Creating a New Professional Certificate

A certificate may be used to recognize that a student has completed a defined program of specialized, cohesive study consisting of for‐credit UF courses and, in the case of professional certificates, any other valid additional experiences, such as internships and international exchanges.  Students may earn a certificate offered within the discipline of their academic major as long as the certificate includes unique requirements not used for successful completion of the student’s degree program of their major.  Students may also earn a certificate from a program outside of the discipline of their academic major but complementary to their major or interests.  Certificates may also be used by non‐degree seeking students to pursue personal and academic interests and to enhance opportunities for employment and admission to graduate and professional schools.

All new for-credit certificates must be approved by the university and must include student learning outcomes and associated assessments. Refer to the Undergraduate and Professional Certificate Policies for additional information on the certificate approval process, curriculum requirements, and administration.

New for-credit certificates also require an Academic Assessment Plan (AAP) to be submitted for approval during the first semester students are enrolled in the certificate. More information on AAPs is at the Institutional Assessment site.

Process Steps

The academic approval tracking system will automatically route the request (including all accompanying forms and documents) to the following groups for approval and/or notification.

1. Department (Approval is required from the Chair or other designated approver for the department that will offer the academic program, typically following review by the department curriculum committee.)
2. College (Approval is required from the Dean or other designated approver for the college or unit in the preceding step, typically following review by the college curriculum committee.)
3. OIPR (Approval of CIP code is required from the Office of Institutional Planning and Research. Note: All certificates must use a CIP code already approved for an undergraduate, graduate or professional degree program
4. APUG Review (Approval is required by the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Affairs)
5. PCC (Approval is required from the Professional Curriculum Committee.)
6. OUR (Approval is required from the Office of the University Registrar.)
7. OIPR [N] (The Office of Institutional Planning and Research is notified of the request.)
8. CAT (The change will be entered into the undergraduate catalog, effective in the term approved for the request.)
9. SASS (The change will be entered into the Student Academic Support System, effective in the term approved for the request.)
10. AAC [N] (The Academic Assessment Committee is notified of request approval.)
11. College [N] (The College is notified of request approval.)

Required Documents

• Catalog copy - catalog-style description of the certificate, requirements for entry, requirements for completion, and a suggested semester-by-semester plan, prepared as a Microsoft Word document.
• Supporting documentation - memos, emails, etc. from other units to provide evidence of the availability of courses that are required for the certificate and/or to provide evidence for support of the proposed certificate if there is clear or potential overlap or duplication of content.

Enter Academic Approval Tracking

When you have prepared the required documents, click the start button below to enter the approval tracking system (requires GatorLink login).

Site Admin

• Process ID: #290
• Page name: Certificate_New_Ugrad-Pro
• Page title: New Ugrad/Pro Certificate
• URL: certificate_new_ugrad-pro
• Form: Online Form ID 27