Graduate Certificate Programs

Build Your Future With High-Demand Skills

Cutting-edge research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and experiential learning are all at the heart of our work in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern University. That’s why we offer an array of graduate certificates designed to engage with the latest thinking in fields such as public policy, nonprofit leadership, information ethics, urban analytics, and security and resilience.

Earn your certificate in one year by taking courses on campus, online, or in a hybrid modality. Our stand-alone graduate certificate programs are ideal for busy professionals seeking to expand their skills, and current Northeastern graduate students can also choose to supplement their education by pursuing a specialized credential.

In a CSSH certificate program, you will prepare to make an impact in the real world and take on new career opportunities by learning from our faculty of internationally recognized experts. You will become a member of Northeastern’s worldwide professional network, including more than 255,000 alumni and 3,300 corporate partners.

To learn more about applying to a certificate program, please contact us at publicaffairs@northeastern.edu or request information using the form below. If you are a current or admitted student and would like to add a certificate, please contact Julie Switkes, sppua@northeastern.edu, for MPP or MPA and Dakotah Kennedy, d.kennedy@northeastern.edu, for MSCJ.

Information Ethics

The Graduate Certificate in Information Ethics is intended to help students build a working knowledge of the primary theories, frameworks, concepts, and issues in information ethics, as well as develop robust skills in ethical analysis and evaluation. Students who complete the certificate will be able to conduct comprehensive analysis and assessment of emerging issues related to data collection, management, and use; design and implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning; development and deployment of autonomous systems; and online, networked, and digital experiences and systems.

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Nonprofit Sector, Philanthropy, and Social Change

The Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Sector, Philanthropy, and Social Change responds to recent developments in social change theory, practice, and funding that are placing new demands and expectations on social change actors in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. The certificate is a professionally oriented, application-based program for students seeking leadership positions in nonprofit organizations or in a public agency that deals extensively with nonprofits. The curriculum is designed to address the distinctive features and practices of the nonprofit sector and emphasizes management techniques helpful to nonprofit leaders.

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Public Policy Analysis

Not available to Master of Public Policy students.

The Graduate Certificate in Public Policy Analysis provides an opportunity to obtain the tools necessary to analyze and to shape public policy at the local, state, and national levels. Students gain an understanding of the political and legal processes of policymaking, develop skills central to conducting research on policy questions, and learn techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of competing policies.

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Security and Resilience Studies

The goal of the Graduate Certificate in Security and Resilience Studies is to prepare students to manage contemporary transnational risks through a systematic understanding of the principles and policies for enhancing the security and resilience of communities and critical systems. Students will meet these goals through the following certificate requirements:

• Participating in a security and resilience policy course that will introduce students to the synthetic approach to managing transnational risks
• Taking two required gateway courses that support specialization in cyberspace policy, security administration, or counterterrorism
• Focusing on applied learning through group assignments and projects on how to respond to man-made threats and naturally occurring hazards
• Exercising leadership through team projects

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Urban Analytics

The Graduate Certificate in Urban Analytics prepares students to manage the complex issues involved with rapidly expanding data and technological resources in cities. Students learn the practical and theoretical knowledge necessary to understand the intricacies of interconnected urban systems and to analyze how these systems work together to create sustainable, resilient, and just cities. The curriculum emphasizes the expertise needed to bridge emerging technological capacities and traditional policymaking processes. Students cultivate applied skills in visual presentation, analysis, and modeling of new datasets—all of which inform investment and policymaking.

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Urban Studies

Available only to students currently enrolled in a Northeastern graduate program.

Cities are at the center of many of today’s most pressing issues, including climate change, social inequality, lack of access to housing and education, and the challenges of economic development in a globalizing world. The Graduate Certificate in Urban Studies provides a foundation in urban and regional policy theory and research methods, culminating in an applied capstone project.

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Required Application Materials

• Completed online application
• Application fee
  • U.S. $75.00
• Personal statement
  • One to three pages reflecting on the applicant’s research, curricular interests, and professional goals.
• Transcripts from all institutions attended
  • Minimum GPA: 3.0
  • Unofficial transcripts should be uploaded to the ApplyYourself system as part of the application.
  • Admitted students will have 30 days after classes start to provide an official copy of all degree-bearing transcripts.
  • Transcripts from international applicants must be in English and, if applicable, also in the language of instruction. English translated transcripts must be from the institution, or an officially certified translator, or an educational credential evaluation agency.
• Letter of recommendation
  • One letter of recommendation to be submitted via the ApplyYourself system.
  • Not required for the Nonprofit Sector, Philanthropy, and Social Change certificate program.
• Résumé
• TOEFL scores
  • Only required for international applicants who have not attended a university where English is the primary language of instruction.

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Tuition Information

Tuition listed below is for standalone certificate students only. Please refer to the Student Financial Services webpage for tuition associated with CSSH degree programs and “Special Student” status.