Department & Faculty Information
The purpose of a Special Certificate is to give the student an opportunity to design in advance, with university approval, a program that will be certified upon completion. To obtain an undergraduate Special Certificate, an undergraduate or graduate student must complete a program of at least 20 quarter-units in upper-division courses with a GPA of 2.00. The program must provide a logical and coherent pattern of preparation for a limited objective. The title of the proposed certificate should carry no connotation of meeting a licensing requirement for professional practice. The student’s proposed program must be developed with, and approved by, a faculty member knowledgeable in the field being certified.
Note: To obtain a graduate Special Certificate, a graduate student must possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and complete at least 20 quarter units, of which at least half must be at the graduate 6000-level, with a minimum GPA of 3.00. See the Interdisciplinary Studies Majors’ chapters in the section of this catalog for additional information.
Procedure
The student develops a proposed program with the advice and approval of a faculty member knowledgeable in the field of study. The completed “Undergraduate/Graduate Special Certificate Proposal,” with advisor and student approval, is forwarded by the advisor to the dean of the college in which the preponderance of courses will be taken. If the dean approves, he or she signs and sends the proposal to the Interdisciplinary Studies Major Coordinator in the Office of General Education. The Interdisciplinary Studies Major Coordinator then sends a copy of the proposal to each of the other three college deans. The deans have 10 working days to enter an objection. If none is received and the Senior Director of Undergraduate Studies and General Education judges the proposal to be sound, the program will be approved. If any college dean objects, he or she must file written objections with the Interdisciplinary Studies Major Coordinator within the 10 days. These will be considered by the Senior Director in deciding whether or not to approve the program. The student is notified in writing by the Interdisciplinary Studies Major Coordinator about the final action on his/her proposal. A copy of an approved program is filed in the student’s online file and in the Interdisciplinary Studies Major Coordinator’s office. Upon completion of the Special Certificate program, the student applies to the Registrar and pays the fee to receive the certificate.
