A new option is available for those seeking to enhance their careers and their education credentials. A graduate-level program, the Certificate in Professional Skills, was approved for Missouri Western in December 2012.
Several of Missouri Western’s graduate programs are professional master’s degrees that contain a business component, and the new certificate features courses for 18 credit hours. The courses include management, marketing, mathematics and statistics, economics, and a capstone course that pulls all the courses together, according to Dr. Ben Caldwell, dean of graduate studies.
Dr. Caldwell noted that in some disciplines, students who earn bachelor’s degrees have not taken any business courses, and this certificate will give them a background in business. “This will complement what they already have and augment their skill set.” He said the courses are “very applied courses,” where students use problems from a variety of disciplines and work in multi-disciplinary teams.
Additionally, anyone who earns this certificate may continue in several of Missouri Western’s master’s programs that have the business courses, and they are already halfway to their master’s degree.
“This certificate will bolster a resumé, and give students an advantage in their job searches,” Dr. Caldwell said.