2023 Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools and bootcamps that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 284 schools in the Southeast Region to see which graduate certificate programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school on the list.
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Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these popular schools below:
Our analysis found Liberty University to be the most popular school for students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the Southeast Region . Lynchburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out graduate certificates to 1,102 students in 2020-2021.
Around 66% of those degree recipients were women.
Some students may be able to take online graduate classes at Liberty University. In 2019-2020 about 97% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
You’ll be in good company if you attend University of Florida. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in Gainesville, Florida, the large public school awarded 1,016 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Around 67% of those degree recipients were women.
UF does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 79% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
You’ll be in good company if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list. GMU is a large public school situated in Fairfax, Virginia. It awarded 840 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 72% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at GMU. In 2019-2020 about 87% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The excellent graduate certificate programs at Arkansas State University - Main Campus helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular schools in the Southeast Region . Jonesboro, Arkansas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 710 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 71% were women.
One thing to take note of is that A-State does offer online graduate classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 83% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
You’ll be in good company if you attend East Carolina University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list. Greenville, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 550 students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 66% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since ECU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 80% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, the large public school awarded 502 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 80% were women.
UNC Charlotte does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 82% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of Central Florida came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in Orlando, Florida, the large public school awarded 499 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Graduate Certificate recipients from UCF accumulate an average of $18,102 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 78% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UCF does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 79% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Piedmont College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. Piedmont College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Demorest, Georgia. It awarded 469 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 83% of those degree recipients were women.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online graduate classes at Piedmont College. 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.
North Carolina State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. Raleigh, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 449 students in 2020-2021.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $18,885 in loans while pursuing their degree. Around 50% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity 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.
Kennesaw State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. This large public school is located in Kennesaw, Georgia, and it awarded 428 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 61% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at KSU Georgia, 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, 88% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
American Public University System came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in Charles Town, West Virginia, the large private for-profit school handed out 404 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Around 35% of those degree recipients were women.
Since the graduate programs at American Military University are primarily online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
University of South Carolina - Columbia ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list. Columbia, South Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out graduate certificates to 388 students in 2020-2021.
Around 46% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UofSC. In 2019-2020 about 74% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Virginia Tech came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Virginia Tech is a large public school situated in Blacksburg, Virginia. It awarded 379 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 45% of those degree recipients were women.
One thing to take note of is that Virginia Tech does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 63% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #14, University of West Georgia did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their graduate certificate. University of West Georgia is located in Carrollton, Georgia and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 368 graduate certificates to qualified students.
Around 85% of those degree recipients were women.
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. In 2019-2020 about 95% of the graduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Auburn University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Auburn University is a large public school located in Auburn, Alabama that handed out 360 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 48% of those degree recipients were women.
Auburn does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 35% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
With a ranking of #16, University of Arkansas did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their graduate certificate. University of Arkansas is a large public school located in Fayetteville, Arkansas that handed out 357 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 43% were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at UARK. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 84% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Kentucky did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #17 on the list. UK is a large public school situated in Lexington, Kentucky. It awarded 342 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Around 70% of those degree recipients were women.
UK 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 57% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Clemson University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in Clemson, South Carolina, the large public school handed out 328 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Around 79% of those degree recipients were women.
You may have the opportunity to take online graduate classes at Clemson. In fact, around 69% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #19, University of Georgia did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their graduate certificate. Located in Athens, Georgia, the large public school handed out 326 graduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
On average, graduate certificate students take out $20,917 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 77% were women.
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. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 18% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Duke University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #20 on the list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Durham, North Carolina. It awarded 327 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Graduate Certificate recipients from Duke accumulate an average of $17,440 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 62% were women.
One thing to take note of is that Duke does offer online graduate classes in some areas. In fact, around 2% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Virginia Commonwealth University ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list. VCU is a public institution located in Richmond, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 293 graduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Graduate Certificate recipients from VCU accumulate an average of $33,341 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 68% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since VCU does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 62% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Appalachian State University landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular graduate certificate programs. Located in Boone, North Carolina, the large public school awarded 267 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 81% were women.
One thing to take note of is that Appalachian State does offer online graduate classes in some areas. Of all the graduate students enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 86% took at least some of their classes online.
University of Louisville ranked #23 on this year’s Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list. UofL is located in Louisville, Kentucky and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 250 graduate certificates to qualified students.
By the time they get their graduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $12,397 in student loans. Around 34% of those degree recipients were women.
UofL does offer online graduate classes for certain degree levels. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 68% of graduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #24, University of Alabama at Birmingham did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for students working on their graduate certificate. Located in Birmingham, Alabama, the large public school awarded 245 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 84% were women.
Online graduate courses are available at UAB, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In fact, around 58% of the graduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
University of Memphis came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in Memphis, Tennessee, the large public school awarded 237 diplomas to qualifed graduate certificate students in 2020-2021.
Of those students who received their degree, 68% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since UofM does offer online graduate classes for certain majors. During the 2019-2020 year, about 58% of the graduate students at the school took at least one online course.
Rest of the Top 15% Most Popular Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region of the U.S.
Not only did these schools make the top 44 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 most popular schools ranking:
| Rank | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 45 | Lipscomb University | Nashville, TN |
| 46 | Frontier Nursing University | Hyden, KY |
| 47 | Lincoln Memorial University | Harrogate, TN |
| 48 | University of Miami | Coral Gables, FL |
| 49 | Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale | Fort Lauderdale, FL |
| 50 | Nicholls State University | Thibodaux, LA |
| 51 | Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights, KY |
| 52 | Tennessee Technological University | Cookeville, TN |
| 53 | Shenandoah University | Winchester, VA |
| 54 | East Tennessee State University | Johnson City, TN |
| 55 | Meredith College | Raleigh, NC |
| 56 | Louisiana Tech University | Ruston, LA |
| 57 | Georgia College & State University | Milledgeville, GA |
| 57 | Jacksonville State University | Jacksonville, AL |
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- 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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