Academic & Student Affairs Handbook

Academics Affairs Division

2.3.1 Degrees, Majors, and Certificates

2.3.1 Degrees, Majors, and Certificates

(Last Modified March 7, 2025)   Report a broken link

SOURCES:
BoR POLICY MANUAL 3.3.1, CORE CURRICULUM
BoR POLICY MANUAL 3.8.1, DEGREES, GENERAL

A record of all degrees, majors, and standalone certificates offered by an individual institution shall be on file in the respective registrar’s office and shall be listed in the USG’s database of Academic Programs. A new degree, major, or standalone certificate shall not be listed until it has been approved by the Board of Regents.

2.3.1.1 Degrees and Majors

All degrees and majors require approval to establish, substantively modify, deactivate, or terminate, as described in the Academic and Student Affairs Handbook Sections 2.3.2, 2.3.3, and 2.3.4. Such requests should be made via the Academic Proposals Smartsheet site at https://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/academic_approvals.

Exclusive of physical education activity/basic health or orientation course hours that the institution may require, the number of credits that can be required for each type of degree awarded by the University System of Georgia is listed below. Exceptions to the program length requirements may be made only with the approval of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer of the USG, as outlined in the Academic and Student Affairs Handbook Section 2.3.5.

Associate and Nexus Degrees

Associate degrees for transfer as well as Nexus degrees require exactly 60 semester hours, including 42 credits of the IMPACTS Core.

Career Associate Degrees

Career Associate degrees also require exactly 60 semester hours, with exceptions for career associate degrees in allied health and nursing which can have a maximum of 70 semester hours.

Career Associate degrees must contain a minimum of 20 semester hours of the IMPACTS Core (i.e. General Education Core).

Baccalaureate Degrees

A baccalaureate degree must contain 120 semester hours, including 42 credits of the IMPACTS Core.

A baccalaureate degree program must require at least 21 semester hours of upper division courses in the major field and at least 39 semester hours of upper division work overall.

Master’s Degrees

Master’s degrees consist of a coherent program of study beyond the bachelor’s degree. Master’s degrees are typically 30 semester hours, but institutions can require up to 36 semester hours.

Doctoral and Education Specialist Degrees

Due to the varied nature of disciplines at these levels of study, there are no system wide expectations for the minimum or maximum number of semester hours an institution may require for doctoral programs or education specialist programs.

2.3.1.2 Certificates

A certificate can be considered either a standalone certificate or an embedded certificate.

Standalone Certificates

A standalone certificate can be solely pursued, separate from any other academic program. A student can declare this type of certificate and/or graduate from this type of certificate as they would a degree/major. Standalone certificates require approval to establish, substantively modify, deactivate, or terminate as described in the Academic and Student Affairs Handbook Sections 2.3.2, 2.3.3, and 2.3.4. Such requests should be made via the Academic Proposals Smartsheet site at https://www.usg.edu/academic_programs/academic_approvals.

Standalone Certificates are classified by the level of courses in the curriculum, as follows:

  • Undergraduate Certificates
    • Less than One Year – a certificate that requires less than 30 semester credit hours, and typically at least 9 credit hours. The degree acronym is CER0.
    • One Year – a certificate that requires between 30 - 59 semester credit hours. The degree acronym is CER1.
  • Graduate Certificates
    • Post-Baccalaureate Certificate – a certificate beyond the bachelor’s degree that does not meet the requirements for a master’s degree. The degree acronym is CERG.
    • Post-Master’s Certificate – a certificate beyond the master’s degree that does not meet the requirements for a doctoral degree. The degree acronym is CERM.
    • Post-First Professional Certificate – a certificate beyond the first professional degree. The degree acronym is CERP.

Embedded Certificates

An embedded certificate is typically a subset of courses required as part of a degree/major where students in the specified degree/major are awarded the certificate upon graduating in that degree/major. Students do not enroll in this type of certificate; they enroll in the associated degree/major.

For example, students in a Bachelor of Arts in English program may be required as part of their BA English to take the necessary coursework to also receive a professional writing certificate upon graduation. If this certificate is only awarded to BA English students and those students will automatically receive the certificate upon graduate, it is an embedded certificate. However, if this certificate is also available to students in other program (e.g., Bachelor of Business Administration) who can elect whether or not to pursue the certificate, then it becomes a standalone certificate.

Embedded Certificates do not require notification to or approval by the University System of Georgia or Board of Regents; they are not listed on the Catalog of Authorized Academic Programs.

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