O'Neill School Of Public and Environmental Affairs
Graduate
Certificate Programs
Public Finance
The Graduate Certificate in Public Finance is a 15 credit hour program of study. The certificate is designed to prepare students to pursue a career in financial management and public finance. Graduates of the program will be competitive when applying for a wide range of finance positions, including budget analyst, actuarial analyst, controller, and financial analyst.
Public finance students can expect to leave the program with the skills necessary to analyze financial information, quantify the strengths and weaknesses of public financial institutions, budget, and ensure the success of public and nonprofit institutions through sound financial management.
Students will learn to understand the complex issues surrounding public finance and obtain the software expertise necessary to prepare and interpret financial analysis and reports.
Admission Eligibility
The student must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university to apply.
Application
An online application and information may be obtained here. Application deadlines for the certificate programs are May 15 for the fall semester, September 15 for the spring semester, and March 15 for summer sessions. Students must pay a nonrefundable application fee.
Program Restrictions
- Students admitted to a O'Neill graduate degree program are not eligible for admission nor awarding of a certificate in the same concentration of their graduate degree.
- Transfer credit, course substitutions, or course waivers are not accepted for fulfilling the certificate requirements.
- Students enrolled in a certificate program can only confer the certificate with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (B) in all required coursework.
- A student may be dismissed if, after 9 credit hours of coursework, the GPA is below a 3.0.
- Admission to or successful completion of a certificate program does not guarantee subsequent admission to an O'Neill graduate degree program.
- Students enrolled in a certificate program who apply to an O'Neill graduate degree programs must meet all existing admission requirements, or may request a waiver if they complete at least three classes towards the certificate with a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Certificate Requirements (15 credit hours)
Required Courses (12 credit hours)
FOUR of the following courses:
- SPEA-V 506 Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision Making
- SPEA-V 517 Public Management Economics
- SPEA-V 541 Benefit Cost-Analysis of Public and Environmental Policies
- SPEA-V 560 Public Finance and Budgeting
- SPEA-V 663 Policy Analysis
Elective (3 credit hours)
ONE additional O'Neill graduate public affairs course from the following list:
- SPEA-V 507 Data Analysis and Modeling for Public Affairs
- SPEA-V 526 Financial Management for Nonprofit Organizations
- SPEA-V 562 Public Program Evaluation
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this certificate program, students shall:
- demonstrate the ability to analyze the fiscal and governance challenges of a state/local/nonprofit organization through discussions, group assignments and the final paper
- demonstrate the ability to analyze the impact of political, economic, and organizational factors on budgetary decision-making through case study assignments and the final paper
- demonstrate the ability to utilize spreadsheets to conduct budget and financial statement analysis
