The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has traditionally awarded an undergraduate certificate only to a student who has earned a baccalaureate degree.

This policy is changing.

• Starting with Fall 2016 and thus with degree conferrals of December 2016, the baccalaureate degree will no longer be required for a student to earn an undergraduate certificate from CLAS.
• This policy applies to both distance learners and to on-campus students.

Please note that this change does not affect certificates awarded by other UI colleges and that no other standards or policies related to certificates have been changed.

For example, current GPA standards of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the particular requirements for a certificate must still be met by all students.

To earn an undergraduate certificate, students must still earn a minimum grade point average of C (2.00) in the following GPA calculations:

1. All college work attempted
2. All work undertaken at the University of Iowa
3. All work attempted in the certificate
4. All University of Iowa work in the certificate

The following current policies related to certificates also remain in effect:

1. All students wishing to earn a certificate must be admitted to UI and to CLAS, following current admissions standards.
2. A student may not earn a certificate in the same field as the major or minor.
3. No course taken pass/non-pass may be used as part of a certificate.
4. Courses graded S/F may be used at the discretion of the offering department or program.
5. A student currently enrolled in a graduate or professional program may not earn an undergraduate certificate from CLAS (with an exception for students in the Pharmacy degree program at the request of the College of Pharmacy).

The implementation details of this change are still under discussion, including how and when the Registrar will issue the certificate award and how communication between students who have earned a certificate and the Office of the Registrar will occur.  Once procedures have been decided, we will update related offices and advisors.