7 Practical graduate business certificates to round out your resume

No matter where you are in career journey, you may reach a point when you feel that adding qualifications to your resume is the only way to advance. Your educational background alone might not be enough. In fact, a recent EdAssist survey reveals that 72 percent of respondents feel their schooling did not effectively prepare them for the workforce.

Maybe you’ve already earned your master’s degree and are looking to deepen your expertise in a particular area. Or perhaps you’re hoping to gain valuable skills without committing to a lengthy program. Either way, you’ll be happy to learn there are post-baccalaureate certificate options designed for professionals who are hungry to drive their careers forward.

While certificate opportunities aren’t meant to stand in place of a graduate degree, they do offer professionals a way to gain new skills that could help advance their careers. As you seek to reach new heights in your professional endeavors, it’s worth looking into the variety of business certificates out there. University of Massachusetts Global, for example, offers the following seven.

7 Online business certificates that could help further your career

The number of people who hold post-baccalaureate certificates has more than doubled since 2001. Graduate certificate programs allow you to focus on specific topics or skills in your field, and they take a minimal time commitment. Employer-sponsored education benefits could even extend to certificate programs.

When searching for different business certificate opportunities, one of the primary things you’ll want to look for is whether the programs are accredited and offered by a school with a positive reputation. You can rest assured that the following options from University of Massachusetts Global check those boxes.

1. Graduate Certificate in Business Administration

This certificate program introduces conceptual and practical skills needed for standard business practice. These courses help both business and non-business students who are looking to enhance their administrative abilities in the public, for-profit or nonprofit sectors.

The Graduate Certificate in Business Administration can provide you with a strong practical foundation covering financial reporting, data analysis, economic influences and marketing management. You can also choose an elective course from subject areas including business, human resources, finance and organizational leadership.

2. Executive Certificate in Public and Nonprofit Leadership

The Executive Certificate in Public and Nonprofit Leadership program is intended for executives, managers and other professionals who are looking to enhance their abilities to lead and inspire employees and volunteers. You’ll also learn to create and implement positive change in any organization.

This program was designed with the understanding that participation cannot be demanded or extracted – effective leaders encourage commitment through the power of mutual influence. You’ll have the opportunity to discover new ways to motivate employees and community members to get involved and stay engaged with various causes and organizations.

3. Graduate Certificate in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics

This certificate program can apply to a broad range of careers in for-profit, nonprofit and public sectors. It aims to teach professionals how to make more effective business decisions using Esri geographic information system (GIS) software.

With the massive influx in the use of big data across all industries in recent years, many professionals have sought to increase their data analytics skills in an effort to keep up with evolving business trends. As a student in the Graduate Certificate in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics program, you’ll have the opportunity to examine, review and validate business data using the latest technology. You’ll also learn to generate dashboards and reports summarizing business, financial or economic data that may be reviewed by executives, managers, clients and other stakeholders.

4. Graduate Certificate in Health Administration

This certificate program is intended for health care professionals with a baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degree who are looking for opportunities to receive specialized instruction in health administration.

As a student in the Graduate Certificate in Health Administration program, you’ll learn more about the foundations of health care administration while studying topics like law and ethics in health care, quality management, health care economics and health care information and communication systems.

5. Graduate Certificate in Human Resources

Students in the Graduate Certificate in Human Resources program are taught tactics to attract and retain employees, as well as how to develop collaboration among those individuals. You’ll begin learning the skills needed to maximize employee engagement and address cultural, regulatory and behavioral issues in a diverse workforce.

Professionals in this program will learn about strategic management, staffing, training and development, conflict and negotiation, employee benefits, and legal issues. Upon completing the program, you’ll be well-versed in making strategic decisions that ensure workforce capabilities and performance align with organizational goals.

6. Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership

Students who pursue the Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership can expect to develop the conceptual and interpersonal skills needed to incorporate value-centered, service-driven principles into their everyday operating philosophies and management styles. It’s designed to help mid-level career professionals who hope to merge theory and practice to gain a heightened awareness of both their capabilities and limitations.

In this program, you’ll explore topics like democracy, ethics, systems, teams and organizational development with the goal of enhancing your leadership skills by learning how to create a workplace culture that’s based on a common vision.

7. Graduate Certificate in Public Administration

In the Graduate Certificate in Public Administration program, professionals from all sectors have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge base to include principles of effective public leadership. Blending theoretical and practical perspectives that impact decision-making processes, students learn to apply concepts directly to their work environments to create long-lasting, positive change.

Whether you work in the government sector, for a nonprofit organization or in the enterprise industry, this certificate program can help you explore important operational dynamics, including political interactions, planning, resource allocation and management theory. You can also take elective courses in business intelligence and data analytics, computer science, human resources or organizational leadership.

Enhance your potential as a business leader

Taking your career to the next level with a business certificate could help you reap a number of benefits. Widely accepted data maintains, for example, that educational attainment has direct connections to how much money a person makes — the more you learn, the more you earn.

But beyond strengthening your salary potential, adding to your qualifications with one of these valuable business certificates could help broaden your impact as a leader in your field. Drawn to the idea of enhancing your expertise and adding to your existing skills? Explore UMass Global's robust library of business resources.