Certificate of Advanced Study

Liberal Arts certificates of advanced graduate study are offered by some institutions that offer master's degrees in interdisciplinary liberal arts. These certificate programs are designed to hone critical thinking skills and personal knowledge of a chosen field, in addition to encouraging professional development. They typically require 30 hours of graduate study beyond the master's degree.

For some disciplines, this certificate requires a three-year post-bachelor's program equivalent to a Specialist degree. For example, School Psychologists must earn an MA/AC or CAS (Master's degree plus Advanced Certification) or Ed.S degree in order to practice in a school setting or be eligible for national certification.{{cite web|title=Becoming a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) |url=http://www.nasponline.org/certification/becomeNCSP.aspx|publisher=National Association of School Psychologists|access-date=19 September 2013}} These are all Specialist-level degrees due to a required 1200-hour internship experience and 60+ hours of graduate study.

Library and information science CAS programs are intended to allow students to closely focus on a particular sub-area of library and information science after earning a master's degree in the discipline. Some students advance directly to the CAS after finishing their master's degree, others return for a CAS after working in the field. The certificate generally takes one to two years to complete, including a culminating cumulative exam or extensive project. Such programs are offered by many, but not all, of the U.S. institutions of higher education that issue American Library Association-accredited master's degrees.{{cite web|title=Information Studies Certificate of Advanced Study in Library and Information Science|url=http://www.albany.edu/graduatebulletin/information_studies_certificate_advanced_study.htm|publisher=University at Albany, State University of New York|access-date=4 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911200744/http://www.albany.edu/graduatebulletin/information_studies_certificate_advanced_study.htm|archive-date=11 September 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.)|url=http://www.lis.illinois.edu/academics/programs/cas|publisher=Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|access-date=4 September 2013}}

At the University of Lausanne and EPFL, a Certificate of Advanced Studies is awarded upon completion of a programme comprising at least 120 contact hours (resulting in between 10 and 29 ECTS credits), a written examination and, in certain cases, a dissertation.{{Cite web |title=MAS, DAS, CAS, COS & FCO - Formation Continue UNIL EPFL |url=https://www.formation-continue-unil-epfl.ch/en/mas-das-cas-fco/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=www.formation-continue-unil-epfl.ch}}

Some CAGS are connected to an existing doctoral program such as PhD in Organizational Leadership: for example, PhD students receive a CAGS in Leadership Studies after completing their 2 years of doctoral study at Eastern University.{{cite web |title=Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Leadership Studies |url=http://www.eastern.edu/academics/programs/phd-organizational-leadership/phd-organizational-leadership-0/cags/ |access-date=15 November 2016 |publisher=PhD in Organizational Leadership, College of Business and Leadership, Eastern University}}

• Graduate certificate

{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Certificate Of Advanced Study}}

Category:Academic degrees of the United States