Graduate School Highlights Health and Community Certificates

Posted: 2026-06-05 07:31:45   Expiration: 2027-06-12 07:31:45

The Graduate School is spotlighting NDSU's graduate certificates over the coming weeks as a professional development option for employees, beginning with certificates focused on health and community.

Over the next few weeks, the Graduate School admissions team will share information about the graduate certificates offered at NDSU. These certificates are a practical way for employees to build new skills, and many qualify for the NDSU employee tuition waiver. This week features certificates related to health and community, listed below.

If you have a bachelor's degree, you are eligible to apply for a graduate certificate. Most certificates include three or four courses, and the benefits of earning one include:

• You gain specialized knowledge.
• You enhance your resume or C.V.
• If you are interested in the related master's program, you complete a significant chunk of the required coursework.

Certificate program applications do not require recommendation letters, and most do not require a statement of purpose. Certificates marked with an asterisk are offered through the IDEA consortium and are not eligible for the employee tuition waiver.

This Week: Health and Community Certificates

• Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
  Classes include: Introduction to Acute Care Practice, Advanced Therapeutics & Diagnostics, and seven other classes.
• Advanced Coaching Education
  Classes include: Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, Positive Youth Development in Physical Activity and Sport, and one elective.
• Advanced Physical Education Teaching
  Classes include: Physical Education Curriculum and two electives.
• Applied Epidemiology
  Classes include: Essentials of Epidemiology, Public Health Research Methods, Public Health Surveillance, and Health Survey Research.
• Community Development*
  Classes include: Principles and Strategies of Community Change, Community Development II: Organizing for Community Change, and two electives.
• Family Financial Planning*
  Specializations include Financial Planning (18 credits) and Financial Counseling (18 credits).
• Foundations of Mental Health Care
  Classes include: Psychopathology in the Health Professions, Psychopharmacology for Health Professionals, and Foundations of Mental Health Practice.
• Gerontology*
  Classes include: Contemporary Perspectives on Adult Development and Aging, Foundations in Integrative Aging Studies, and two electives.
• Healthcare Administration
  Classes will be posted in the Catalog soon.
• Intercollegiate Athletic Administration
  Classes include: Principles of Intercollegiate Athletics Administration, Governance in College Sport, and three electives.
• Professional Writing
  Classes include: Usability and User Experience, International Technical Writing, Researching and Writing Grants and Proposals, and one elective.
• Public Health 
  Specializations include General Public Health (12 credits), Management of Infectious Diseases (12 credits), and Maternal and Child Health (10 credits).
• Public Policy Evaluation
  Classes include: Policy Design and Evaluation, and two additional classes.
• Supervision and Management in Physical Education and Coaching
  Classes include: Leadership and Supervision in Physical Education and Sport Coaching, Principles of Management in Physical Education and Coaching Settings, and one additional class.
• Youth Development*
  Classes include: Foundations of Youth Development, Youth Development, and two electives.
• Youth Program Management and Evaluation*
  Classes include: Foundations of Youth Development, Design and Evaluation of Youth Programs, Youth Development Personnel and Program Management, and one elective.

*Certificate is offered through the IDEA consortium; classes are not eligible for the NDSU employee tuition waiver.

Questions

Contact the Graduate School at ndsu.grad.school@ndsu.edu or reach Neely Benton, Director of Graduate Recruitment & Admissions, at neely.benton@ndsu.edu or (701) 231-8476. You can also set up a meeting.

-- Academic Affairs: Haley Hamel