Dec 02, 2024  
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog [Not Current Academic Year. Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Graduate Certificate Policies


Policies  > Academic Policies and Procedures > Graduate Certificate Policies

Unless otherwise clarified below, all policies pertaining to the admission, registration, finances, grading, and academic progress of students pursuing master’s or doctoral degree shall be the same for students applying to or pursuing a graduate certificate program at the University of Houston.

Graduate Certificate Admission

Applicants for admission to a graduate certificate program must meet the same admissions standards and requirements as other applicants for graduate study, with the exception of officially reported standardized exam scores (e.g., GRE, GMAT), unless otherwise stated in the admission policies for that certificate. 
See the General Admission Policy  for full details and the certificate program page for any additional requirements.

Scholastic Requirements

Graduate certificate students cannot be awarded a certificate if they have less than a 3.00 cumulative grade point average (GPA) on their certificate coursework. If a graduate certificate student is also a degree-seeking student, the GPA earned on the certificate courses shall be considered separate. Failure to maintain a cumulative 3.00 GPA may also result in academic probation, suspension, or dismissal according to college/departmental policy.  Student should review and be familiar with degree requirements and academic policies of their academic unit.

Low Grade Policy

A graduate certificate student who receives a grade of C+ or lower and/or a grade of U in 12 semester hours of credit attempted at this institution, whether or not in repeated courses, will be dismissed from the certificate program and shall be ineligible to re-enroll for pursuit of that graduate certificate. The Termination of Enrollment  section specifies other regulations.

Transfer Credit

Graduate students admitted to a graduate certificate program are not permitted to transfer credit toward their certificate.

Credit earned while in pursuit of a graduate certificate may be applied toward the completion of a future or concurrent graduate degree if approved by college faculty and eligible under the degree time limitation policy.   

Certification and Certification Application (Application to Graduate)

The online Apply-to-Graduate process used by the University of Houston for the awarding of degrees also serves as the application for certification process for graduate certificates. Graduate Certificate recipients do not participate in graduation/commencement exercises.

Certificates are not awarded automatically upon completion of all scholastic requirements. To be considered as a candidate for a certificate:

  • The student who expects to be certified in a given term must be enrolled for that term.
  • An official transcript showing that a prior bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, has been conferred must be on file prior to enrollment at the university.
  • The student must submit an application for certification by logging in to myUH and completing the Apply to Graduate module.

Applications should be filed during the publicized graduation filing period as listed in the Academic Calendar. A non-refundable application fee will be assessed for each certificate application filed during the regular graduation filing period. There will be an additional non-refundable application fee assessed for each graduation application filed during the late graduation application period.

Candidates for certification who have missed the final deadline for late filing of application must petition with their college. If such request is approved by the college, students will be assessed the non-refundable late application fee.

A student, who has been disapproved for their certificate, must submit a new application in a future term that they expect to meet the requirements to be considered for certificate completion. Each subsequent application submitted will be assessed the appropriate application fee according to the filing period during which the application is submitted.

Certification of certificate completion is performed by the dean’s office of the student’s college and a decision of approved or disapproved is rendered within 3 weeks after the close of the term. Certificates are typically mailed within 1-2 weeks from the time the approvals for graduation are processed.