The University Senate of Michigan Technological University

GRADUATE CERTIFICATES
(Proposal 20-04)
(Proposal 11-10)
(Proposal 4-11)
(Proposal 24-15)


Senate Policy 411.1

 

Graduate Certificates will be granted to students who have completed the Graduate Certificate requirements established by academic or research units at Michigan Technological University. Graduate Certificates will be noted on official transcripts, and a written certificate will be given to the student upon completion of the requirements. The Graduate School will administer the Certificate Programs and develop procedures regarding faculty oversight, program re-evaluation, scholarship support, and other fiscal and management issues.

 

Michigan Tech degree-seeking graduate students who wish to earn a graduate certificate must be enrolled in a degree program in the semester they wish to complete their graduate certificate, and submit the appropriate Degree schedule, available through the Graduate School.

 

Individuals who wish to earn a graduate certificate from Michigan Tech and who are not currently enrolled at Michigan Tech as degree-seeking students must complete the University’s online graduate admission application.  Applicants seeking a graduate certificate must meet the same admission standards as degree-seeking applicants.  Upon formal admission to the Graduate School, these students will be assigned an academic advisor by the certificate's program director.  These students will be charged the same tuition and fees as degree-seeking graduate students in the advisor’s administrative home department or school.

 

Individuals seeking to earn a graduate certificate from Michigan Tech should note the following:

 

1)   Applicants to a Graduate Certificate program must have a Bachelors degree or equivalent.  Individual Graduate Certificate programs may have additional admission requirements. The time limit during which a student is expected to complete all of the requirements of a Graduate Certificate may vary, but is not to exceed four years.

2)   No more than 3 credit hours may normally be 3000 or 4000 level courses, however interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary certificates may have a maximum of 6 credit hours at the 3000 or 4000 level. All other credits must be at the 5000 or higher level, and may include no more than 3 credit hours of research.

 

3)   A minimum grade of B is required in all course work. Graduate Faculty must teach all courses required for a Graduate Certificate, except for the allowed 3000 or 4000 level courses.

 

4)   A maximum of 1/3 of the coursework credits required for a certificate can be transferred in from another university or from a Michigan Tech undergraduate degree schedule. Credits applied toward a certificate can be used to satisfy both requirements for a degree and requirements for a certificate. Credits applied toward a certificate must have been earned no more than 5 years prior to the date on which the certificate will be awarded.. Research credits (if required for the certificate) must be earned through Michigan Tech.

 

5)   Non-degree seeking students who earn Michigan Tech credits prior to formal admission to a certificate program can apply those credits to satisfy up to 1/3 of the coursework-credit requirements for the certificate. Non-degree seeking students should update their enrollment to certificate-seeking prior to earning more than 1/3 of the coursework credits required for the certificate. Research credits earned by non-degree seeking students cannot be applied toward a graduate certificate.

 

6)   Credits may be double counted between a single certificate and a single master's or PhD program.

 

7)   Michigan Tech requires that students earning a graduate certificate complete a minimum of 15 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. Students concurrently earning a graduate certificate in addition to a graduate degree at Michigan Tech are allowed, with the approval of the certificate program advisor, to complete 12 out of the 15 credits required for the certificate in order to obtain both certificate and graduate degree. A 12-credit certificate will not be awarded until completion of a Michigan Tech graduate degree. 

 

Faculty Endorsement & University Approval of a New Graduate Certificate

Graduate Certificates may be proposed by individual faculty, groups of faculty, departments, or groups of departments in any academic or research unit at Michigan Tech. Graduate Certificates may be proposed in disciplines without a preexisting graduate degree program. A proposed Graduate Certificate curriculum may contain fieldwork, distance learning, and laboratory courses in addition to traditional classroom offerings. Additional admission requirements for a Graduate Certificate program beyond that stated above must be listed in the proposal.

 

Proposals for Graduate Certificate programs will follow the usual procedures for university degree programs, and be submitted to the Senate by the Provost.



Proposal 20-04:
Adopted by Senate: 25 February 2004
Approved by Administration: 3 March 2004

Proposal 11-10:

Introduced to Senate: 01 February 2010
Editorial Change (in blue): 01 February 2010
Adopted by Senate: 24 February 2010

Approved by Admin with addition of one word for clarification: 04 March 2010

Proposal 4-11:

Introduced to Senate: 10 November 2010
Adopted by Senate: 8 December 2010
Approved by Administration: 20 December 2010

 

Proposal 24-15:

Introduced to Senate: 04 February 2015
Adopted by Senate: 18 February 2015
Approved by Administration: 23 February 2015