Graduate Certificates

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Graduate Certificate Programs

The College of Arts and Sciences offers graduate certificates in a wide range of fields, including creative writing, financial mathematics, nonprofit management, and more. Whether you're a working professional or part-time student, we offer specialized programs to enhance your resume and advance your career.

Certificate In Applied Statistics

Fairfield University’s applied statistics certificate program is designed for working professionals and graduate students interested in gaining a solid background in the fundamentals of statistics. The program blends practical and theoretical data analysis to train students in the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of numerical data.

Building competency in the field of applied statistics is beneficial to a wide range of careers in business, education, engineering, government, healthcare, science, and technology because it hones the data analytic skills needed to become a more valuable and efficient problem solver in the workplace.

Fairfield's applied statistics certificate program combines individual attention, a faculty deeply committed to teaching, and a focus on the whole person to meet you where you are and give you the skills you need to meet the analytic challenges you face. These skills include facts, methods, and tools, but also understanding, creative problem solving, and thinking with clarity, precision, and flexibility. Our program is designed with busy professionals in mind and is sufficiently flexible to fit into your schedule. The certificate can be earned as part of the requirements for the MS program or on its own.

Required Coursework

Students are required to complete four, three-credit courses for a total of 12 credit hours of approved graduate coursework, which may be applied towards an MS degree in mathematics at Fairfield University. The courses include:

  • Applied Statistics I (3 credits)
  • Applied Statistics II (3 credits)
  • Probability Theory (3 credits)
  • Statistics Theory (3 credits)

Note: Students who have completed the material in one or more of the required courses may substitute additional courses in applied and theoretical statistics and applied mathematics with the permission of the program director.

Certificate In Creative Writing

The Prologue is a yearlong, 12-credit certificate program that provides creative writers of all levels with two semesters of rigorous, graduate-level, one-on-one mentorship to help them jumpstart or finish a book-length project. Students receive individualized guidance from our experienced faculty of published authors who provide in-depth feedback to help develop and edit works in progress.

The Prologue certificate program is perfect for writers interested in pursuing an MFA in creative writing but who want to gain a better understanding of the experience prior to enrolling. It is also ideal for MFA graduates who have already earned their master’s degree but are working on a new project for which they are seeking feedback. Students interested in pursuing their MFA will be able to transfer their 12 credits toward a Master of Fine Arts degree at Fairfield upon completing their certificate.

The cost for the 12-credit Certificate in Creative Writing program is based on the $700 per-credit cost of the MFA program tuition.

Certificate In Financial Mathematics

Fairfield University’s certificate program in financial mathematics is designed for financial professionals looking for a command of the mathematics and theory underlying finance, and for those with mathematical and quantitative aptitude who want to learn to incorporate an understanding of finance. Participants acquire quantitative and qualitative skills and knowledge important to advancing careers in investment banking, hedge funds, and financial markets, and develop an understanding of the deep mathematics that underlie modern financial thinking and sophisticated financial instruments.

Fairfield's financial mathematics certificate program combines individual attention, a faculty deeply committed to teaching, and a focus on the whole person to meet you where you are and give you the skills you need to meet the analytic challenges you face. These skills include facts, methods, and tools, but also understanding, creative problem solving, and thinking with clarity, precision, and flexibility. Our program is designed with busy professionals in mind and is sufficiently flexible to fit into your schedule. The certificate can be earned as part fo the requirements for the MS program or on its own.

Required Coursework

Students are required to complete four, three-credit courses for a total of 12 credit hours of approved graduate coursework, which may be applied towards an MS degree in mathematics at Fairfield University. Required courses include:

  • Classical Financial Mathematics (3 credits)
  • Mathematics of Financial Derivatives (3 credits)

And any two of the following:

  • Introduction to Applied Mathematics (3 credits)
  • Dynamical Systems (3 credits)
  • Differential Equations (3 credits)

Note: Students who have completed the material in one or more of the required courses may substitute additional courses in applied and theoretical statistics and applied mathematics with the permission of the program director. 

Certificate in Residential or Professional Interior Design

By completing Fairfield University's online interior design certificate, you’ll acquire the industry knowledge and practical experience you need to be successful in the field. Obtain a residential interior design certificate to gain the qualifications needed to specialize in residential spaces. Or pursue a professional interior design certificate to learn more complex concepts and qualify to take on commercial projects.

Certificate In Nonprofit Management

Fairfield University’s certificate in nonprofit management provides an opportunity for professionals interested in or already working in the nonprofit sector to develop and refine the competencies needed to effectively manage and lead a financially stable, innovative, and impactful organization in today’s challenging economy.

Whether you are assuming a nonprofit leadership role, aspiring to one, or hoping to gain a greater understanding of a nonprofit that you already work in tandem with, our graduate certificate program is designed to sharpen your analytical and management skills so you can effectively evaluate and strengthen an organization’s performance to help ensure long-term stability. In addition to gaining a deeper understanding of the foundation of public administration within a nonprofit organization, students will also learn important skills to enhance their role as a public administrator, including grant writing, project management, and financial management.

Required Coursework

Students are required to complete four, three-credit courses for a total of 12 credit hours of approved graduate coursework, which may be applied towards a Master’s in Public Administration at Fairfield University.

Required Courses:

  • Introduction to Public Administration
  • Economics of the Nonprofit Sector

Additional Courses (Select Two):

  • Project Management
  • Data Analysis for Public Administrators
  • Grant Writing

Admission Requirements

Admission for all College of Arts and Sciences graduate certificates is based on the following criteria:

  • A completed online application
  • A non-refundable $65 application fee
  • Official undergraduate college transcript
  • A resume
  • A writing sample (Certificate in Creative Writing only)

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