Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Professional Development
The post-baccalaureate Professional Development Certificate is designed for individuals to enhance their knowledge and strengthen their professional skills. Utilizing a cross-disciplinary approach allows students to take graduate-level courses from various academic departments to meet career advancement and/or career opportunity goals. The flexibility of the certificate program will enable students to take classes that fit their schedules.
A program sheet, which provides a required coursework sequence, is available for download in the Courses tab below.
The Professional Development Certificate provides an opportunity for students to enhance their skillset, elevate their knowledge, and increase career opportunities. One core course is required and the remaining two courses will be selected with the assistance of the Graduate School to help meet professional development goals.
Nine credit hours are required to complete this certificate. After completing the PD Certificate, the student may be eligible to count up to 9 credit hours toward a UWG graduate degree program.
Program Location
Carrollton Campus, Online
Method of Delivery
This program can be face-to-face, hybrid, or online, depending on the student's course selections.
Accreditation
The University of West Georgia is accredited by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
Credit and transfer
Total semester hours required: 9
Graduate students may be able to reduce their cost through prior learning, previous degrees earned at UWG, or transfer credits. We have created a tool to help students estimate their tuition costs.
This program may be earned entirely online, entirely face-to-face, or anything in between.
Save money.
UWG is often ranked as one of the most affordable accredited university of its kind, regardless of the method of delivery chosen. In addition, online courses and programs can mean a cost-savings in many non-evident ways: No more high gas charges. No childcare needed. The flexibility can allow one to maintain a job while attending school. Regardless of state residency, out-of-state non-resident students are not charged non-resident tuition for online course credit hours.
Details
- Total tuition costs and fees may vary, depending on the instructional method of the courses in which the student chooses to enroll.
- The more courses a student takes in a single term, the more they will typically save in fees and total cost.
- Face-to-Face or partially online courses are charged at the general tuition rate and all mandatory campus fees, based on the student's residency (non-residents are charged at a higher rate).
- Fully or entirely online course tuition rates and fees my vary depending on the program. Students enrolled in exclusively online courses do not pay non-Resident rates.
- Together this means that GA residents pay about the same if they take all face-to-face or partially online courses as they do if they take only fully online courses exclusively; while non-residents save money by taking fully online courses.
- One word of caution: If a student takes a combination of face-to-face and online courses in a single term, they will pay both all mandatory campus fees and the higher eTuition rate.
- For the cost information, as well as payment deadlines, see the Student Accounts and Billing Services website
There are a variety of financial assistance options for students, including scholarships and work study programs. Visit the Office of Financial Aid's website for more information.
Coursework
Requirements
Graduate students must successfully complete one of the following core courses:
- ABED-6100 Strategic Business Communication
- CISM-5355 Cybersecurity Operations
- CISM-5390 Business Intelligence and Data Mining
- ECON-5475 Applied Econometrics and Analytics
- ECON-6430 Business Forecasting
- ECON-6450 Managerial Economics
- EDRS-7000 Data Analytics
- ENGL-5304 Advanced Writing in Disciplines
- FINC-6532 Finance
- MGNT-6670 Organizational Theory and Behavior
- POLS-5210 Public Management
- POLS-5215 Management of Nonprofit Organizations
- POLS-5222 Leadership in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
- POLS-6200 Public Budgeting and Financial Management
Students must successfully complete two other graduate-level courses from any subject area that will meet the student’s professional development goals. A total of nine credit hours is required to complete the certificate.
Downloads
Required
This course is an integrative approach to the study of strategic business communication found in corporations, organizations, and small businesses today. There is a strong focus on developing credibility and the art of persuasion which allows students to approach the development of effective business messages from a strategic and reflective standpoint. Students analyze case studies that allow for critical thinking and problem solving in business communication including team building, conflict resolution, public relations, marketing, management, and leadership. The development of business plans through team building and exhibiting leadership skills frame the content of this course providing an active and enriched learning experience.
Business and government are facing a rapidly expanding need for information security managers. This course surveys information security program design, networking and application security, the implementation of information security safeguards and information security auditing, disaster recovery, policy development, identity management, and effective threat assessment. Students who have taken CISM 4355 cannot take CISM 5355.
This course will teach the fundamental concepts of business intelligence and several data mining software tools (SAS Enterprise Miner and SAS Visual Analytics) that enable organizations to strive for business intelligence. The course will be hands-on and the emphasis will be placed on learning how to derive business value from large amounts of data using data mining tools. Students also explore issues and trends in data mining and visualization. Students who have taken CISM 4390 cannot take CISM 5390.
