2023-2024 Catalog 
    
    Oct 13, 2024  
2023-2024 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Graduate Certificate in Grant Writing, Management, and Program Evaluation


This certificate program engages students in systematic research and study designed to improve the quality of grant writing, project management, and program evaluation. These skills are in high demand within local governments, nonprofits, educational settings, and criminal justice and public service agencies. The course content emphasizes competence in the language of grants, proposal development, funding sources and processes, designing and writing creative proposal letters, creating budgets, developing effective evaluation tools, and understanding fiscal management functions and regulations. The certificate is designed for people interested in professional careers in, or careers that include, grant writing, grant management, and/or program evaluation.

Current Master of Public Administration (MPA)  and Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ)  students may count Graduate Certificate in Grant Writing, Management, and Program Evaluation coursework completed with a grade of B- or better toward their degree’s elective requirement, per program specific guidance.

Graduate certificate students may also become interested in enrolling in the MPA or MCJ program. Please see transfer credit information under the College of Public Service General Information section 

Graduate Certificate Admission

Graduate certificates may be earned independent of or concurrent with a degree program. All graduate certificates offered by the College of Public Service meet Department of Education regulations for certificate programs; students are eligible to apply for financial aid.

Prospective students who are applying to a certificate program only (i.e., are not currently in a graduate degree program) should have earned a bachelor’s degree in any field from an accredited institution with a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or better and follow these steps:

  • Complete online Graduate School Application. Submit the required $60 application fee.
  • Submit official transcripts from all higher education institutions attended to UCCS Admissions, 1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, or electronically to gradapp@uccs.edu.

Current degree-seeking students who intend to concurrently earn a graduate certificate should complete the Certificate Declaration form and submit it to cps@uccs.edu.

Upon completion of the required certificate coursework (and grades have been posted), degree-seeking students will complete the Certificate Completion Application in their student portal. Please see the CPS website for details.

Policies and Procedures

Refer to the College of Public Service General Information section  of this academic catalog for detailed eligibility criteria, policies, and procedures relevant to this program.

General Requirements

This certificate consists of four courses totaling 12 credit hours of graduate coursework. A grade of B- or better is required in each course counting toward the certificate. Certificate students must maintain a 3.0 GPA; students falling below a 3.0 GPA will be placed on probation and are subject to those requirements.

Required Courses


Courses may be taken in any order.

Plus one of the following courses:

  • CJ 5004  - Statistics
  • CJ 5009  - Crime and Violence Prevention and Intervention
  • CJ 6135  / PAD 6135  - Advanced Program Evaluation
  • PAD 5110  - Strategic Nonprofit Management
  • PAD 5140  - Nonprofit Financial Management
  • PAD 5150  - Philanthropy, Fundraising, and Earned Revenue Strategies
  • PAD 5503  - Governmental Budgeting