Show that you have formal education in a specific aspect of your major by earning an undergraduate certificate from the College of Arts and Sciences. Certificates are issued to degree- or non-degree-seeking students who have completed a course of study that meets specific guidelines. Certificates are recorded on your transcript—and might just prove you have the expertise a potential employer is looking for.
College of Arts and Sciences certificates
Most of the certificates below require 15 credits in specific and/or elective courses. Links show course requirements in the WSU Vancouver course catalog.
Core Competencies in Spanish Language and Culture
Students in the Core Competencies in Spanish Language and Culture certificate program study the Spanish language and culture from the novice through the intermediate language level. As the Spanish-speaking world spans diverse cultures and nationalities—from the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and beyond—the certificate helps prepare students for today’s global economy.
Game Studies and Design certificate
The game studies and design certificate program prepares students for conceptualizing and producing video games and gameful environments, with a special focus on genres such as educational, serious and games for change.
Molecular Biosciences certificate
To earn an undergraduate molecular biosciences certificate, students explore the foundations of three fields of study—genetics, microbiology and biochemistry—and learn how to use these disciplines to make informed decisions about current societal issues.
Certificate recipients will be prepared to work in both science and non-science careers. They will be qualified for employment opportunities with nonprofit organizations and government agencies involving science, as well as private sector businesses looking for employees with interdisciplinary scientific training.
Professional Science and Technology Writing certificate
Students in this program learn to bridge the gap between the work of scientists and public understanding of that work. Whether employed in media relations or grant-writing, risk-assessment or government communications, certificate holders have the tools to explain the complexities of scientific advancements to national and international audiences.
Professional Writing certificate
The undergraduate professional writing certificate program teaches students how to express themselves clearly, cogently and with style, using precise words, crisp sentences, and logical and persuasive paragraphs. The program includes courses in English use, technical writing, rhetoric and anthropology.
Focusing on communication skills that are essential in the modern workplace, the program is ideal for grant writers, public relations professionals, business professionals, administrators and technical writers.
Quantitative Biology
The certificate in quantitative biology applies computer science, statistics, and mathematical modeling to problems in biological science. It involves equal amounts of biological/life science course work and course work in math, statistics, or computer science.
Social and Environmental Justice
The certificate in Social and Environmental Justice helps prepare students for careers ranging from law and government to education and community organizations. The program’s rigorous course of study encourages a critical approach to social inequality, scrutinizing the root causes as well as the assumptions that underlie various approaches to social change. Students also learn to envision and initiate alternative institutional and organizational approaches to social change. The program includes a semester-long seminar and practicum in community organizing and development.
Social Media certificate
The Social Media Certificate prepares students for working in the emerging field of digital communication and product promotion. It covers social media in a variety of aspects, including its role in advertising and public relations, how campaigns work, and the relational nature of online engagement.
Sustainable Organizational Leadership
This interdisciplinary certificate provides value to students by building synergies across two strongly complementary units: the Department of Sociology and the Carson College of Business. Environmental and resource sustainability is an important social problem and an increasingly common issue across for-profit, not-for-profit, and governmental workplaces.
Achieving sustainability requires attention to the intersections of three key domains – financial, environmental and social. This certificate will develop student expertise and skills in these three arenas and the intersections between them, producing leaders who can act to achieve sustainability goals across a diversity of organizational settings.
Water Resource Sciences and Management
In the Water Resource Sciences and Management certificate program, students develop an interdisciplinary understanding of the physical, social and cultural drivers that shape how water is managed within the larger environmental and human landscape. In the process, they gain the breadth of knowledge required to think critically about water issues.
Contact us to begin your certificate
Make sure you're on the right track with the course requirements for your certificate.
Contact Shellynda Michalek at michaleksj@wsu.edu or 360-546-9106 to get started.