Post Graduate Business Certificates

The Pamplin School of Business offers a post-graduate business certificate program for students who would like to utilize an interesting variety of courses in many specialized areas. Our faculty created a curriculum that provides a unique opportunity for post-graduate students to apply their business experiences in a professional learning environment. Students can update an older graduate business degree, gain additional training, and develop new competencies by completing the post-graduate business certificate program.

Students complete a twelve-credit hour program in one of the following areas: entrepreneurship, finance, strategy, marketing, sustainability, operations & technology management or business analytics. Students may also create a general program where they survey courses from different business disciplines. The course options in each area are listed below. There are distance-learning options for some courses in the certificate program.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to this program, students must hold a graduate business degree from an AACSB accredited institution and submit the following application components

1. Current resume
2. Official transcripts (from all previously attended academic institutions) (minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher)
3. Online application form

Program Outcomes

The certificate programs with courses in our MBA and MBA in Nonprofit Management curricula focus on contemporary leadership by challenging graduate students to critically think and apply knowledge in a variety of large and small business settings. To operationalize these objectives, the four-course structure of our post-graduate certificate program, in the areas of entrepreneurship, strategy, marketing, nonprofit management, and sustainability, may consist of the following components:

• A class in statistical and quantitative analysis.
• Values perspective courses introducing students to issues of leadership, ethics, sustainability, understanding cultural differences and developing multicultural skills, and the role of business in society.
• Courses exploring the application of analytical tools in economic analysis, marketing, finance, operations and technology management, and accounting to identify and solve contemporary business problems.

Learning goals and objectives for the post-graduate business certificate program

Students who successfully complete the post-graduate business certificate program in the areas of entrepreneurship, strategy, marketing, nonprofit management or sustainability should be able to:

Core of Business Knowledge: Demonstrate professional business knowledge and apply this knowledge in dynamic business situations.

Analytical Skills: Possess analytical, research, and critical thinking skills needed by middle and upper-level managers.

1. Acquire the competencies needed to identify, analyze, and evaluate alternative solutions to business problems.
2. Write and present comprehensive reports/briefs and present facts, analysis, and conclusions.

Students who successfully complete the post-graduate business certificate program in the areas of operations and technology management or business analytics should be able to:

Core of OTM Knowledge: Develop knowledge and skills in the fields of operations management, information technology, or business analytics to engineer competitive advantage within organizations and apply these skills in real business cases and problems.

1. Integrate the knowledge in the subfields of operations management, information technology and business analytics to solve complex business problems and provide value-added solutions through the improvements of operations and processes and/or the utilization of technology applications.

Analytical and Critical Thinking Skills: Possess analytical and critical thinking skills needed to maximize organizational performance and oversee more efficient operations.

1. Acquire the analytical and critical thinking skills needed to identify and frame business problems and evaluate the value provided by possible solutions.
2. Select appropriate techniques and tools to analyze data and identify insights that aid problem solving and decision-making.

Research Skills: Possess the research skills necessary for data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting results to aid business problem-solving.

1. Be adept at analyzing data to offer insights for a variety of business problems.
2. Be able to prepare and present research reports, appropriately presenting facts, analysis, and conclusions.

Students who successfully complete the post-graduate business certificate program in finance should be able to:

Core of Finance Knowledge: Demonstrate competency in the key fields of corporate finance, investments, banking & financial institutions, and risk management.

1. Integrate their knowledge in these key fields to solve complex problems.

Analytical Skills: Demonstrate analytical and critical thinking skills needed by upper-level finance managers.

1. Build and analyze financial reports.

Research Skills: Demonstrate research skills necessary to study complex financial/economic problems.

1. Articulate and defend their financial analyses and recommend solutions to upper level managers and other stakeholders.