Graduate certificates provide students with an opportunity to gain specialized knowledge at the graduate level while requiring less coursework than would be required for a full degree. A graduate certificate can be a good choice for students who have completed a baccalaureate degree, but who do not seek a full master's degree; for students who are pursuing a master's degree and wish to use the graduate certificate coursework as an area of specialization; and for students who have completed master's degrees and who desire additional coursework related to their job responsibilities.
UIS' graduate certificates are short courses of study based on the faculty's judgments about sets of courses that provide focused expertise in a given area. Each of UIS' graduate certificates has gone through a review process that involves required approvals at the department, college, and campus levels.
Offerings: Graduate Certificates in Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Legal Aspects of Education, Educational Leadership Post-master's Certificate
Contact: The human services program 217/206-6687, hms@uis.edu or www.uis.edu/humanservices
The purpose of the certificate in alcohol and substance abuse is to provide education to individuals who wish to become certified in the substance abuse counseling profession, but who do not wish to complete a formal degree program. The knowledge areas of the certificate provide students with the skills and abilities needed to serve drug and alcohol abusing or dependent individuals, their families, and other affected individuals or groups. On completion of the required courses, students may take the Certified Alcohol and Other Abuse Counselor (CADC) exam through the Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association (IAODAPCA). The certificate requires the following 28 credit hours:
HMS 502 Interviewing and Assessment Skills in Human Services 4 Hrs.
HMS 521 Advanced Interviewing and Intervention 4 Hrs.
HMS 525 Alcoholism and Substance Abuse 4 Hrs.
HMS 527 Assessment and Treatment of Substance Abuse 4 Hrs.
HMS 528 Dual Diagnosis and Relapse Prevention 4 Hrs.
HMS 531 Drug Abuse in America: A Critical Perspective 4 Hrs.
HMS 550 Internship (500 hours) 4 Hrs.
Contact: 217/206-6130, edl@uis.edu, or mtl@uis.edu or www.uis.edu/educationalleadership/ or http://mtl.uis.edu
By completing nine of the 10 courses in the Legal Aspects of Education course series, teachers can receive a special graduate certificate. This program provides opportunities for educational leaders to increase their knowledge base about legal issues currently facing their profession. It is aimed at teacher-leaders seeking to advance their professional education credentials.
EDL 574 Critical Legal Issues in Education 2 Hrs.
EDL 575 Legal Aspects of Special Education 2 Hrs.
EDL 576 Educational Workplace: Legal Risks 2 Hrs.
EDL 577 Schools in the Legal System 2 Hrs.
EDL 578 Educational Workplace: Employee Issues 2 Hrs.
EDL 579 Collective Bargaining Issues 2 Hrs.
EDL 580 Teacher, Parent, & Student Rights 2 Hrs.
EDL 581 Educational Workplace: Legal Issues 2 Hrs.
EDL 582 Political Action & Advocacy 2 Hrs.
EDL 583 Teaching Law in K-12 Schools 2 Hrs.
Contact: 217/206-6306, edl@uis.edu, or www.uis.edu/educationalleadership/
The post-masters certificate program has two distinct concentrations. The superintendent's endorsement is designed to meet the professional growth needs of Illinois educators who are prepared for central office leadership positions. The Chief School Business Official (CSBO) endorsement is designed to prepare Illinois educators for advanced study and preparation in the organization and administration of the management of fiscal, physical, and human resources of a public school district in Illinois. Courses in either concentration are appropriate for candidates who are currently employed as building principals, State Board of Education personnel, and central administrative staff. Courses include a carefully planned set of standards-based experiences designed to develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to meet candidates' needs and interest in the areas of the superintendent's endorsement and/or chief school business official endorsement. Candidates may work to meet the certification requirements for both concentrations within the Post-Master's Certificate program.
The post-master's certificate program leading to the superintendent's endorsement requires the completion of 36 semester hours of coursework, which includes 32 hours of EDL courses and two semesters (two credit hours each) of clinical experiences.
Academic content for the sequence includes the following courses:
EDL 603 A Advanced Seminar on Law and Public Policy 4 Hrs.
EDL 604 A Politics of Education: Federal, State, and Local Politics and Policies 4 Hrs.
EDL 605 A Research in Educational Leadership 4 Hrs.
EDL 611 A Superintendent as Instructional Leader 4 Hrs.
EDL 612 A Management of Educational Funds and Facilities 4 Hrs.
EDL 621 A Superintendent and Central Staff/Personnel Administration 4 Hrs.
