Top 20 Graduate Certificate Programs Online

Graduate certificates have evolved as mainstream educational tools for professionals who want to target specific issues or areas in order to bolster their credentials or to reorient their careers.  These programs generally have between four and eight courses, to be completed over a period of nine months to a year.  Working people who find that recent technological or cultural developments are affecting their area of expertise can enroll in a certificate program as a cost effective method of getting current on a specific skill set or technology.

Certificates are also a quick way to gain expertise in a field if you’re moving toward a career transition.   Universities of every caliber are offering graduate certificates, adding them to their menu of undergraduate and graduate degrees as another educational option.  If you have all the degrees you want or need, a graduate certificate is the most efficient choice for honing your professional skills.

1. Healthcare Informatics is a graduate certificate offered by Drexel University.  The program consists of three courses given over ten week quarters.  The role of IT in healthcare grows larger with every year; completion of this certificate will allow you to work more effectively with healthcare administrators and medical personnel, as well as with non-healthcare professionals who need to understand the technical and legal parameters of this major form of communication within the healthcare industry.
2. Gerontology is one of the certificates offered by the University of Pittsburgh for professionals who find themselves working with services or products delivered to our aging population.  The first Baby Boomers have turned 65.  Gerontology and geriatrics are applicable for professionals in many fields besides medicine who should have the specialized knowledge of the aging process for their particular discipline.
3. Nonprofit Management is offered as a graduate certificate program by Northeastern University.  The six courses cover all aspects of nonprofit oversight including grant writing, organization, governance, finance, and resource development.  For fulltime online students the program will take one year to complete; Northeastern also offers the certificate as a blended program for students located in the Boston area.
4. Instructional Technology is an important aspect of education today from kindergarten through graduate school.  St Joseph’s University of Philadelphia offers a certificate for this discipline that consists of eight courses plus an internship.  Upon completion of the program you will be eligible for certification and will be qualified to work in instructional technology at the classroom, school, or regional level.
5. Educational Leadership is a specialization for working teachers or for education professionals who wish to move into an administrative role. The certificate program offered by Kaplan University is designed for K-12 professionals who would like to strengthen their credentials for assuming an administrative role within the school setting or within the school district.
6. Systems Engineering as offered by the Regis University School of Computer & Information Sciences covers the groundwork for developing system architecture that embraces the newest formats for data management.  The migration from server-oriented systems to software that focuses on data management principles makes this graduate certificate an excellent method for IT professionals to stay current.
7. Bioinformatics is covered in a graduate certificate program offered by the University of Illinois at Chicago.  This course of study requires background in molecular science as well as data management.  The courses cover molecular modeling, biostatistics, and computational genomics.  It’s a challenging program that could position the right professional as a valuable employee in the fields of pharmaceutical or medical research.
8. Nursing Education is available as a graduate certificate from Walden University.  For nurses who wish to specialize in this field and who hold a master’s degree, this program can qualify you as a nurse educator at a time when hundreds of thousands of nurses are being added to the workforce.  The six course curriculum covers curriculum development, teaching strategies, and several areas relevant to training in the nursing profession.
9. Healthcare Administration training is often something that professionals already working in the field pursue in order to advance their careers.  Capella University has a graduate certificate program that focuses on the economic and organizational aspects of working in healthcare administration, including the areas of regulatory compliance and financial planning.
10. Web Development has become a highly specialized professional field that requires carefully focused study.  Baker College has a certificate program that covers the latest applications being utilized online, including interactive technology, e-commerce, and multimedia development.  Web developers today must be able to manage both the technology and the design components of site development/
11. Disaster Management is an important skill at every level of government; the certificate program at Benedictine University is an excellent method of learning about this function if you are a policeman, fireman, or government administrator.  The four course curriculum touches on the overall logistics and psychology of disaster management and covers the public health aspect at length.
12. Marketing is a field that changes constantly as new forms of communication are introduced.  The graduate certificate available from Golden Gate University takes an integrated marketing systems approach, incorporating not only the traditional methods but on the use of various internet tools and the social networks that have emerged.  Some courses do have academic prerequisites.
13. Network Management has become a specialty apart from data or information oversight.  The Keller Graduate School of Management certificate curriculum for this field covers network design, security, privacy, and telecommunications law.  There are also courses on wireless communications systems and VoIP tools, rounding out a thorough course of study.
14. Forensics Criminology is offered as a certificate by the University of Massachusetts through the UMassOnline campus, for working law enforcement professionals or graduate students in the field of criminology, nursing, law, psychology, or social work.  There are four mandatory courses and two electives, chosen from a diverse group of options including Domestic Terrorism, Criminal Profiling, Victimology, and several others.
15. Homeland Security has drawn tens of thousands of professionals into the protective services in the last ten years.  The certificate program offered online by Eastern Kentucky University is designed to equip working law enforcement or government professionals with the necessary tools.  The curriculum takes an in-depth look at the Department of Homeland Security, the Patriot Act, and the numerous activities involved in terrorism prevention.
16. Project Management is a lively professional field in a multitude of industries; the certificate offered by Boston University Online covers the skills that apply across the board.  Those include project budgeting, cost management, and risk management; procurement logistics and quality control; and the types of software utilized for projects of all types.  Completion of the program may qualify you for certification by the Project Management Institute.
17. Information Assurance and Network Security are bundled together in a graduate certificate offered by the New Jersey Institute of Technology.  The university recommends that students hold a degree in electrical engineering or computer science or a related field.  The curriculum includes network and computer security applications, technology, and standards.
18. Database Management is covered thoroughly in the eight course graduate certificate available from Nova Southeastern University.  The course of study is relevant for both system managers and internet professionals as it focuses on computer programming along with web programming and design.  Other courses are on database systems, data structure, and distributed data processing.
19. Information Systems is offered by Strayer University as an online certificate with a couple of tracks: students may opt for focusing on networking, or on software engineering.  It’s a good introductory approach to the structures that underlie information systems and their management.  It is designed for working professionals who need to expand their knowledge base in the IT area.
20. Instructional Design is a field for business professionals, more so than educators.  The graduate certificate available from The George Washington University trains students to develop instructional programs for their workplace.  Professionals versed in these techniques often work as consultants or trainers in the corporate environment.