Academic Subject Certificate Programs
An academic subject certificate program is a designated set of courses that does not lead to a degree, but complements an existing degree program by enhancing the development of skills and knowledge in a focused area of study, or provides an alternative to a degree program in the form of intensive professional training or personal enrichment in a focused area of study. Certificate programs are classified as either graduate or undergraduate certificates. They are generally narrower in scope than degrees, and the courses, together with other forms of credited educational experience, are specifically structured to form a coherent specialization. They may be offered as a field of specialization within an existing degree program; as an interdisciplinary field that combines courses from two or more degree programs; or as an area of professional and practical forms of specialist knowledge and skills.
UH Executive Policy E5.205 grants the Mānoa Chancellor the authority to approve certificate programs in specific subjects that represent recognition of work taken within (or among) existing Board authorized programs. Certificate programs that require the commitment of new resources by the University require Board of Regents approval and must follow the procedures for new academic degree programs.
The approval process and guidelines for academic subject certificates is described in “Academic Subject Certificate Programs, Procedures and Guidelines”. Certificates that are not approved according to these guidelines are not official credentials of UH Mānoa and will not appear on University of Hawai‘i transcripts.