Penn LPS Online 2026 Certificate Outcomes Survey

• Applied Positive Psychology: 10, 18%
• Climate Change (now Climate Science): 4, 7%
• Creative Writing: 5, 9%
• Data Analytics: 12, 21%
• Dialogue, Ethics, and Social Good: 1, 2%
• Digital Strategies and Applications: 2, 4%
• Neuroscience: 13, 23%
• Organizational Culture and Collaboration (now Team Culture and Collaboration): 1, 2%
• Professional Writing: 7, 12%
• Upskill: 1, 2%

• Personal reasons: 26, 46%
• Professional reasons: 31, 54%

• Yes: 56, 98%
• No: 1, 2%

• Working: 50, 89%
• Student: 3, 5%
• Unemployed and seeking a position: 1, 2%
• Unemployed and not seeking a position: 2, 4%

• Working at the same position: 45, 80%
• Working at a new position: 5, 9%
• Student: 4, 7%
• Unemployed and not seeking a position: 2, 4%

• No: 23, 48%
• Yes, in my current industry: 8, 17%
• Yes, I plan to apply for a promotion with my current employer: 5, 10%
• Yes, in a different industry: 12, 25%

• No: 14, 28%
• Other certificate programs: 4, 8%
• Master’s programs: 14, 28%
• Doctoral programs: 9, 18%
• Unsure: 9, 18%

• Yes: 27, 87%
• I enrolled in my certificate for personal reasons: 3, 10%
• No: 1, 3%

• Research
• Consulting
• Higher education
• Finance
• Education
• Healthcare

• Administration
• Human resources
• Organizational development
• Education management

• Data and business analytics
• Finance
• Research
• Healthcare
• Project management
• Operations
• Retail management
• Defense
• Information technology

• Legal services
• Public service
• Ethics and policy

• Mental health
• Social services
• Clinical research
• Education
• Rehabilitation services
• Scientific research

Total number of responses: 10

• Why did you enroll in your certificate area?
  • Personal reasons: 6, 60%
  • Professional reasons: 4, 40%
• Did the certificate meet your expectations?
  • Yes: 100%
• Are you currently seeking or plan to look for a new professional opportunity?
  • No: 3, 50%
  • Yes, in a different industry: 3, 50%
• Have you, or do you plan to, apply for any other learning experiences, such as master’s or doctoral programs?
  • I do not: 1, 20%
  • Other certificates: 1, 10%
  • Master’s programs: 1, 20%
  • Doctoral programs: 4, 40%
  • Other: 1, 10%
• Do you feel like your certificate prepared you for your future career plans?
  • Yes: 4, 100%

Total number of responses: 12

• Why did you enroll in your certificate area?
  • Personal reasons: 2, 17%
  • Professional reasons: 10, 83%
• Did the certificate meet your expectations?
  • Yes: 100%
• Are you currently seeking or plan to look for a new professional opportunity?
  • No: 6, 50%
  • Yes, in my current industry: 1, 8%
  • Yes, I plan to apply for a promotion at my current employer: 2, 17%
  • Yes, in a different industry: 3, 25%
• Have you, or do you plan to, apply for any other learning experiences, such as master’s or doctoral programs?
  • I do not: 4, 33%
  • Other certificate programs: 1, 8%
  • Master’s programs: 3, 25%
  • Doctoral programs: 1, 8%
  • Other: 3, 25%
• Do you feel like your certificate prepared you for your future career plans?
  • Yes: 8, 80%
  • No: 1, 10%
  • I enrolled in my certificate for personal enrichment: 1, 10%

Total number of responses: 13

• Why did you enroll in your certificate area?
  • Personal reasons: 4, 31%
  • Professional reasons: 9, 69%
• Did the certificate meet your expectations?
  • Yes: 100%
• Are you currently seeking or plan to look for a new professional opportunity?
  • No: 5, 42%
  • Yes, in my current industry: 3, 25%
  • Yes, I plan to apply for a promotion at my current employer: 1, 8%
  • Yes, in a different industry: 3, 25%
• Have you, or do you plan to, apply for any other learning experiences, such as master’s or doctoral programs?
  • I do not: 1, 12.5%
  • Master’s programs: 2, 25%
  • Doctoral programs: 3, 37.5%
  • Other: 2, 25%
• Do you feel like your certificate prepared you for your future career plans?
  • Yes: 8, 89%
  • I enrolled in my certificate for personal enrichment: 1, 11%

