More Than a Degree Enhancing Your Undergraduate Experience with Certificates
At American University, your path to success can take many routes. Undergraduate certificates can give you the edge you need to stand out in the workplace.
In addition to our undergraduate degree programs, American University (AU) offers undergraduate certificates that provide students the opportunity to gain the credentials or specialized knowledge they need to prepare for careers in rapidly growing fields.
Certificate programs can complement your AU Bachelor’s degree(s), expanding your curriculum or focusing on a specific area of interest. With an undergraduate certificate, you can gain the concentrated skills and experience you’re looking for in less time, which can help set you apart in today's market.
College of Arts and Sciences: Undergraduate Certificates
NEW! Housed within the Philosophy and Religion Department, our newest undergraduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence: Ethics and Society will empower students to navigate the complex ethical and societal implications of AI systems. Students will take courses from different disciplines to enhance their knowledge of AI, receiving interdisciplinary training at the intersection of AI technology, ethical frameworks, and societal impact analysis. There is also a Certificate in Applied Ethics and Professional Responsibility.
The Certificate in Disability, Health, and Bodies introduces students to the disciplines of critical disability studies, critical mad studies, critical autism studies, critical body studies, and critical fat studies. In this program we center the lived experiences and perspectives of disabled people. These fields encourage students to explore questions related to disability, neurodivergence, and bodily difference from intersectional and interdisciplinary perspectives.
The Global Health and Culture Certificate puts you at the heart of global health. You’ll learn to address complex problems with best practices attentive to science, local cultures, and sustainable success. Through an interdisciplinary curriculum, you'll dive into methodologies, research, ethics, and policy with our faculty of proven professionals ready to share the skills and real-world training for building a healthier, more equitable world.
The Leadership and Ethical Development Program (CAS LEAD) is a 12-credit, cohort based four-year certificate program. CAS LEAD is designed to teach and empower students to become effective and ethical leaders. Working with a close-knit cohort in seminars and on community based learning opportunities, you will learn how to lead in a productive and emotionally-intelligent way.
NEW! The Department of Performing Arts (DPA) recently launched a new undergraduate certificate in Social Action, Justice, and the Performing Arts, designed for students interested in how the performing arts can create a more equitable world. This is one of the first certificate programs in the United States addressing social action and the performing arts.
The Social Science and Policy Certificate will prepare cohorts of social science students to be change makers in the shift to more evidence-based policy making. Social science students admitted to the program will gain exposure and experience at the intersection of social science, communication, and policy.
The Science and Policy Certificate (different from the aforementioned!) is designed to provide STEM students exposure and experience at the intersection of science and policy. This includes understanding the process of making policies that affect scientific research, application, and enterprise, as well as policies informed by robust scientific evidence.
Our College of Arts and Sciences offers many additional undergraduate certificate programs that complement relevant degree programs, including the:
CAS also offers the Digital Technology Generalist Certificate for students seeking to acquire digital technology skills required by employers across a broad range of professions.
School of International Service: Undergraduate Certificates
The Certificate in European Studies is designed so that students can demonstrate substantive knowledge about specific aspects of European culture, history, politics, economics and society, as well as language competency, and complete an experiential learning experience such as an internship or study abroad that directly relates to Europe.
The SIS Digital Technology Generalist Certificate is designed for students seeking to acquire digital technology skills required by employers across a broad range of professions.
The Peace Corps Prep Program complements the SIS BA in International Studies and provides students with additional knowledge, experience, skills, and mentors needed to prepare for service in the Peace Corps.
School of Public Affairs: Undergraduate Certificates
The Certificate Program in Advanced Leadership Studies offers students the opportunity to learn leadership theory, practice, and prepare them for leadership roles.
Administered jointly by the Department of Government and Department of Justice, Law and Criminology, the SPA Digital Technology Generalist Certificate is designed for students seeking to acquire digital technology skills required by employers across a broad range of professions.
The Community-Based Research Certificate is for students who are interested in applying community-based research methodology and social science research methods to community-based settings domestically or internationally. Community-based research is an orientation based on the philosophy that research to inform solutions for a pressing community problem should involve the community. In this certificate program, students learn to collaborate with community partners to conduct research aimed at meeting community-identified needs and apply what they learn in a final independent capstone project.
The Key Undergraduate Leadership Certificate Program focuses on developing the foundational skills, knowledge, and values needed for future public and non-profit leaders.
The Certificate in Political Thought is offered as part of our Lincoln Scholars program, which uses classic and contemporary texts in politics, philosophy, economics, and literature to foster discussion about moral and political controversies in a context of intellectual diversity.
Offered by the Department of Government, the Certificate in Women, Policy, and Political Leadership is ideal for those seeking to work in policy, politics, and leadership.
Kogod School of Business: Badges
NEW! In tandem with the new BS in Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, our Kogod School of Business recently launched badges in Business Analytics & AI. Like a certificate, earning a badge signals to employers that you can translate emerging technologies into business impact—future-proofing your career.
Why AU for your Undergraduate Certificate
American University is dedicated to giving students the flexibility to help them succeed and pursue their individual goals personally and professionally.
Students at AU also have access to academic support, career services, a dedicated Office of Merit Awards that helps students and alumni gain national recognition and external funding, and so much more. The undergraduate outcomes are clear: AU Eagles soar after graduation.
