Penn LPS Online certificates are short programs of study designed to enhance personal or professional skills, whether for career advancement, job transition, or the pursuit of additional learning, and are ideal for individuals who would like to earn an alternative credential to completing a bachelor’s degree.
Online certificate programs include Penn LPS Online courses within a skill set or an area of study with a practical, creative, or professional application. Certificate courses integrate opportunities to apply knowledge and skills toward developing tools or portfolios to demonstrate professional and academic achievement. Advanced certificates are available in certain subject areas. All Penn LPS Online courses are taught at the undergraduate level by Penn instructors. Certificate courses are not eligible for financial aid.
- Applied Positive Psychology
- Climate Change
- Creative Writing
- Data Analytics
- Digital Strategies
- Global and Regional Studies
- Leadership and Communication
- Neuroscience
- Organizational Culture and Collaboration
- Professional Writing
- Science Foundations
- Social Difference, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Upskill
Online certificates
You can enroll in individual courses without committing to the entire certificate, enjoying the flexibility and expertise offered by Penn LPS Online to suit your schedule and professional or personal interests.
Please note: Certificates are awarded as a standalone education credential. However, students completing certificate requirements in pursuit of a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree are awarded certificates upon completion of the degree. If you are enrolled in the BAAS program and don't complete the degree requirements to graduate, you are not eligible to receive the certificates.
Penn LPS Online certificates are short programs of study designed to enhance personal or professional skills, whether for career advancement, job transition, or the pursuit of additional learning and are ideal for individuals who would like to earn an alternative credential to completing a bachelor’s degree.
Online certificate programs include Penn LPS Online courses within a skill set or an area of study with a practical, creative, or professional application. Certificate courses integrate opportunities to apply knowledge and skills toward developing tools or portfolios to demonstrate professional and academic achievement. Advanced certificates are available in certain subject areas.
You can enroll in individual courses without committing to the entire certificate, enjoying the flexibility and expertise offered by Penn LPS Online to suit your schedule and professional or personal interests.
Please note: Certificates are awarded as a standalone education credential. However, students completing certificate requirements in pursuit of a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) degree are awarded certificates upon completion of the degree. If you are enrolled in the BAAS program and don't complete the degree requirements to graduate, you are not eligible to receive the certificates.
Virtual information session
Watch a video of a recent virtual information session hosted by Jaime Kelly, Director of Certificate and Non-Degree Programs, to learn more about our certificates, the online learning experience, and the open enrollment process.
If you are having trouble viewing this video, watch it on YouTube.
Academic credit
All courses are online and offer flexible and accelerated schedules, high-impact learning, and the experience and knowledge that both students and employers value. Students earn academic credit for all courses completed within an online certificate area or course block. Students who complete the basic certificates may pursue an advanced certificate by adding additional courses from the advanced course list. Courses taken as part of a certificate may not count toward meeting academic requirements for the Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree. Please consult with one of our academic advisors.
Penn LPS Online courses are offered in accelerated 8-week terms and full terms. Courses are largely asynchronous; some courses require synchronous sessions to be scheduled by the instructors. For more information about specific course dates, please visit the Penn LPS Online Academic Calendar page.
Certificate career outcomes 2023 survey results
Overview of data: Contacted 96 graduates from 2022-2023; 34 responses total
Certificates represented:
- Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology
- Certificate in Creative Writing
- Certificate in Leadership and Communication
- Certificate in Organizational Anthropology
- Certificate in Data Analytics
- Certificate in Climate Change
- Certificate in Neuroscience
- Certificate in Professional Writing
- Certificate in Social Difference, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
38.7% personal reasons
61.3% professional reasons
97.1% of respondents said the certificate met their expectations.
- Working (full time/part time): 88.2%
- Student: 2.9%
- Military: 2.9%
- Unemployed and seeking a position: 2.9%
- Unemployed and not seeking a position (retired, volunteering, etc.): 2.9%
- Working at the same position as when I enrolled in the certificate: 67.6%
- Working at a new position: 23.5%
- Military: 2.9%
- Unemployed and not seeking a position (retired, volunteering, etc.): 5.9%
- Data analyst in healthcare
- Data management specialist
- Data systems analyst, hospital
- Director of operations
- Human resources and operations manager
- Intern at a school of medicine
- Organizational effectiveness consultant
- Technical writer in software development
- Higher education, academic coordinator, scholars programs
- Administrative data coordinator
- Retail
- Clinic development director, gene therapy
- Clinical research coordinator
- Data resolver
- Director of a music school
- Consulting firm, senior associate
- IT Agile product coach
- IT senior support specialist
- Lead software engineer
- Managing director, legal industry consultant
- Managing director, public relations
- Program coordinator, university
- Research specialist
- Senior research project manager, higher education
- Senior compensation specialist, human resources
- Senior solution engineer, software company
- No: 19.0%
- Yes, in my current industry: 33.3%
- Yes, I plan to apply for a promotion at my current employer: 4.8%
- Yes, in a different industry: 42.9%
- I do not: 26.7%
- Other certificate programs: 13.3%
- Master’s degree programs: 33.3%
- Doctoral programs: 6.7%
- Other: 20.0%
- Yes: 83.3%
- I enrolled in my certificate for personal enrichment: 16.7%
*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.