• Applied Positive Psychology Certificate: “Thank you so much for this opportunity! My certificate program was literally life changing for me and will enable me to be a much more effective resource for my work community.”
• Creative Writing Certificate: “Thanks to what I've learned in the Creative Writing Certificate Program courses, I have a story being published in a literary magazine.”
• Data Analytics Certificate: “This was a great program. Instructors and TAs were fantastic. I would (and have) recommended this to others.”
• Professional Writing Certificate: “Great program, stunning quality, thank you.”

• Applied Positive Psychology Certificate
  • “I serve on several boards and am an executive leader. The Certificate reinforced my leadership philosophy while also adding tools to my toolkit.”
  • “The material is directly relevant to my job - I am now teaching it in the curriculum and employing it in practice."
  • “The certificate helped me to be more sensitive to the needs of the students.”
• Data Analytics Certificate
  • “Helped establish myself as a data focused team member, showing my specialization and formalizing my credentials to take on projects outside of my previous scope.”
  • “Learning R through the program has given me a powerful tool to use for my job duties.”
• Neuroscience Certificate
  • “The certificate provided a new dimension to my ability to diagnose clients and provide explanations to external stakeholders.”
  •  “I am able to better interpret the data we've collected in the neurocognitive branches of our studies. This has been a help in processing and presenting our information in and outside of our lab.”
• Professional Writing Certificate
  • “Effective communication is very important in my current role, and strengthening my writing skills has benefitted me significantly.”

• Applied Positive Psychology Certificate
  • “How to apply positive psychology concepts to organizations, not just individuals.”
  • “I gained skills and knowledge in how people build resilience, motivation, healthy behavior patterns, and stronger relationships not just in theory, but in practical, everyday settings.”
• Creative Writing Certificate
  • “Broad exposure across literary genres increased my knowledge; improved creative writing and increased confidence in my voice.”
  • “A solid writing practice in which I experiment with different forms and genres. Reading and analyzing the written word deeply.”
• Data Analytics Certificate
  • “Coding, data cleaning and analysis, application publication”
  • “Programming in R, Regression, Shiny Apps, Statistics”
  • “Data wrangling, data visualization, statistical analysis, web applications”
• Digital Strategies and Applications Certificate
  • “Introduction to Python and various tools (e.g. mind mapping)”
  • “Digital strategies to improve marketing efforts”
• Neuroscience Certificate
  • “Basic knowledge of the different aspects of neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and biobehavioral health.”
  • “I learned to understand, in detail, the different mechanisms of neurological functioning in a way I can relate to my work as a researcher in clinical studies for addiction. Of note, I am able to understand the interactions between the hormonal and autonomic nervous systems and relate them to CNS activity.”
• Organizational Culture and Collaboration Certificate (now Team Culture and Collaboration)
  • “Organizational analysis, theories of management, teamwork competencies.”
• Professional Writing Certificate
  • “I appreciated the delve into knowledge domains and their impact on writing.”
  • “My writing improved significantly. I feel much more equipped and confident tackling unfamiliar genres or writing tasks at work based on the foundational knowledge and strategies I learned through the classes in this certificate program.”

How did the certificate help prepare you for future career plans?

• Climate Change Certificate
  • “I wanted to transition to the sustainability space, and this certificate helped me get a job in that space.”
• Data Analytics Certificate
  • “Helped show my quantitative ability for master's programs.”
  • “The certificate didn’t just teach me content or the R programming language, but helped me develop analytical skills and mindset. “
• Neuroscience Certificate
  • “I will be pursuing my PsyD in neuropsychology, and I think that the neuroscience certificate from UPenn will help me with the basic neurobiological background knowledge required for the field.”
  • “Because of the certificate, I was able to enroll in a master’s degree in Neuroscience.”
• Professional Writing Certificate
  • “It has made me a much more persuasive writer as well as made my writing process more efficient and easier on myself. That's where I've already begun to see improvements at work.”