Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study

How does the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study serve students or professionals?

The purpose of the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) is to provide adults the opportunity to pursue advanced studies in interdisciplinary, liberal arts in a focused and disciplined manner. The program encourages in-depth study of a core topic, while drawing upon various disciplines to provide a broad understanding of the subject. This program is designed for students with a Bachelor's degree who wish to pursue advanced graduate work in a human-centered interdisciplinary study.

The Certificate program is an 18-hour course of study. Students successfully completing the CAGS may apply credits towards the MLS degree with a separate application. With the approval of a faculty mentor, students select a topic and select courses from the HCIS curriculum. A student’s course of study may conclude with an optional capstone project. This certificate provides an academic credential, not designed to be a professional or vocational credential, but rather to enrich the student’s knowledge and understanding of their chosen curricular field of study.

Academic requirements

The course of study detailed below may be completed in as quickly as two semesters and must be completed within four years and students must maintain a 3.0 GPA throughout the program.

Application to this program will fulfill the following objectives:

  • clarify the expectations of the program

  • focus on a topic and select a faculty mentor

  • review writing and research methods

  • prepare an outline of the student’s plan of study

A core curriculum of 18 credit hours drawn from:

  • the HCIS course offerings

  • an optional capstone seminar (three credit hours) in which students have the ability to complete and present their final papers, projects, or creative work

Click here to apply online now for the certificate of advanced graduate study admission.

Criteria for admission

  • Online CAGS application

  • A 1-2 page statement that identifies the student’s interest area, purposes for advanced study

  • Bachelor's degree, official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended

  • Application fee

  • Note: The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required but applicants may submit their scores if would like them considered with their application.

  • For applicants with foreign transcripts, they must be translated and proof of English proficiency. See language requirement below. Student visas not eligible for graduate certificate programs.

Language requirement

Applicants to the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study who do not speak English as their native language are required to supply scores on the TOEFL English language proficiency test, the IELTS English competency test, the Duolingo English Test (DET), or the TOEFL Essentials exam. The minimum TOEFL score for admission is 80/score level 4. The minimum IELTS score is 6.5. The minimum score for the TOEFL Essentials is 8.5 with a minimum score of 8 in all subsections. The minimum DET score is 110 unless specified otherwise by a program or department. SMU’s ETS (TOEFL) school code is 6660. For the IELTS, please indicate “SMU – Graduate Application Processing Office”. For DET, please send scores to “SMU – Moody School of Graduate and Advanced Studies.”

This requirement can only be waived if applicants have either a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a U.S. institution or a qualifying country from the list below:

  • American Samoa
  • Australia
  • Bahamas
  • Barbados
  • Belize
  • Canada (except Quebec)
  • Dominica
  • Ghana
  • Grenada
  • Grand Cayman
  • Guyana
  • Ireland
  • Jamaica
  • Kenya
  • Liberia
  • New Zealand
  • Nigeria
  • Singapore
  • South Africa
  • Trinidad/Tobago
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • United Kingdom
  • U.S. Pacific Trust

If you have any questions about the online admissions process

Please contact the Human-Centered Interdisciplinary Studies office at:
Email: GLSadmissions@smu.edu
Phone: 214-768-4273