An undergraduate certificate is a formal academic award that demonstrates a student is competent in specific skills or knowledge that enhances their professional preparation and is conferred on completion of an approved academic program of study at the baccalaureate level with an applied focus. Completion of the certificate program appears on the official University transcript.
Students may enroll in a certificate program without also being enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program. Students not enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at The University of Alabama must apply for admission for entry to a certificate program and must have a high school diploma, or equivalent. Students who are only enrolled in certificate programs are not eligible for federal financial aid.
Students who are already enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program at UA must formally declare they are pursuing the certificate through their college before they graduate. Current degree-seeking undergraduate students may pursue only one certificate program at a time. Students may not apply coursework from a previously awarded bachelor’s degree to the completion of a certificate program.
A new certificate must be formally approved in accordance with the university approval process for new programs. Changes to an existing certificate must go through the College/School curriculum approval process. Only formally approved certificates will appear in the UA Catalog.
An undergraduate certificate program consists of at least 9 credit hours and at most 21 credit hours of instruction and other credit-bearing activities. A minimum GPA of 2.0 in the certificate program is required for conferral of the award. Credits transferred from another institution will not be applied to the completion of the certificate requirements.