The MHS program offers Graduate Certificates in Addiction Studies, Gerontological Studies, and Health Services Leadership.  The Graduate Certificate program in Addiction Studies is an interdisciplinary program offered by the Department of Counselor Education (in the College of Education) and the Master of Health Science Program (in the College of Health Sciences).  The Graduate Certificate Program in Gerontological Studies is an interdisciplinary program offered by the Colleges of Education, Health Sciences, and Social Science and Public Affairs.  The Graduate Certificate in Health Services Leadership is administered strictly by the Master of Health Science program, although some of its courses are taught by faculty in other colleges or programs.

Graduate certificates are intended to offer opportunities for professional development and advanced learning to potential students who are not interested in earning a master’s degree.  Generally, graduate certificates are more limited in scope relative to master’s degrees in that less coursework is required (e.g., graduate certificates in the MHS program require 15-18 credits, whereas graduate degrees require 36-39 credits), the coursework that is required is more topic-specific (i.e., it does not introduce students to a wide variety of different topics), and no culminating activities (e.g., thesis, project, oral examination) are required.  The admissions procedures and expectations for students applying to earn a graduate certificate are identical to those for students applying to earn a master’s degree.

In the MHS program, we do not consider graduate certificates to be “lower” or “less valued” than master’s degrees.  They are simply different, and we believe that each is most valuable for a certain population.  Graduate certificates are ideal for health professionals employed in a variety of agencies, organizations, or private practice, who are less interested in (or do not need) another degree to access new career opportunities and more interested in developing additional knowledge in a given area.  Master’s degrees are more appropriate for persons interested in gaining knowledge, professional development opportunities, and accessing new career opportunities (or at least more advanced positions in their current organizations).