A Bridge Graduate Certificate Program is a certificate program for students who hold a baccalaureate degree and who are admissible to graduate studies; students with earned graduate credit or degrees may also apply for admission. It is designed to provide students with specialized knowledge that may subsequently be applied toward the requirements of a designated Master's degree and may be viewed as transitional to a Master's program. The Bridge Graduate Certificate shall be housed in the same unit as the Master's program that proposes it and administered by the graduate office of the appropriate school or college.

The specific guidelines for establishing a Bridge Graduate Certificate Program are:

• Admission requirements must be minimally the general graduate admission requirements of the University. Programs may specify additional requirements.

• The Certificate program shall consist of at least 12 graduate-level semester credits. No transfer credit will be accepted into a Bridge program.

• The Certificate Program shall utilize existing courses, facilities and resources.

• The curriculum will consist of courses from the corresponding Master's program. All courses in the Bridge Certificate may be applied toward the requirements of the designated Master's degree, given they meet the approval of the Master's program and the six-year time limit for Master's degrees.

• A minimum GPA of 3.0 must be achieved in the Certificate courses to obtain a Bridge Graduate Certificate.

• The program must be completed within three years.

• Program proposals shall identify the master's program to which the certificate courses may be applied and shall include description, curriculum, any additional admission requirements, rationale, resource requirements, budget, program standards, and evaluation plans for the proposed program.

• The usual University approval procedures followed in establishing Graduate Certificate programs shall be followed in establishing Bridge Graduate Certificate programs, except that the Provost will have the final authorizing approval.