US CERTIFICATE PROGRAMMERS

HOW DO I ATTEND CERTIFICATE PROGRAMMES IN THE US?

For those who want to improve themselves professionally or who want to move to a different sector abroad, these programs, which are more oriented to business life rather than to theory, are offered especially by the elite universities of the United States. Certificate programs are the ideal choice for overseas students in a good university in the US, for any reason. For instance, those who do not have enough time to do a master’s degree, or who are not able to afford them financially.
University of California Berkeley and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) are the two most distinguished schools you can take part in. For instance, in a General Business programme, a wide range of options are available; such as economics, marketing, finance and human resources, as well as branches, IT, project management, design, tourism, photography, filmmaking, and music.

EVENING CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

Evening certificate programs are generally completed in 9 months or more and sometimes the participant is provided with short-term internship opportunities within the training. The most important feature of the program is the 12-month full-time work permit granted upon the completion of the programme. The OPT (Optional Practical Training) right is automatically granted after any certificate program you have attended in the USA for 9 months and above but finding a job in this process is entirely your responsibility.
The criterion and the documents necessary to be registered is listed as followed; university diploma, transcript, TOEFL score (80 IBT), resume, letter of intent and 2 references (1 academic if there is 1 employer is recommended). People who are not university graduates can apply to the program if they have a significant experience of 5 years or more (the field where the experience is obtained is relevant to the field of study abroad). Another advantage of the evening certificate programs is that the prices are relatively more economic. One-year certificate programs in UCLA are around $ 6000. The most important reason for the programs in the evening hours is that the participants are mostly local citizens. For this reason, one of the main criteria for international students is have an advanced level of English.

DAYTIME CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

While the programmes at UCLA are only available in the form of evening certificate program options, UC Berkeley offers full time program options for international students which can be completed in a shorter time frame. Short term certificate programs (International Diploma Program) are completed within a short period of 4 months. Students who are successful during the program are offered full-time unpaid internship opportunities in medium or large-scale companies. In order to participate in these internship programs, the only requirement of the participant is to complete the IDP program with a minimum of 2.5 GPA. Marketing, finance, textile, telecommunications, tourism, such as; Siemens, Bayer, San Francisco Chocolate Factory, UBS, Four Seasons Hotel etc. internships are offered in well-known companies. In addition, UC Berkeley offers an ambitious alternative to the master’s in management and Business Track. In the content of the MBT program, the students will be able to complete an unpaid, full-time internship in the last 4 months of the programme. They are then granted the right to work in the US for one year (OPT) just like in the Master program.
Participants may continue with a work permit and gain the same rights in a company as a paid employee when they have earned the OPT right. This takes place after they have already worked as a trainee within a company. In general, the requirements for applying to the IDP program are the same as the evening certificate program. However, in terms of wages, costs are higher than in evening certificate programs.
On the other hand, the University of California San Diego, San Diego State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside etc. certificate programs offered in schools have lower fees. 10-week program options, up to 9 months full time certificate options are available. Admission requirements are a bit more flexible than UCLA and UC Berkeley, and students are considered to have lower scores, especially in terms of TOEFL scores.
UC San Diego, offers 9-months general business programmes, which are in the day-time and tend to be full-time. The programmes also offer shorter course options ranging from 3 to 6 months and they grant you with OPT rights upon completion. UC Irvine offers a 10 week short-course, where you are granted with a 10-week unpaid internship opportunity at the end. This programme is especially advantageous for those students who cannot afford the UC Berkeley certificate and internship programme but still would like to increase their qualifications with a certificate from a top university.