A certificate expands your program of study without having to add a full concentration.

Business majors may choose from many certificates, and non-business majors may choose the entrepreneurship certificate. Certificates range from nine to 12 credits and will appear on your transcript once you receive your degree.

Certificates and Eligible Majors

Certificate
Focus
Open To
Applied Management Accounting for Decision Making
Accounting
Business majors, excluding accounting students

Certificate Description:

This certificate provides students with accounting tools to make managerial decisions in a business setting. This certificate recognizes that such decisions require knowledge of budgetary and cost accounting information and accounting information systems, as well as discipline-specific knowledge.

Required:
Credits
ACT321 Cost Management
Credits3
ACT350 Accounting Information Systems
Credits3
Choose One:
CIS320 Project Management for Information Systems
Credits3
MGT375 Advanced Supply Management
Credits3
MGT377 Advanced Logistics
Credits3
Business Analytics
Computer Information Systems
Business majors

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Business Analytics will cover foundations of data analytics and business intelligence, collection and integration of data across multiple sources, evaluation of data quality, the application of appropriate analytics and visualization techniques to improve business decision-making, and the ethical and privacy issues associated with data usage and business analytics.

Required:
Credits
CIS310 Data Preparation for Business Analytics
Credits3
Choose Two:
CIS455 Advanced Database Management
Credits3
CIS575 Applied Data Mining and Analytics in Business
Credits3
CIS576 Business Data Visualization
Credits3
MKT450 Marketing Analytics
Credits3
Business App Development
Computer Information Systems
Business majors

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Business App Development will give students the knowledge and skills to create software solutions for business applications using contemporary tools and frameworks used in industry. Students will learn how to gather system requirements from key stakeholders and translate those requirements into software solutions that satisfy business needs. Students will learn different methodologies (e.g., waterfall, agile) to plan, design, develop, test, and debug business applications using various tools and technologies.

Required:
Credits
CIS340 Advanced Application Design and Development
Credits3
CIS410 Web Application Development
Credits3
CIS455 Advanced Database Management
Credits3
Business Cybersecurity
Computer Information Systems
Business majors

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Business Cybersecurity will provide students the knowledge and skills needed to address the challenges associated with information management and security. Cybersecurity and information assurance is a serious concern for any business. Upon completion of this certificate, students will have increased awareness and the ability to assess and secure information technology assets against cybersecurity threats. Students will demonstrate an understanding of cybersecurity terminology, concepts, and issues, including the nature of threats, common vulnerabilities, consequences of security failures, and strengths and weaknesses of various cybersecurity models.

Required:
Credits
CIS350 Operating Systems and Networks
Credits3
Choose Two:
CIS413 Advanced Networking and Security
Credits3
CIS487 Internship (must be related to cybersecurity)
Credits3
CIS563 Information Assurance and Security
Credits3
Business-to-Business Selling
Marketing
Business majors, business administration minors

Certificate Description:

The Business-to-Business Selling certificate provides an opportunity to develop significant knowledge about, and experience in, addressing business customers’ needs and building long-term mutually beneficial relationships. Learn about approaches for attracting customers, planning for and conducting meetings with business customers, managing a sales force, designing channels of distribution, and developing marketing strategies. Career advancement within selling, sales management, and business-to-business marketing.

Required:
Credits
MKT330 Business Customer Relationships
Credits3
MKT362 Professional Selling
Credits3
MKT363 Sales Management
Credits3
Customer Experience Management
Marketing
Business majors

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Customer Experience Management provides management skills and strategic insights for providing consumers with satisfying experiences across a cross-section of markets including retailing, hospitality, and entertainment. Customers’ experiences often extend into online contexts and pursuing this certificate will provide an understanding of digital tools used in attracting customers and addressing their needs for information and online services.

Required:
Credits
MKT366 Services Marketing
Credits3
MKT370 Digital Marketing
Credits3
Choose One:
MKT360 Retailing
Credits3
MKT367 Sports Marketing
Credits3
Entrepreneurship
Management
All CSU majors, excluding entrepreneurship and innovation minors

Certificate Description:

The Entrepreneurship Certificate provides future employers evidence of the ability to be innovative and entrepreneurial and the opportunity to investigate entrepreneurship as a career in start-ups and large innovative firms. Multiple disciplines work together to understand entrepreneurship’s role in the economy, learn opportunity identification methods, evaluate business opportunities, and network with successful entrepreneurs and angel investors.