EDL 626 A Clinical Experiences/Internship 2 Hrs.
EDL 627 A Clinical Experiences/Internship 2 Hrs.
EDL 635 A Organizational Theory and Leadership 4 Hrs.
EDL 680 A Capstone: Leadership and School Improvement 4 Hrs.
The chief school business official (CSBO) endorsement is a hybrid model of delivery which requires the completion of 34 semester hours of coursework in an online and on-campus delivery system, which includes 28 hours of EDL courses and three semesters (two credit hours each) of clinical experiences.
Academic content for the sequence includes the following courses:
EDL 582 B Politics and Advocacy 2 Hrs.
EDL 577 B Collective Bargaining 2 Hrs.
EDL 603 B Advanced Seminar on Law and Public Policy 4 Hrs.
EDL 612 B Management of Educational Funds and Facilities 4 Hrs.
EDL 621 B Superintendent and Central Staff/Personnel Administration 4 Hrs.
EDL 626 B Clinical Experiences/Internship 2 Hrs.
EDL 627 B Clinical Experiences/Internship 2 Hrs.
EDL 628 B Clinical Experiences/Internship 2 Hrs.
EDL 635 B Organizational Theory and Leadership 4 Hrs.
EDL 640 A Business Application (Revenues) 4 Hrs.
EDL 645 A Finance Applications (Expenditures) 4 Hrs.
* Note: If students are lacking in fundamentals because their master's degree was not in education (research or curriculum) they may be asked to make up for these deficiencies by taking an MTL online course in research or curriculum development or both.
* EDL 541 B Introduction to Research (online) 4 Hrs.
* EDL 543 B Instructional Design (online) 4 Hrs.
* EDL 605 B Research in Ed. Leadership (on-campus) 4 Hrs.
* EDL 611 B Superintendent as Inst. Leader (on-campus) 4 Hrs.
Offerings: Graduate Certificates in Systems Security, Information Assurance, Women's Studies
Contact: The computer science program at 217/206-6770, csc@uis.edu or http://csc.uis.edu/
These certificates are designed to provide specialized knowledge and skills required for teaching information assurance and systems security at the college level. The curricula focus on developing a cadre of teachers qualified to teach information assurance and systems security classes at community colleges and universities. Certificates are awarded on completion of the course work. Information for each is available from the computer science department.
These certificates are offered only in an online format and are open only to college faculty participating in faculty development courses offered through the Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance (CSSIA) http://www.cssia.org.
Students must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and meet campus requirements for admission to graduate study. Candidates for the certificates will be expected to complete course requirements with a grade of B or better.
Descriptions for courses leading to a certificate are available from the UIS online catalog.
Required Courses
The following courses are required for the certificate.
CSC 526 Security Awareness for Teachers 1 Hr.
CSC 527 Network Security I for Teachers 3 Hrs.
CSC 528 Network Security II for Teachers 3 Hrs.
CSC 529 Emerging Technologies Wireless Networks for Teachers 3 Hrs.
CSC 530 Security Design for Teachers 3 Hrs.
CSC 531 Security Graduate Portfolio 3 Hrs.
Contact: The computer science program at 217/206-6770, csc@uis.edu or http://csc.uis.edu/
Required Courses
The following courses are required for the certificate.
CSC 521 IT Security and Data Assurance I for Teachers 3 Hrs.
CSC 522 IT Security and Data Assurance II Access Control Systems &
Methodology for Teachers 3 Hrs.
CSC 523 Computer Forensics for Teachers 3 Hrs.
CSC 524 Information Assurance System Design and Analysis for Teachers 3 Hrs.
CSC 525 Information Assurance Graduate Portfolio 3 Hrs.
Contact: The women's studies program at 217/206-6962, wms@uis.edu, or www.uis.edu/womensstudies/Welcome.html
This certificate is designed to enable students to develop a graduate-level understanding of women and gender. It may be taken without pursuing a master's degree or may be incorporated into a graduate degree.
The certificate will be particularly valuable in preparing students for careers which require expertise on gender. These include the broad areas of law and advocacy, healthcare and medicine, social work, education, counseling, human relations and resources, and government or public service. As the workplace and public life becomes increasingly complex and diverse, both the private and public sector want employees with sensitivity to gender and women's issues such as sexual harassment, flex-time, parental leave, violence against women, pay equity, and equal employment opportunities, to name a few.
Students must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and meet campus requirements for admission to graduate study.
