Story by Cody Hall, Contributing writer
A list of possible graduate certificates can be found on the Murray State website.
Murray State offers a range of different certificates.
They look great on a resumé, and are quicker than getting an entire degree in a subject. They are offered through several departments, but any student that wishes to pursue one can do so.
They are offered both on the graduate and undergraduate level, but of the 14 certificates that Murray State offers, 10 of them are on the graduate level.
There are seven different schools/colleges that offer these certificates: Business, Nursing, Agriculture, Education and Human Services, Humanities and Fine Arts, Science, Engineering and Technology and Interdisciplinary.
“These certificates are extra courses that people take, mostly on the graduate level. They are heavily focused on a specific subject,” Tracy Roberts, university registrar, said. “Helping those that get the certificate be more specialized in that area. They work similar to a minor, except with less time and more focused on one subject.”
In the last two and a half years, only 57 of these certificates have been awarded. This small amount is because the certificate program was recently revised, Roberts said. They have only been back for a short period, and because of the time it takes for a student to actually complete the program, not many students have done so.
Three of the four that are offered on the undergraduate level are within the department of community leadership and human services. Those are faith-based social work, substance-related and addictive disorders and gerontology. The fourth undergraduate certificate is geographic information science, through the Geosciences Department
“The certificates were passed by Academic Council last spring,” Peggy Pittman-Munke, interim program director for the Community Leadership and Human Services Department, said. “The certificates are for people who want to work in the certificate areas. These certificates are not only for social work majors but are for criminal justice, recreation, nonprofit leadership, psychology, sociology and integrated studies majors as well as for any student who believes they may want to work in one of the areas regardless of major.”
These certificates are used to show that the students that receive them have both hands on, and academic course work in that specific field. These certificates can be earned by anyone. If someone is interested in the subject it covers, but they do not want to put the time into an entire degree, they can earn a certificate that looks nice on a resumé.
The certificates are also useful for people that have already received a degree but do not want to continue their education at the graduate level. Certificates can be added on a degree to help change the career field or become more marketable in the field of the certificate.
If you are interested in these certificates, ask your professors or get in contact with the head of your department or the department head of the certificate you are interested in. To learn more about specific certificates, you can find them through the Murray State webpage, along with information on who to contact.
