Post-Master’s Certificate in Education

For those looking to deepen their understanding of education and enhance their knowledge, skills, and professional competencies in instructional practice and leadership, this certificate offers a thorough exploration of curriculum and its influence on teaching and learning. The coursework provides you with the opportunity to theorize, design, apply, and assess contemporary curriculum and instruction strategies. The program culminates with a capstone project that allows you to integrate all these disciplines toward a specific topic of your choosing.

Want to have a foundational influence on young children and their love of learning? Giving them the best possible launch on their educational journey can be one of the greatest rewards in teaching. This certificate builds on your existing knowledge and skills in early childhood education and supports your development into an advanced practitioner in the field. The focus includes curriculum, assessment, and program administration that aligns with current research on the growth and development of young children. You’ll also investigate early childhood literacy and literature along with the roles of families, caregivers, schools, and communities as partners in early childhood education.

As classrooms, businesses, and organizations across the U.S. and around the world grow increasingly diverse, the demand and rewards have never been higher for educators with the leadership and abilities to teach English to non-native speakers. The English Language Learning (ELL) post-master’s certificate will help you to build on your existing knowledge and skills to improve the pedagogy, assessment, and curriculum development for ELL programs. The final course offers you the opportunity to consider the various contexts, issues, and implications involved in ELL education. If you’re seeking ELL/ESL certification, you should verify with appropriate state officials that this non-degree certificate meets applicable certification requirements.

One of the most attractive characteristics of our post-master’s certificate is your ability to tailor your degree and coursework to meet your specific interests and career journey. The Post-Master’s Certificate in General Education allows you to select courses from a broad range of electives to fit your personal and professional goals.

To fulfill your certificate requirements, you must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours with at least four education courses from any of the Education Post-Master’s Certificate programs offered. You may also take up to two courses from Post-Master’s Certificate programs in other fields, i.e., psychology, technology and/or business. With dean approval, you may even consider additional courses (more than two) from other disciplines to fill this requirement.

Just as teachers are now in greater demand than ever before, educational leaders are needed to manage and assist school districts and state educational boards as they work to improve the instructional capabilities of our schools. This post-master’s certificate provides a strong background in supervision and the ability to assess and interpret data on curriculum, instructional practice, and innovation. The focus is on practicing leadership by creating cultures, organizations, and community advocacy that improve instruction and enhance student achievement.

This specialization focuses on educational phenomena, practices, institutions, and organizations within different societies and cultures. It includes an exploration of international organizations, policies, initiatives, and challenges faced by international and global practitioners. Further, it prepares you to apply the concepts of organizational training, development, and leadership to the design, management, and evaluation of programs, institutions, and organizations. You’ll also examine issues, challenges, and opportunities related to culture and society while learning the best techniques for mediation and conflict resolution. Finally, this specialization explores the concepts of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in international and global contexts to enhance your strategies and policies as an educational practitioner and leader.

In addition to exceptional professors and instructors, our institutions of higher learning need skilled managers and directors who are experts in a wide range of issues facing our most valuable institutions.This certificate supports your leadership abilities in a variety of higher education institutions and organizations. You’ll examine leadership across different functions, such as student services, strategic planning, and academic program and curriculum development. You’ll also explore the functions of leadership at different types of institutions, including public, private, for-profit, and non-profit. Finally, you’ll examine the leader’s role in other, non-academic operations related to legal and financial responsibilities.

Effective leadership is essential for the growth and sustainability of any organization. Regardless of your personal and organizational goals, expert leadership skills will help empower you and those you work with to achieve them. This certificate is designed for professionals aspiring to leadership roles in education, corporate, government, nonprofit, or community organizations. It equips you with the tools necessary to effectively lead, manage, and make things happen in any organization. Topics concentrate on the key strategies for forging alliances, building confidence and capacity, managing change, resolving conflict, and inspiring a shared vision. The curriculum is grounded in the latest applied research and explores goals, issues, and resolutions in contemporary organizations.

Successful education begins and ends with safe schools. This certificate provides an in-depth understanding of strategies, techniques, and communications that help keep K-12 students safe and secure, so they’re free to focus on their teachers, curriculum, and classmates. It offers professionals, emergency management, and district management personnel the opportunity to learn about such diverse topics as: technologies to manage safety, security, and emergencies; threat assessments for people and facilities; restorative justice and other alternatives to student discipline; and techniques for contributing, implementing, and improving school safety plans. Further, a theoretical underpinning of these issues and their necessary responses will be examined. To conclude the certificate of study, you’ll demonstrate your knowledge and proficiency through a capstone course and project.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) helps students to better understand and control their emotions, allowing them to build better relationships and interpersonal skills that will serve them throughout their school years and beyond. This post-master’s certificate targets mid-career or advanced classroom teachers, school counselors or psychologists, and school/district administrators who desire a more intensive examination of the five core competencies identified by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL): self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness. Your coursework will explore planning and implementing SEL initiatives within a variety of educational contexts and interests, including classrooms, school culture, caregivers, communities, policy, and planning.

Students with exceptional intellectual gifts, learning disabilities, or behavioral issues can present both the greatest challenge and richest satisfaction for any educator. The post-master’s certificate is designed for professionals who work with gifted and disabled students in a variety of settings. The course offerings cover a wide spectrum of topics related to individuals with disabilities, including the development and characteristics of learners, learning differences, and instructional strategies that address the diverse needs of these students. As you progress through your studies, you’ll acquire the necessary skills to plan, deliver, and assess instruction and support to gifted students and those with mental, physical, behavioral, or learning disabilities.

In many of today’s learning environments and communities, a significant portion of behavioral problems can be rooted in trauma. Children experiencing trauma are more likely to fall behind in class, get into trouble, or exhibit conduct issues. Trauma-informed education promotes an understanding and support of the whole student, helping create a positive learning environment, better student engagement, and improved academic outcomes.

This post-master’s certificate builds on your fundamental knowledge and skills related to teaching and learning with a focus on specific trauma-informed educational practices. This focus extends across various educational settings and populations. You’ll explore the theories and fundamentals of a trauma-informed approach to education, how trauma manifests in different populations and communities, specific trauma-informed strategies and practices for the classroom, and strengthening resilience among both students and educators.

This specialization integrates curriculum development, instructional design and course delivery using technology and online learning management systems. The specialization focuses on providing a knowledge base of current research for the planning and implementation of teaching and delivery modalities using instructional design methodologies incorporating educational media.