2023 Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. Or you may find the programs at a trade school or bootcamp to be a better alternative for you.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 177 schools in the Southeast Region to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named University of Virginia - Main Campus the best school in the Southeast Region for students working on their graduate certificate.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at University of Virginia. In fact, around 75% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $17,440 in student loans.
Online graduate courses are available at Duke, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 2% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Tech. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list.
Virginia Tech does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 63% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hodges University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list.
Since the graduate programs at International College are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Vanderbilt University is a great place for students working on their graduate certificate.
One thing to take note of is that Vanderbilt does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 67% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
North Carolina State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking.
Graduate Certificate recipients from NC State accumulate an average of $18,885 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at NC State. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 78% took at least some of their classes online.
Augusta University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Augusta University accumulate an average of $21,834 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Augusta University does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In fact, around 49% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Auburn University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking.
Auburn does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 35% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #9, George Mason University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
Online graduate courses are available at GMU, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 87% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Piedmont College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs.
Online graduate courses are available at Piedmont College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 88% took at least some of their classes online.
William & Mary ranked #11 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list.
Online graduate courses are available at William & Mary, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 85% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Clemson University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Clemson. In 2019-2020 about 69% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Eastern Mennonite University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs.
One thing to take note of is that Eastern Mennonite does offer online graduate classes in some areas. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 82% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
American Public University System did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #14 on the list.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out American Military University. Every graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Emory University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking.
One thing to take note of is that Emory does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 74% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Georgia College & State University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list.
One thing to take note of is that Georgia College does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 96% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Georgia came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $20,917 in loans while pursuing their degree.
UGA does have options available for those who want to take online graduate classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. In fact, around 18% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Furman University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list.
One thing to take note of is that Furman does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 8% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Valdosta State University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list.
One thing to take note of is that VSU does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 90% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #20, Columbia Southern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Columbia Southern University accumulate an average of $31,086 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Columbia Southern University is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each graduate student at the school took at least one class online.
With a ranking of #21, University of Florida did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their graduate certificate.
Online graduate courses are available at UF, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 79% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Wake Forest University landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Wake Forest University. In 2019-2020 about 67% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of West Georgia came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking.
Online graduate courses are available at University of West Georgia, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 95% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Florida Gulf Coast University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate programs.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at FGCU. During the 2019-2020 year, about 62% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte ranked #25 on this year’s Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at UNC Charlotte. In fact, around 82% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Rest of the Top 15% Best Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region of the U.S.
Not only did these schools make the top 27 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our best schools ranking:
| Rank | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Appalachian State University | Boone, NC |
| 29 | Citadel Military College of South Carolina | Charleston, SC |
| 30 | University of Miami | Coral Gables, FL |
| 31 | James Madison University | Harrisonburg, VA |
| 32 | University of Richmond | University of Richmond, VA |
| 33 | East Carolina University | Greenville, NC |
| 34 | Lipscomb University | Nashville, TN |
| 35 | Samford University | Birmingham, AL |
| 36 | University of West Alabama | Livingston, AL |
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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