Interested in expanding or developing your career in the field of nonprofit management? Wayne State's Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management equips graduates across a variety of nonprofit management and policy careers, including organizational and program managers, nonprofit CEOs and board chairs, professionals in the resource development field and those working or aspiring to build a career in philanthropic organizations.
About the program
The Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management is a 12-credit program designed to combine academic rigor with practical relevance. Certificate instructors are the core faculty of the nationally accredited top-quality Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program, as well as part-time faculty with expertise in nonprofit management.
Through our course offerings, students develop critical nonprofit management competencies and obtain essential skills that are in high demand by the nonprofit sector organizations in metro Detroit, the wider southeast Michigan region and beyond. Some of the competencies include nonprofit financial management, marketing and grant writing, ability to identify funding sources, leadership skills, data analysis and presentation skills.
Certificate courses are taught mostly online. The regular and flexible program offerings enable the completion of the program in as little as one academic year, allowing immediate transfer of knowledge into the field.
- Who can apply?
Our program welcomes applications from people holding at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education who have experience of working in the nonprofit sector, resource development field and philanthropic organizations or seeking any of such careers.
Admission also is open to applicants pursuing graduate degrees at WSU or other institutions. The certificate program presents a great opportunity for those professionals who are seeking to develop an alternative career or tailor their existing qualifications to the needs of the nonprofit sector.
Since the launch of the program in fall 2020, we have welcomed more than 45 graduate certificate students from diverse educational and social backgrounds and all walks of life, including those with many years of experience in the field and those who had already completed degrees in other fields. The program currently has 17 graduates who are putting their nonprofit competencies to use in Metropolitan Detroit.
Admissions
- Who can benefit from obtaining the certificate
- Current employees of nonprofit organizations holding at least a bachelor's degree who have not had formal nonprofit training and are looking for professional development and career advancement
- Students who already have (or are currently pursuing) master's and doctoral degrees in the liberal arts and humanities and who would like to develop marketable competencies for careers in art museums, historical societies, theaters and other arts and humanities organizations in Detroit, southeast Michigan and beyond
- Social work, public health, urban development and other college majors interested in working in community development, environmental, human service and health nonprofits or interested in starting their own nonprofit in those areas
- Current university/college employees working in foundation relations, alumni relations and development departments
- Current M.P.A. students or alumni looking to expand their career choices and tailor their competencies to the nonprofit field
- Prospective M.P.A. applicants who are seeking to start their graduate work from the nonprofit certificate and later transfer their credits towards their M.P.A. degree