Stand-Alone Certificates

Our 8 stand-alone certificates have been approved for federal financial aid, as long as student is enrolled at least part-time (2 classes in one semester). All stand-alone certificates are offered online and are 4 classes long, so many students pursue them across two semesters (2 Fall/2 Spring or 2 Spring/2 Fall) while working full-time.

Bypass the Entrance Exam Requirement

There are seven opportunities to qualify for an entrance exam waiver, one of which is to complete a COB graduate certificate. The successful completion of any of the above stand-alone certificates qualifies a student to bypass the entrance exam requirement for the MBA program.

MSA students can complete the Business Analytics certificate to bypass the entrance exam requirement.

MS-STH students can complete the Hospitality Management certificate or the Sustainable Tourism certificate to bypass the entrance exam requirement.

Important Note: Students can only take classes for the programs to which they are admitted. Certificate-only students cannot take MBA, MSA, or MS-STH classes that are not part of their certificate program until the semester in which they are fully admitted to the degree program.

Degree Requirements

MBA students:

A completed stand-alone COB certificate (any of the eight listed above) will satisfy the elective component of your degree program.

MSA students:

A completed COB certificate in Business Analytics will satisfy the elective component of your degree program.

MS-STH students:

A completed COB certificate in Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality Management will satisfy 4 courses of the 10-course degree program.

Admissions Information

Acceptance into a stand-alone certificate program is dependent upon, but not limited to, ONE of the following:

  • a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.7, OR
  • 5 years of progressive professional experience and an undergraduate degree, OR
  • a graduate degree, OR
  • admission to/enrollment in a graduate degree program at East Carolina University, OR
  • admission to/enrollment in the ECU MBA program – certificate can replace electives component of degree by completing this form