Eligibility
The student must be enrolled in a Ph.D. or Master's program at the University of Arizona and in good standing, which includes students currently enrolled in M.A./M.S. programs that are prerequisite components of Ph.D. programs and who are expected to formally advance to Ph.D. programs.
The student should have a 3.5 or higher graduate GPA at the University of Arizona. Exceptions will be reviewed by the faculty advisory committee.
Admissions
Students should go to the University of Arizona Graduate Admissions Application (GradApp) to submit their application.
The student has to submit a letter of intent describing what they want from the certificate (no more than two pages). They also have to list the classes they tentatively plan on taking. The student’s adviser or the DGS in his/her program needs to answer the questions in GradApp attesting to their graduate status and listing any special qualifications.
An unofficial copy of a University of Arizona transcript must be uploaded to the application. Upon admission, the Graduate College will require official transcripts. No course prerequisites, prior knowledge of a programming language, or standardized tests are required for admission.
While we accept applications on a rolling basis, there are four annual deadlines that precede when the certificate committee meets to review applications: September 15th and November 15th in the Fall semester, and February 15th and April 15th in the Spring semester. Students who apply before these deadlines can expect to hear back shortly thereafter.
Program Requirements
To successfully complete the certificate the student must complete 4 courses for a total of 12 credits, with a grade of B or better in each course: one required three-credit course, plus three three-credit graduate level electives drawn from a list of courses approved by the certificate’s faculty advisory committee.