Graduate Certificate Programs
Build specialized skills. Boost your career. Keep your options open.
SPA’s graduate certificates offer targeted, practical training for professionals in public policy, nonprofit leadership, crime analysis, emergency management, education policy, environmental policy, local government, and more!
- Designed for working adults
- Delivered fully online for maximum flexibility
- Keep your day job and finish in about one year
- Apply certificate credits directly toward an MPA, MPP, or MCJ
- Each certificate requires 12–15 credits — typically 4–5 graduate courses
Choose the field that aligns with your goals and start advancing your career today.
Stack credentials!
Start with a School of Public Affairs graduate certificate then later if you want to pursue a SPA Masters degree, your completed certificate credits can contribute and stack into the Flexible MPA, MPP, or MCJ program. This excludes the Public Management certificate and must occur within 7 years of the completed certificate.
Explore our graduate certificate programs:
Application Deadlines:
Domestic Applicants
- Summer: May 1st
- Fall: August 1st
- Spring: December 15th
International Applicants:
- Summer: March 15th
- Fall: May 15th
- Spring: October 15th