In addition, candidates for the WMS certificate must write a goal statement and have an interview with a women’s studies faculty member. Students may be conditionally admitted to the certificate program until they pass WMS 501. Women's studies will assign an adviser to help develop a course of study that meets the student's goals. Candidates for the certificate must complete course requirements with a grade of B or better.
Women's studies and other programs offer a large number of 400-level, cross-listed WMS courses and a small number of 500-level courses. WMS course descriptions are located in the UIS online catalog.
Required Courses
* WMS 501 Advanced Women's Studies Theory and Methods 4 Hrs.
WMS graduate-level electives (400 or 500) 8-12 Hrs.*
*Note: WMS 411 is a prerequisite for WMS 501. If WMS 411 was completed as part of undergraduate coursework, 12 hours of WMS graduate electives are required to complete the certificate. If WMS 411 is taken as part of the graduate certificate, 8 hours of WMS graduate electives are required to complete the certificate.
Graduate Certificates offered in: Public Sector Labor Relations, Management of Nonprofit Organizations, Environmental Risk Assessment, Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security, Law for Human Services and Social Work, Community Health Education, Epidemiology, Environmental Health
These certificates are designed to provide specialized knowledge and skills required for effective management of public agencies or their subunits. The curricula focus on improving the administrative knowledge and performance of individuals employed at all levels of government and nonprofit organizations. Certificates are awarded on completion of the course work. Brochures detailing content, policies, and procedures for each are available from the departments hosting the certificates.
Graduate certificates provide students with the opportunity to gain substantial graduate-level expertise in specified areas without having to pursue a full master's degree. Students who are pursuing a master's degree, however, may also enroll in course work that leads to a certificate.
Students must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and meet campus requirements for admission to graduate study. Candidates for the certificates will be expected to complete course requirements with a grade of B or better.
Descriptions for courses leading to a certificate are located in this catalog under the departments offering the individual courses (public administration, legal studies, environmental studies, accountancy, management, business administration, and human services).
Contact: Either the public administration department at 217/206-6310, mpa@uis.edu, or www.uis.edu/publicadministration/certificates.htm; or the legal studies department at 217/206-6535 or les@uis.edu or www.uis.edu/legalstudies/
The certificate in public sector labor relations is intended for professionals in the field of public sector labor relations, for individuals in the field of public sector human resource(s) management who wish to upgrade their skills in labor relations, for individuals interested in pursuing union leadership roles, or for those who are beginning their careers and wish to prepare for a career working in or with public sector labor relations.
Individuals may take these courses and earn the certificate part time without being formally enrolled in any degree program, or may complete it as part of a degree program.
A grade of B or better must be earned in each of these classes to qualify for the certificate.
The certificate in public sector labor relations includes the following courses.
Required
PAD 509 Workplace Democracy 4 Hrs.
Choice of:
PAD/LES 467 Labor Arbitration
or LES 423 Dispute Resolution 4 Hrs.
Choice of:
LES 463 Labor Law
or PAD/LES 452/449 Nondiscrimination Laws in Employment 4 Hrs.
and
Choice of:
PAD 465 Public Sector Labor Relations Seminar
or PAD 511 Collective Bargaining 4 Hrs.
Contact: The public administration department at 217/206-6310, mpa@uis.edu or www.uis.edu/publicadministration/
The graduate certificate in management of nonprofit organizations requires 20 hours of coursework from the menu below. All of the courses are offered at night or on weekends. Individuals may take these courses and earn the certificate part time without being formally enrolled in any degree program, or may complete it as part of a degree program.
A grade of B or better must be earned in each of these classes to qualify for the certificate.
HMS 584 Introduction to Nonprofit Management 4 Hrs.
PAD 543 Marketing for Public and Nonprofit Organizations 4 Hrs.
PAD 544 Fund Raising for Public and Nonprofit Organizations 4 Hrs.
ACC 505 Financial Management for Nonprofit Organizations 4 Hrs.
HMS 538 Social Services Administration
(or PAD 502 Organization Dynamics
or BUS 541 Organizational Behavior) 4 Hrs.
MGT 431 Human Resource Management
or PAD 505 Human Resource Management 4 Hrs.
PAD 448/LES 486 Legal Aspects of Nonprofit Organization Management 2 Hrs.
Contact: The ENS department at 217/206-6720, lkill2@uis.edu, or www.uis.edu/environmentalstudies
Risk assessment is a frequently used tool in environmental analysis. The environmental risk assessment sequence offers a certificate for students who wish to acquire a level of competency in this science. The sequence of course work is technically oriented to provide students with the professional education necessary to perform risk assessment operations in their workplaces. Students learn to relate risk assessment methodologies, procedures, and results to environmental policies.
