For some, the road from college to a dream career includes a few academic pit stops.
Adults who need more academic training but aren’t ready to commit to graduate school can consider postbaccalaureate certificate programs.
These programs, also known as postbacs, can help students fix gaps in their transcripts to meet the prerequisites for a master’s degree program. Postbacs are most commonly used as a tool to help students get the courses they need to apply to medical school. But the programs can also serve as a bridge between college and graduate school for students in fields like math, fine arts, technology and education.
Students with subpar undergraduate grades and adult learners who have been out of school for years can use one of these certificates to show admissions committees that they can excel in a master’s program.
[Don’t let low grades keep you from applying to grad school.]
“It does help in a graduate application,” says Peter Kaye, assistant dean of undergraduate and professional programs at Northwestern University‘s School of Professional Studies. “I never promise students that it will make all the difference for them because they have to have everything else that the graduate program is looking for, and they have to be a competitive candidate.”
Similar to graduate certificate programs, postbacs can give workers an opportunity to build career skills in their current job and get a taste of the graduate school experience without the significant time and money commitment required for a master’s degree program. Unlike graduate certificates, postbac programs may award students academic credit at the undergraduate level, graduate level or a mix of both.
The certificates can also help students transition into new careers.
Yoonjung Kim, 28, has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in voice performance, but decided that it was time for a change.
“As a musician it was really hard to get a job,” Kim says. Using her passion for singing and voice instruction as a guide, Kim started a two-year postbaccalaureate certificate program this fall at the University of Maryland to get the prerequisites she needs to get a master’s in speech pathology. Her goal is to work with children and singers as a speech pathologist.
A bachelor’s degree can be the only academic requirement for postbacs.
“In general, the postbac programs we offer are assuming that you’re coming with very basic entry level knowledge. Typically they’re not screening you extensively for prerequisites,” says Karen Pollack, assistant vice provost for online and blended programs at Pennsylvania State–World Campus.
Credits may be transferable into corresponding master’s degree programs. Postbacs are usually between nine and 12 credits , which can take about two semesters to complete, but students who are moving into a completely new field may take more, experts say. Online postbaccalaureate certificate programs do exist.
“It could give you the confidence to go ahead and apply for the master’s because you’re one-third through academically,” Pollack says .
[Learn more about graduate certificate programs.]
Academic advis e rs can help prospective students determine if a postbac is right for them, and learn about what the school offers, if credits are transferable and if a postbac fits their education and career goals, experts say.
Postbacs aren’t as competitive as grad programs, but admissions officers still review an applicant’s transcript, job history and personal statement.
“We’re looking for evidence that the student can succeed,” says Northwestern University’s Kaye . “We’re looking for evidence that people can handle the work, that they can contribute to the classroom, that they’re here because it matters to them and that they have a sense of what they’re doing.”
Compared with the cost of a full-time master’s degree, postbac programs offer a chance for students to test the waters, relatively inexpensively. Students typically pay the undergraduate or graduate rate for a course for each class. Like graduate certificates, most postbac certificates don’t meet the requirements for students to receive federal financial aid.
Students should take their work seriously in credit-granting courses.
“That grade does go on your transcript,” says James Broomall, associate vice provost at the University of Delaware. “You have to be certain that you do well, particularly if you want to count it towards a degree going forward.”
[Find out how graduate certificates can save you time and money.]
Postbacs are another way for students to gain the credentials they need to be successful, but it’s important for students to remember that postbacs aren’t the same as a master’s degree.
“What you have is a certificate that demonstrates that you’ve mastered a body of knowledge, a body of skills,” says Broomall . “That may totally meet your needs, but if it’s a situation where the next job you’re looking for requires that you actually have a degree in hand, you could use this as a bridge. But eventually you’re going to have to get the degree.”
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Postbaccalaureate Programs Offer Skills, Credential With Less Commitment originally appeared on usnews.com
