2021 Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Also, there are a number of trade schools and bootcamp with offerings that you might find attractive.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools ranking. This report analyzed 1,528 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best undergraduate certificate programs 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 Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the United States
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2021 rankings named The Creative Circus the best school in the United States for students working on their undergraduate certificate.
On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $20,740 in loans while pursuing their degree.
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The excellent undergraduate certificate programs at Cinta Aveda Institute helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in the United States.
Undergraduate Certificate recipients from Cinta Aveda Institute accumulate an average of $10,895 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools list.
If you want to attend Holy Name Medical Center School of Nursing, expect to pay an average of $22,865 in tuition and fees. Of course, this could be reduced if you receive financial aid. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $15,804 in loans while pursuing their degree.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Evergreen Beauty and Barber College-Everett. It ranked #4 on our 2021 Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools list.
By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $9,396 in student loans.
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Out of the 1,528 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the # 5 spot on the list.
The average tuition and fees at Northwestern U is $56,691. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid.
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San Francisco Institute of Esthetics & Cosmetology Inc landed the #6 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best undergraduate certificate programs.
By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $10,818 in student loans.
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Josef’s West Academy landed the #7 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best undergraduate certificate programs.
By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $9,100 in student loans.
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Unitek College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools list.
On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $11,372 in loans while pursuing their degree.
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With a ranking of #9, Unitek College did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their undergraduate certificate.
By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,217 in student loans.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get an undergraduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list.
Full-time students from Virginia pay an average of $17,935 in tuition and fees if they choose to attend University of Virginia. Out-of-state students pay an average of $51,482.
Online courses are available at University of Virginia, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2017-2018 about 10% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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Industrial Management Training Institute did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get an undergraduate certificate. It came in at #11 on the list.
On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $7,498 in loans while pursuing their degree.
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Southeastern Technical Institute did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get an undergraduate certificate. It came in at #12 on the list.
Undergraduate Certificate recipients from Southeastern Technical Institute accumulate an average of $6,523 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
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New York Methodist Hospital Center for Allied Health Education ranked #13 on this year’s Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools list.
Undergraduate Certificate recipients from New York Methodist Hospital Center for Allied Health Education accumulate an average of $14,856 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
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Mayo Clinic School of Medicine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get an undergraduate certificate. It came in at #14 on the list.
Mayo Clinic School of Medicine does not offer a discount to in-state students, so the average tuition and fees for all undergraduates is $11,432. This amount may be reduced if you receive financial aid. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,047 in student loans.
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CenterPoint Massage and Shiatsu Therapy School and Clinic landed the #15 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best undergraduate certificate programs.
By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $11,098 in student loans.
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Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools ranking.
The average tuition and fees at RHSHS is $12,573. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $15,594 in loans while pursuing their degree.
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Unitek College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get an undergraduate certificate. It came in at #17 on the list.
If you want to attend Unitek College, expect to pay an average of $35,284 in tuition and fees. Of course, this could be reduced if you receive financial aid. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $10,965 in loans while pursuing their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Unitek College does offer online classes for certain majors. In fact, around 8% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2017-2018.
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With a ranking of #18, Loma Linda University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their undergraduate certificate.
If you want to attend Loma Linda University, expect to pay an average of $35,180 in tuition and fees. Of course, this could be reduced if you receive financial aid. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $21,426 in student loans.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Loma Linda University. In 2017-2018 about 35% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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Paul Mitchell the School-Missouri Columbia ranked #19 on this year’s Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools list.
Undergraduate Certificate recipients from PMMO Columbia LLC accumulate an average of $12,367 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
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Academy Di Capelli-School of Cosmetology ranked #20 on this year’s Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools list.
By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $11,433 in student loans.
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Michigan State University landed the #21 spot in the 2021 rankings for the best undergraduate certificate programs.
In-state students pay an average of $15,555 in tuition and fees if they attend Michigan State full time. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $40,384. Undergraduate Certificate recipients from Michigan State accumulate an average of $9,164 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Michigan State. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 23% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2017-2018.
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The Salon Professional Academy-Fargo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get an undergraduate certificate. It came in at #22 on the list.
Undergraduate Certificate recipients from The Salon Professional Academy-Fargo accumulate an average of $10,381 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
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With a ranking of #23, Aveda Institute Portland-Vancouver Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their undergraduate certificate.
By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $12,463 in student loans.
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With a ranking of #24, Paroba College of Cosmetology did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their undergraduate certificate.
On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $8,976 in loans while pursuing their degree.
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Aveda Institute-Madison came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools ranking.
On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $8,785 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Request InformationRest of the Top 50 Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the United States
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Rest of the Top 15% Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the United States
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our best schools ranking:
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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