Admission Requirements
This program is designed to meet the learning goals of individuals with interest and/or any level of experience in nonprofit and public agencies. Students who complete courses in the Graduate Certificate may subsequently apply to the MPA program (all regular admissions criteria apply) and transfer those courses toward degree completion. Students must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0.
The admission cycles for the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit and Public Management can be found under Application Review Schedule.
Applications, made though the Graduate School, will ask for the following specific materials:
- One transcript from each post-secondary institution attended.
- Copy of current professional resume.
- Personal Essay (250 word statement): To qualify for the Certificate in Nonprofit and Public Management, students must meet the threshold requirement of at least six years of significant work experience (or two years of supervisory responsibility) in a combination of the public, private or nonprofit sectors. Briefly describe how you meet this requirement and provide detail on the amount and scope of your organizational experience; programmatic and/or management experience; line management responsibility; and budgetary responsibility. Describe your career goals and how you believe the Certificate will help you advance to the next level of leadership
responsibility.
- Copies of official course descriptions and syllabi for all non-PSU graduate courses that you would like evaluated for transfer credit may be requested by the admissions committee. Please list the courses on the online application under pre-admission/Transfer credits.*
- Three letters of recommendation from academic or professional references. Letters should comment on the applicant's potential to succeed in a graduate program.
*Students may apply up to 7 credits of previous coursework to the Certificate.
Please list all graduate-level courses you would like evaluated for pre-admission/transfer credit. Courses taken at an institution other than PSU will not be evaluated for transfer unless official course descriptions and syllabi accompany the application form.
Important Note: Pre-admission/transfer credit will only be evaluated and approved during the application process. No additional credit received outside of the Certificate Program can be applied to degree requirements once a student has been admitted into the program. Pre-admission credit must be graded at a B- or above AND cannot be more than seven years old at the time of graduation.
If you are currently enrolled in a graduate program at PSU and are looking to apply to the Graduate Certificate, the application fee is reduced. Please ask when you apply!