The certificate program requires courses to be taken, a declaration of intent to be in the certificate program, and then a request for the certificate to be added to transcript.

Declaring/Application into the Certificate Program

  1. Applicants for the certificate program must be a current UMSL undergraduate student (degree or non-degree seeking) with GPA at least 2.5.
  2. A non-student must apply for admission to UMSL, possibly as a non-degree student, and be admitted before taking any classes.
  3. Students must declare intent for the certificate program and be accepted before the actual certificate award can be made.
    1. To declare the certificate intent, complete a program declaration form in the College of Arts and Sciences Advising Office, 303 Lucas Hall.
  4. No tracks are selected officially; the student just chooses courses in one of the tracks. Based on this decision, the student will have a different program director.

Courses in the Certificate Program

  1. Required (core) courses for the certificate passed in FS2015 or after are automatically approved for the certificate. Electives, course substitutions, and older courses must be approved by the program director.
  2. At least one course counted for the certificate program must be taken in or after the semester in which the student declares the certificate intent.
  3. Courses used for the certificate cannot be older than 3 years when the certificate is awarded.
  4. A minimum of four courses for the certificate must be passed at UMSL.

Certificate Award

  1. Please contact Dr. Cezary Janikow (janikowc@umsl.edu) if you had a computer science focus or Dr. Dinesh Mirchandani if you had a information systems and technology focus (mirchandanid@umsl.edu) at the beginning of your last semester in the certificate program informing of your upcoming completion of the program.
  2. The certificates are awarded using the same mechanisms as degrees. A student who has already declared and admitted to the certificate must request degree audit with the program director of the chosen track in or immediately after the semester in which the last course for the certificate is completed but while still an undergraduate student.
  3. Certificates are governed by the same rules as undergraduate degrees – at the time of award the GPA of courses in the certificate, and the overall GPA must be at least 2.0.  
  4. When awarded, a student will have the certificate added to transcript. The student may also request a separate certificate document from the program director.

College of Arts and Science Advising Notes

Every time a program director rules a course that normally would not count in the certificate is to count (older courses, substitutes, non-listed electives), the decision for the course and student has to be passed to the student's academic advisor.