Graduate certificates

Graduate certificate students must remain in good academic standing and must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher in all courses to be used for the graduate certificate.

There are limits on the use of omnibus courses in graduate certificates (i.e., courses numbered 501/601 through 510/610). A few graduate certificates require an omnibus course (e.g., 506 Project) as a culminating activity for the program.  Apart from these required credits, only one omnibus course, for a maximum of 4 credits, is allowed per student, per program, and an omnibus course can only be used as a substitute for an elective, not a core course.

Although grades of C+, C, and C- are below the graduate standard, they may be counted as credit toward a graduate certificate with the specific written approval of the program. Grades of D or F indicate clearly unacceptable work and cannot be applied to graduate certificate requirements.

Courses completed up to seven years prior to the certificate award date may be used to satisfy graduate certificate requirements (e.g., a course started in the fall term of 2008 will be beyond the seven-year limitation at the close of fall term 2015).

For graduate certificates only, transfer credit is defined as any eligible letter-graded (B- or higher) graduate course taken at another accredited institution. Two-thirds of the credits required for a graduate certificate, or 15 credits, whichever is higher, must be taken at PSU. Individual programs may set higher minimums. See the section on Course overlap between degrees and certificates for use of coursework in certificate programs.

A student cannot graduate with a graduate certificate who has an M (Missing) grade in a PSU graduate course that could potentially be letter graded, even if the course is not applied to the program of study.

Students must file an Application for Awarding of Master’s Degree, Doctoral Degree, or Graduate Certificate with the Office of Graduate Studies by the first Friday of the anticipated term of graduation; see the Graduate Candidate Deadlines for specific due dates. A $30 charge will be applied to the student’s PSU account after the application is processed by the Office of Graduate Studies.