L&S Certificate Programs Information

The following section explains which courses will satisfy certificate and degree requirements for L&S undegraduate students.

L&S undergraduate students who wish to pursue a certificate program are encouraged to meet with the certificate advisor as soon as possible to determine eligibility requirements that may apply.   

  • Certificate programs are optional in L&S and are not required for graduation. Please note that failure to complete a certificate program will not impact eligibility to graduate.  Thus, students must complete all certificate requirements before graduation or they will not be able to complete the certificate program at a later date.  The only exception to this is if the certificate program is allowed to grant awards to University Guest or Special students.  
  • Some certificate programs require or encourage students to take courses that are not designated as Liberal Arts and Science (LAS), or "C" courses.  Please note that these non LAS credits do not count toward satisfaction of the requirement that student complete 108 credits in Liberal Arts and Science.   Also, no exception will be make to convert these credits to count as LAS credit for purpose of counting toward the 108 Liberal Arts and Science credit requirement.  Thus, students who choose to take the non LAS credits should be mindful of the 108 required Liberal Arts and Science credits for all L&S undergraduate students.   
  • L&S undergraduate students may count up to 12 non Liberal Arts and Science credits toward their L&S degree under any circumstances. 
  • Courses taken to satisfy certificate requirements should not be taken on a pass/fail basis. 
  • Students should use a degree audit (DARS) to monitor their progress in completing their certificate(s) since DARS is the official document used to certify completion of certificate programs in the College of Letters & Science.
  • Special students (i.e.,  students not earning a UW-Madison degree) enrolled at UW-Madison through the Division of Continuing Studies are permitted to complete some certificate programs even if they were never enrolled at UW-Madison in a degree program as long as they have completed an undergraduate degree at another institution.
  • See certificate programs for more information about the certificate programs offered at UW-Madison.

For more information about certificate programs for L&S undergraduate students, please refer to degrees/majors/certificates in the Guide.  

With general questions, feel free to contact L&S Student Academic Affairs 
Phone: (608) 262-0617
Email: lsdeans@saa.ls.wisc.edu