The course emphasis is on applications of econometrics and techniques in business analytics. Topics include methods of data presentation, numerical measures and correlation, estimation, linear/non-linear regression, limited dependent variables, simultaneous equations/instrumental variables, models of duration, and the use of these models in decision making processes. An industry-standard business analytics software will be used in this course.
This course provides a survey of forecasting methods used by managers and forecasting practitioners. Topics include time-trend, regression-based, time-series decomposition, and auto-regressive moving average methods.
This course builds skills in microeconomic analysis for managers and provides a conceptual foundation for further functional area studies. Topics include consumer and producer theory, industrial organization, and aspects of game theory and statistical analysis. Prerequisites: ECON 2105 or 2106, ECON 3402
This class will be a capstone course for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Data Analysis and Evaluation Methods. While students have a wide range of options in selecting the other courses included in the program, EDRS 7000 Applied Data Analysis will be the only class all students must complete to obtain the certificate. The course will include a program capstone assessment consisting of an applied data analysis project. The data analysis project will require students to collect/locate and analyze data, interpret the findings, produce a data analysis report, and propose a clear action plan. This project will help assess the effectiveness of the program's student learning outcomes.
Advanced composition course focusing on syntactical and rhetorical skills necessary for effective communication in a variety of professional settings and disciplines. Students will study the principles of sentence construction and persuasion, and learn to perform structural and functional analyses of both in order to address particular audiences in specific situations. They will also explore the relationship between multimodality and accessibility in the creation and reception of meaning. Open to all MA students.
A study of the major financial tools and techniques through problem solving and case studies.
A managerial examination of the behavioral and structural factors affecting performance of organizations including study of fundamentals, individual and group concerns, organizational processes with emphasis on current issues.
Various changes in the management of public organizations are identified and analyzed. Includes the role of technology, modification of the relationship between public and private spheres, and current trends in the management of change and supervision of a diverse work force.
This course is designed to explore the theoretical principles and practical applications of management for charities and/or nonprofit organizations. The underlying thesis of this course is that by understanding fundamental principles such as developing effective mission and objectives statements, fundraising, marketing and accounting strategies, nonprofits can become more effective and responsive to their constituency's needs. The course will include a field research component.
This elective course offers a more nuanced study of leadership theories and their practical application in modern public and nonprofit organizations. The course builds upon foundational core courses within the program and provides more insight into effective leadership. This course provides opportunities for students to develop their leadership knowledge and skills that can help them guide employees to deliver services and products effectively and efficiently in both the public and nonprofit sectors. In addition, this course considers organizational and leadership challenges and how to meet these with improved leadership strategies. Finally, this course is a much desired and needed elective course for the graduate program and to offer additional training within our public management certificate program.
A hands-on practical course in how governments collect and spend tax dollars and with what effects. Theories of budgeting are examined for their usefulness in the daily realities of the government budgeting setting. Through in-class group assignments, students learn to construct budgets with economic data, write policy statements, and demonstrate an understanding of capital budgeting, cash and accounting principles.
No faculty members listed
Guidelines for Admittance
- All graduate applicants must complete the online Graduate Application. A current application fee of $40 is required. Note: The application fee will change to $55 on August 1, 2025.
- Applicants should also review the Graduate Studies Website for individual program specific requirements and tasks that must be completed prior to admission. See Graduate Studies Application Process.
- International applicants are subject to additional requirements and application deadlines. See Procedures for International Students.
- Official transcripts from all post-secondary schools attended are required and should be sent directly to the UWG Graduate Admissions Office.
Program Specific Admittance Guidelines
Bachelor's degree with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5 or higher is required.
Application Deadlines
Specific dates for Financial Aid, Fee Payment, Registration, Start/End of Term Dates, Final Exams, etc. are available in THE SCOOP.
Specific Graduate Admissions Deadlines are available via the Graduate School
Admission Process Checklist
The Graduate Studies Application Process checklist is available here
One exception: If you will not ever be traveling to a UWG campus or site, you may apply for an Immunization Exemption. Contact the Immunization Clerk with your request.
Contact
Graduate Admissions
graduate@westga.edu
678-839-1394
Graduate Enrollment Support
gradss@westga.edu
Specific dates for Financial Aid, Fee Payment, Registration, Start/End of Term Dates, Final Exams, etc. are available in THE SCOOP.
Specific Graduate Admissions Deadlines are available via the Graduate School
- Develop and refine communication, management, critical thinking, digital literacy, or other industry-needed skills.
- Expand professional expertise across multiple disciplines, integrating concepts, theories, or practices from different fields to address complex, real-world problems.
- Apply interdisciplinary knowledge to develop strategies, solutions, and innovations that address current and evolving industry needs.
- Develop self-directed learning strategies that empower individuals to take ownership of their professional growth and pursue continuous improvement in their careers.