The Philosophy Post-baccalaureate Certificate enables postgraduate students with diverse backgrounds to gain intermediate knowledge of at least one philosophical sub-discipline. It also leads them to strengthen their skills in analytical and critical writing, ethical decision-making, pedagogy, and research literacy. By doing so, it complements students’ prior studies and prepares them for professional positions, which require strong analytical and ethical skills (e.g., policy analyst, ethical counselor, community college teacher or speechwriter).

 

Additionally, this program also allows students time to carefully consider pursuing a Philosophy MA degree through the completion of advanced coursework and meetings with philosophy faculty. We expect most students to complete the certificate over the course of two semesters. Students who wish to continue towards completion of the Philosophy master’s degree should transfer into the program before their third semester. Students who require a third semester to complete the certificate should contact the Philosophy Graduate Program Co-Directors for more information.

 

The Philosophy Graduate Program Co-Directors serve as advisors for the certificate program and will review all student programs of study to ensure that students take at least one 3-unit course to fulfill each program requirement (Analytical and Critical Writing, Pedagogy and Research Literacy, Intermediate Philosophical Knowledge of a Philosophical Subdiscipline and Ethical Decision-Making).

 

Advanced certificate programs offer post-baccalaureate students coursework leading to a specific, applied, focused goal.

Students may apply for advanced certificates as matriculated students or as non-matriculated students. Students may apply through CalState Apply as matriculated students, or as non-matriculated students through Open University. In either admission case, students submit an official transcript(s) (noting the completion of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from an accredited and/or recognized institution from a foreign country). Students must have an undergraduate GPA of at least 2.5 (where A=4).

To earn an advanced certificate, students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all advanced certificate coursework, with no less than the grade of “C” in any course. A maximum of 4 units of coursework with a grade of “C” can be applied toward an advanced certificate. A maximum of 4 units of coursework may be repeated.These guidelines constitute minimum standards for advanced certificate programs. Departments may propose additional requirements. If a course is repeated, grade points and units from all attempts shall be included in the calculation of the student’s SJSU cumulative GPA and overall GPA, as described in F08-2. Generally, a maximum of 33% of advanced certificate units (e.g., 3 units for a 9-unit certificate) can be completed in non-matriculated status at SJSU with approval from the department or school. In some cases, an advanced certificate may be completed entirely in non-matriculated status if the student has received approval from the department or school and the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs in the College of Graduate Studies. Students should check with their advisor for clarification.

The advisor/director of the program is responsible for verifying a student’s satisfactory completion of the academic requirements established for the program and for forwarding a copy of the certificate audit completion form to the Office of Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations. The Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations (GAPE) office records the completion of the program on the student’s transcript.

With the approval of the department or school, units may be applied to both an advanced certificate program and a graduate degree program offered by the department. However, it should be noted that up to 30% of non-resident courses (including Open University courses) can be transferred into a graduate degree program. Therefore, students should check with their advisor to determine if they should matriculate into a certificate program (i.e. if they are currently an Open University student) to ensure that they maximize the number of advanced certificate units they can transfer into a graduate degree. A maximum of 3 units of coursework may be applied to two different advanced certificates as long as there are at least 9 unique units in each certificate.

To receive the Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Philosophy, students must complete the following twelve units of required coursework: