University Academic Planning Council

Policies and Procedures for Capstone and Graduate Certificate Programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Approved by the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee, October 2000.  Revised 11/2003. 

A. Introduction

1. Two distinct types of post-baccalaureate certificate programs will be supported. The first, a GRADUATE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM is intended for students currently enrolled in an approved graduate program at the UW-Madison. This program currently serves students as something like a second minor or area of concentration. The second, a CAPSTONE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM, is designed to attract new students, not currently enrolled in a graduate degree program. Students must have completed a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent; they seek a certificate to "cap off" their undergraduate training, or are professionals returning to school to receive specialized training in the area of the certificate. This second kind of certificate program may, but need not have a fee structure different from credit-based graduate tuition and/or might involve modules instead of regular credit courses.

2. Certificate programs do not lead to the conferral of a degree as defined by the Graduate School. Rather, they are a focused collection of courses that, when completed, afford the student a record of coherent academic accomplishment in a given discipline or set of related disciplines. Students will be awarded certificates to designate completion of such a well-defined program of coursework.

3. The didactic material encompassed in either type of certificate program may, and frequently will, represent a more practice-oriented subset of an existing graduate discipline or field of study.

B. Application for Approval of Capstone or Graduate Certificate Programs:

1. Proposals to create either a capstone or graduate certificate program should originate from and be submitted by members of the graduate faculty. Applications must clearly specify whether approval is being sought for a capstone or graduate certificate program.

2. Regardless of which type of certificate program is being proposed, proposals must include a thorough description of the proposed sequence of all relevant coursework, identifying a clear and appropriate educational objective satisfying creation of a program at the post-baccalaureate level.

3. The proposed program must be able to achieve its educational objective in an efficient and well-defined manner such that it can be completed in a reasonable time frame. Although it is recognized that some variation is inevitable, each proposal must identify and justify the anticipated average length of the time for successful completion.

4. Applications proposing creation of new certificate program must provide a demonstrated need for such a program. This provision may be defined in terms of either external markets (i.e. external demand for the skills associated with such a certificate) or internal academic needs (i.e. the need for a critical mass of students in a given discipline).

5. Proposals shall include a clear definition of the management structure of the program, including identification of the faculty member(s) who will serve as program director(s) and participating faculty.  Graduate certificate programs are normally administered by the Graduate School. Capstone certificate programs are administered by the Division of Continuing Studies.

6. All Capstone certificate proposals should include a description of a fee structure or charge-back policy developed in accordance with the principles described in section F (Fiscal Considerations) of this proposal. The description should include an explanation of all relevant budget categories used in establishing the fee structure.

7. The program proposal should also explain how the proposed certificate program will impact any related degree program.

C. Certificate Program Approval and Administration

1. Graduate certificate programs may be developed either as free-standing programs or as add-ons to existing graduate degree programs. However, capstone certificate programs must be distinct from existing graduate programs, as participating students will be registered as special students, and will not be registered as graduate students.

2. The sponsoring department(s) or program(s) will be responsible for academic issues related to the certificate programs.

3. Proposals must be approved by, and include endorsements from, the department chair (on behalf of the department), the academic planning councils and deans of the schools or colleges in which the contributing coursework is housed. They should also include statements of endorsement from those academic units whose students or programs could be impacted by the creation of the new certificate program.

4. Following approval at the departmental and college levels, the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee must review and approve the program on behalf of the graduate faculty. All phases of the review and approval process should focus on the academic merit of each proposal. Approval should be reserved for those programs satisfying the highest standards of academic quality.

5. Once approved, the Graduate School will notify the Provost. The Provost's office will work with the program to complete the approval and reporting process, including reporting to UW System and the Board of Regents. 

6. All new certificate programs created subsequent to approval of this certificate policy will be reviewed five years after program approval, according to a process approved by the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee. Depending on the outcome of this review, a decision will be made to either continue or discontinue individual certificate programs. Review criteria considered when determining whether or not to continue a given certificate program beyond the original five year period will include, but may not be limited to: enrollment statistics, time to completion, academic quality and continued demonstrated need.

D. Admissions Criteria and Student Issues

1. An earned baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university is required for participation in either type of certificate program.

2. Only students currently registered as graduate students may participate in graduate certificate programs.

3. Students pursuing a graduate certificate will be required to meet the same academic requirements as those defined for degree-seeking students. Criteria for satisfactory progress for students enrolled in capstone certificate programs will be determined by the certificate program and should be defined in the certificate proposal.

4. Graduate students can enroll in capstone certificate programs with approval of the director of the program, their mentor and the Graduate School. Students who are currently enrolled in the Graduate School and who wish to pursue approved capstone certificate programs must apply for admission to such programs before one-half of the required credits are completed.

5. Graduate students interested in simultaneously participating in a capstone certificate must inform the certificate program coordinator and the Graduate School of their intent. However, current full-time graduate credit load limits can be exceeded while completing graduate work and capstone certificates only with approval of the student's mentor and the Graduate School.

6. In order to provide greater flexibility and meet the needs of specific target student populations, each capstone degree program should identify the minimum grade point average, minimum TOEFL scores, standardized test scores, and other similar criteria required of applicants to the program. These elements should be clearly specified in the program proposal.

7. While the courses leading to a capstone certificate may be used as evidence in support of a student's application for admission to a graduate degree program, the certificate itself is not considered sufficient for admission.

8. Individual graduate degree programs can determine the number of credits from capstone certificate programs that can be accepted and applied toward completion of the respective graduate degree program.

E. Curriculum Considerations

1. The number of credit hours required for either type of certificate must fall within limits defined in this document.

2. In the case of capstone certificates, the number of graduate credits may not be less than 9 nor more than one-half of the credits necessary for a related master's degree from the Graduate School. Programs should justify the credit requirements at the time of proposal.

3. The proposal will identify the extent to which the curriculum overlaps with the curriculum of existing degree programs.

4. Capstone certificate programs will be required to include a "capstone" experience. Such experiences should be designed to offer a unique experience for participants in the program and may include activities such as laboratories, practica, internships, projects, or theses.

5. The student's official transcript shall contain not only the listing of courses taken in the program, but will also indicate successful completion of the program.

6. The student will be required to complete the certificate program within a time limit specified by the program. Proposals for new certificate programs must specify the expected time to completion.

7. Capstone certificates will be presented to students who successfully complete the program of study in commencement ceremonies organized and conducted by the individual programs. They will not be eligible to participate in the general university commencement ceremonies.

F. Fiscal Considerations

1. The program proposal will describe the tuition fee structure to be employed, in accordance with the following principles (in development with the Graduate School and the Vice Chancellor for Administration):

2. Students enrolled in capstone certificate programs may enroll on either a part-time or a full-time basis, as determined by the certificate program coordinator.

3. Students enrolled on a full-time basis in capstone certificate programs will have access to many of the same campus services as full-time graduate students.

4. They also may be considered for merit-based financial aid by the department or program, as well as for need-based financial aid by the Financial Aid Office.

5. Students participating in capstone certificate programs will not be eligible for TA, PA, RA or graduate fellowship support.

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File last updated: November 29, 2003  jlm
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