Courses taken for the certificate represent a statement of competency in a specific field and draw on courses in the student's area of academic focus within the environmental studies curriculum. Students who have already taken one or more of these courses can apply them to the certificate. Courses taken to earn the environmental risk assessment certificate can also be used toward a master’s degree in environmental studies.
The program requires formal application for admission to the university followed by review of the application by faculty of the Department of Environmental Studies. The department faculty will provide academic advising to certificate students. Candidates for the Certificate in Environmental Risk Assessment must:
Candidates must complete a Risk Assessment Certificate form and submit to the Department of Environmental Studies, University of Illinois at Springfield, One University Plaza, MS PAC 308, Springfield, IL 62703-5407.
To receive a certificate, students must take the following three core courses and complete the risk assessment practicum, for a total of 16 credit hours. They must also earn a B average.
ENS 421 Environmental Economics 4 Hrs.
ENS 521 Environmental Risk Assessment 4 Hrs.
ENS 522 Risk Assessment: Air, Land, and Water 4 Hrs.
ENS 523 Risk Assessment Practicum 4 Hrs. Total 16 Hrs.
Additional risk/decision theory course:
ENS 526 Risk Management and Communication 4 Hrs.
Sponsored, risk-based research opportunities at state and federal facilities are available for those seeking independent research experiences. Full-text course descriptions can be found online at www.uis.edu/UIScatalog/index.html.
Contact: The ENS department at 217/206-6720, lkill2@uis.edu, or www.uis.edu/environmentalstudies
The Graduate Certificate in Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security (EPHS Certificate) is a 20-hour interdisciplinary certificate program administered by the Department of Environmental Studies. Courses for the certificate are offered by all College of Public Affairs and Administration programs: Criminal Justice, Environmental Studies, Legal Studies, Political Studies, Public Administration, and Public Health.
The EPHS certificate provides interdisciplinary professional education to the administrators of governmental agencies and others who need to enhance their skills and abilities in the area. Among this audience will be individuals in law enforcement administration, fire departments, public health agencies, and health care providers as well as people in private industry. This unique program provides post-bachelors education for administrators rather than training for first responders or professional education for individuals just entering the workforce.
Students take three core courses in environmental risk assessment, risk communication and management, and program evaluation. Two elective courses will allow students to extend these skills to one or two disciplinary areas. The electives have been chosen to include courses on salient issues of public policy influenced by recent challenges in emergency preparedness and homeland security.
The certificate requires formal application for admission to the university followed by review of the application by the faculty of the Environmental Studies Department. Advising will be provided by the faculty of the Environmental Studies Department in consultation with the faculty of other College of Public Affairs and Administration departments who are offering courses for the EPHS certificate.
To be eligible for admission to the EPHS Certificate program, students must:
Candidates must complete a EPHS certificate form and submit to the Department of Environmental Studies, University of Illinois at Springfield, One University Plaza, MS PAC 308, Springfield, IL 62703-5407.
Core Course Requirements (12 Hrs.):
The three required core courses for the certificate provide students with the opportunity to gain substantial graduate-level expertise in risk assessment, risk communication, and program evaluation.
ENS 521 Environmental Risk Assessment 4 Hrs.
ENS 526 Risk Management and Communication 4 Hrs.
PAD 533 Program Evaluation 4 Hrs.
Elective Courses (8 Hrs.):
Students must take at least two four-hour electives from a list of 400- and 500-level courses from participating departments. Students may select the electives, in consultation with their adviser, from the following courses:
CRJ 447 Investigative Concepts & Analysis 4 Hrs.
CRJ 470 Special Topics: Terrorism 4 Hrs.
CRJ 523 Criminal Justice Policy Process 4 Hrs.
ENS 449 Environmental Toxicology 4 Hrs.
LES 522 Health Care Law, Patient Privacy and HIPAA 4 Hrs.
LES 551 Administrative Law 4 Hrs.
PAC 403 Emerging Diseases 4 Hrs.
PAD 590 Intergovernmental Relations 4 Hrs.
POS 420 National Security Issues & the US Constitution 4 Hrs.
POS 470 Terrorism 4 Hrs.
POS 476 International Politics of the Middle East 4 Hrs.
Contact: The legal studies program at 217/206-6535, les@uis.edu, or www.uis.edu/legalstudies/
The certificate is geared to provide an introduction to legal processes and legal rights issues to professionals involved with providing services to the health care, medical communities, and government agency clientele. It is structured to provide sufficient substantive familiarity with law and legal concepts in the particular areas to allow certificate holders to hold themselves out as having a basic educational background in these areas. It also would help those who are regularly called upon to testify or take judicially ordered or sanctioned actions as part of their jobs.
