The Concurrent Certificate in Essential French is intended for those students seeking a solid foundation in essential French, including receptive linguistic skills in French (listening, reading, comprehension), and fundamental productive communication skills (speaking, writing). Students completing a degree program in French (Hons BA, BA, minor) are not eligible for the concurrent Certificate in Essential French.

This Certificate recognizes students’ efforts to gain meaningful experiences outside the classroom while promoting the concept of international engagement through an emphasis on the development of linguistic and cultural awareness. The Certificate recognizes both academic and co-curricular efforts on the part of the student to gain an international perspective and to increase his or her knowledge of what it means to be a global citizen.

The Certificate fills a critical need for undergraduate students to learn about and develop professional skills that are highly desirable for the pursuit of graduate studies, professional programs and employment opportunities, following undergraduate studies. A key objective of the course sequence is to help students develop leadership skills within a rigorous academic framework that balances both theory and practice.

This Concurrent Certificate provides students with formal recognition of competency in the etymology, word formation and logic of medical terminology.

Application required in April of Level II

Completion of PHILOS 2D03 and PHILOS 2S03 and/or PHILOS 2G03 required for consideration

The Certificate for Applied Ethics and Policy (CAEP) is designed to prepare undergraduate students from health sciences, engineering, business, humanities, science and social science to work together on teams to identify and resolve the ethical, institutional and policy challenges posed by novel technologies that are highly promising but also potentially socially disruptive. The Certificate will recognize students for having gained core subject matter competencies and experience as members of such interdisciplinary research teams under the direction of faculty and staff associated with the McMaster University Institute for Ethics and Policy Innovation (IEPI).

Information from the Department of Philosophy

The Concurrent Certificate in Creative Writing and Narrative Arts (CWNA) is designed for students who wish to develop their creative writing skills through workshops, groups, public-facing community work, and individual projects. Students will also enrol in other English and Cultural Studies courses to ensure they gain exposure both to the creative practice, techniques, and possibilities to be found in a variety of genres and media, and to the perspectives and learning objectives of undergraduate study in English and Cultural Studies. In their final year of study, students will participate in a series of workshops, culminating in a creative writing capstone project.

Information from the Department of English & Cultural Studies

The Concurrent Certificate in Curatorial Studies (CCCS) aims to broaden students’ understandings of and provide training and mentoring in critical approaches to contemporary curatorial studies in the arts through a partnership with the School of the Arts, the McMaster Museum of Art, and the Art Gallery of Hamilton. The certificate will leverage the scale and strength of the Hamilton arts community to offer experiential, practical, and strategic learning initiatives. The certificate fills a critical need for students to learn about and gain professional knowledge for the pursuit of graduate studies, professional programs, and employment opportunities in the fields of in museum and gallery curating, museum education, and community and cultural arts administration. A key objective of the certificate is to help students develop skills and deeper understandings and knowledge of anti-oppressive, decolonialiality, and transformative frameworks through course work including a final capstone course that includes experiential learning in the field.

Information from the School of the Arts

The Applied Linguistics Certificate (ALC) is designed to prepare undergraduate students from Linguistics and Languages, as well as other disciplines, to work on practical and applied issues that involve language related services and projects. Students who obtain the certificate will be able to contribute to teamwork identifying and solving language challenges related to educational policies, international relations, and novel communication technologies. The Certificate will recognize students for having gained skills in applied language studies and critical reasoning about linguistic issues, the development of policy recommendations, working within multi-disciplinary teams, and engaging with relevant stakeholders.

The concurrent Certificate in Professional French provides students with substantial vocabulary from such fields as business, law, medicine, journalism and the hospitality industry. Through a focus on the study of sample cases, the certificate will help prepare students for possible real-life situations which they could encounter in their careers.

Information from the Department of French