a professional degree program in that school and will keep the Dean of the Graduate School informed of all such certificate programs.
Catalog Requirements for All Certificate Programs
All approved certificates should be listed in the relevant school catalogs and on websites with the certificate requirements.
Assessment Requirements for All Certificate Programs
All certificate programs are required to assess student learning outcomes within their program and submit an assessment plan as part of the approval process. For a copy of the assessment plan template, please email via@vanderbilt.edu
An annual assessment report is required if the number of certificates awarded is five or more. If the number is less than five, the assessment data should be added to the next year’s report. Assessment reports must be submitted at least every three years even if there have been fewer than five students who have completed the requirements for the program. Annual assessment reports should contain a list of the outcomes measured, assessment results, and a list of any planned improvements to the certificate program. Student outcomes and assessment measures can be the same in certificate and degree programs but outcomes and assessment measures must be relevant to certificate-level students. It is also important to distinguish between the two levels. Annual assessment reports should be submitted to via@vanderbilt.edu by August 1st of each year.