Social workers and people who work in a variety of human services positions spend considerable amounts of time explaining its requirements to their clients, figuring out what must be done to comply with it, providing testamentary or other evidence in response to legal mandates, or simply dealing with agencies and other human services workers within the framework provided by the legal system. This four-course certificate program provides familiarity to basic legal and institutional information needed by professional human services workers and offers a way that newcomers to the professional service arena can document familiarity with legal application skills.
LES 501 Introduction to Law for Graduate Students 4 Hrs.
LES 474 Law of Evidence 4 Hrs.
LES 551 Administrative Law or
LES 482 Ethics in Government 4 Hrs.
One of the following:
LES 448 Juvenile Law
LES 449 Non-Discrimination in Employment Law
LES 446 Family Law
LES 552 Health Care Law, Patient Privacy and HIPPA 4 Hrs.
This selection of courses is designed to promote a focused yet comprehensive introduction to legal processes and basic informational materials. It simultaneously provides: knowledge of the legal institutions and their interrelationship; familiarity with administrative agency structure, dictates, and constraints; information on appropriate and inappropriate approaches to materials or operations within the governmental or judicial system, whichever better meets the student's professional concerns; and substantive legal materials on an area of particular interest or professional concern to the student.
Student advising for those who are going for a certificate only, without a degree in legal studies, will be handled by the chair of legal studies, who has been designated the certificate program adviser.
Contact the public health program at 217/206-6301, mph@uis.edu, or www.uis.edu/publichealth/
These competency-based graduate certificates are designed to provide continuing education opportunities for health professionals without formal public health training, for those interested in life-long learning, and for mid-career professionals. Applicants could be individuals who are non-degree seeking health professionals, or other professionals interested in enhancing their competencies and/or skills in these areas of specialty.
Individuals who have bachelor's degrees from accredited colleges and universities are eligible to apply for admission to graduate study at the UIS, and will qualify for admission to take these certificates. Background in the biological sciences demonstrated by transcript credit of at least three semester hours is desirable. Admission will be based on an overall GPA of 3.00 on a 4-point scale.
Applicants, while pursuing the certificate, may decide to apply these courses toward the full degree, but must meet all department requirements before acceptance into the MPH program. Applicants who have completed one or more of these graduate certificates and are interested in the full MPH degree must also meet all department requirements before acceptance into the MPH program.
On admission to the graduate certificate program, each student will be assigned a faculty adviser within the appropriate area of specialty.
Students completing this certificate shall be able to apply theoretical foundations of health education to communicate effectively with various audiences in the community. The certificate requires successful completion of course work in each of these areas:
*MPH 506 Community Health Research 4 Hrs.
MPH 531 Public Health Policy 4 Hrs.
MPH 561 Community Health Education 4 Hrs.
MPH 545 Sociocultural Aspects of Health 4 Hrs.
MPH 508 Program Evaluation for Health Professionals 4 Hrs.
*Note prerequisite: MPH 503 Biostatistics for the Health Professional
Students completing this certificate will develop analytic and computer skills to quantitatively relate epidemiologic theories necessary for specialized roles for public health practice, such as for infectious disease epidemiology. The certificate requires successful completion of course work in each of these areas:
MPH 405 Computer Applications in Public Health 2 Hrs.
MPH 428 Laboratory Sciences in Public Health 2 Hrs.
MPH 503 Biostatistics for the Health Professional 4 Hrs.
MPH 511 Foundations of Epidemiology 4 Hrs.
MPH 515 Infectious Disease Epidemiology 4 Hrs.
MPH 514 Analytical Epidemiology 4 Hrs.
or MPH 575 Health Economics 4 Hrs.
Students completing this certificate will have basic skills of environmental health and protection necessary to understand the scope, values, goals and potential of environmental health and protection. This certificate would help prepare students who plan to sit for the Licensed Environmental Health Practitioner exam requirement. The certificate requires successful completion of course work in each of these areas:
MPH 429/ ENS 449 Environmental Toxicology 4 Hrs.
MPH 511/ ENS 561 Foundations of Epidemiology 4 Hrs.
MPH 521/ ENS 563 Environmental and Occupational Health 4 Hrs.
MPH 527/ ENS 521 Environmental Risk Assessment 4 Hrs.
Please contact the UIS Public Health Department for application forms and details about the application process.