Required:
Credits
MGT 340 Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship
Credits3
Choose One:
ENGR 422 Technology Entrepreneurship
Credits3
IDEA 455/MGT 455 Designing for Defense
Credits3
MGT 420 New Venture Creation
Credits3
MGT 424/IDEA 424 Design Thinking in Social Entrepreneurship
Credits3
Choose One:
AM 373 Apparel Design and Retail Entrepreneurship
Credits3
AREC 328 Small Agribusiness Management
Credits
or AREC 428 Agricultural Business Management
Credits3
BIOM486A Biomedical Design Practicum: Capstone Design I
Credits3
CBE451 Chemical and Biological Engineering Design I
Credits3
CIVE402 Senior Design Principles
Credits3
ECE401 Senior Design Project I
Credits3
FIN 309 Fundamentals of Entrepreneurial Finance
Credits3
HDFS 475 Entrepreneurs and Leaders in Human Services
Credits3
LEAP 310 Creative Industries Career Management
Credits3
MECH 486A Engineering Design Practicum: I
Credits3
MGT 330 Creativity, Innovation, and Value Creation
Credits3
MGT 360 Social and Sustainable Venturing
Credits3
Financial Accounting and Reporting
Accounting
Business majors, excluding accounting students

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Financial Accounting and Reporting will increase the financial accounting related competence of College of Business students not in the accounting concentration. This Certificate focuses on the preparation and analysis of financial statements under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Required:
Credits
ACT311 Intermediate Accounting I
Credits3
ACT312 Intermediate Accounting II
Credits3
ACT411 Advanced Accounting
Credits3
Information Technology for Business Professionals
Computer Information Systems
Business majors, excluding computer information systems

Certificate Description:

Information technology (IT) pervades every aspect of business, and employers often seek out graduates who can effectively use IT. The IT for Business Professionals Certificate gives an edge in the job market by complementing a concentration with knowledge and skills for evaluating, designing, and using software systems to solve business problems and improve decision making.

Required:
Credits
CIS320 Project Management for Information Systems
Credits3
CIS355 Business Database Systems
Credits3
CIS411 Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
Credits3
International Business
Mix of management, marketing or finance
Business majors, excluding international business students

Certificate Description:

This certificate provides an interdisciplinary approach to gain an integrated understanding of the principles and practices of international business. This knowledge will help students enhance their careers in the global economy by gaining a deeper understanding of international financing, cross-cultural negotiation, international management strategies/practices, and global marketing practices.

Required:
Credits
Choose Three:
FIN475 International Business Finance
Credits3
MGT468 Negotiating Globally
Credits3
MGT475 International Business Management
Credits3
MKT365 International Marketing
Credits3
Leadership in Organization
Management
Business majors, excluding human resources management

Certificate Description:

The Leadership certificate will develop leadership knowledge and skills. Through research-grounded courses in organizational leadership, team leadership, and negotiation and conflict management a competence and experience in leading others will develop. This certificate provides a clear interested in, and preparedness for, earlier career advancement on a leadership track.

Required:
Credits
MGT410 Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Credits3
MGT411 Leading High Performance Teams
Credits3
MGT476 Negotiation and Conflict Management
Credits3
Managing Human Resources
Management
Business majors, excluding human resources management; and Psychology majors

Certificate Description:

Business professionals will increasingly perform human resource functions such as interviewing applicants, training new hires, giving performance feedback, and managing compensation budgets. This certificate will prepare students for those advancements and allow students to better market themselves as having a basic understanding of HR principles and practices including employment law, recruitment, selection, training and development, performance management, and compensation.

Required:
Credits
MGT310 Human Resource Management
Credits3
Choose Two:
MGT350 Employment Relations: The Legal Environment
Credits3
MGT374 Total Rewards and Performance Management
Credits3
MGT474 Human Resource Planning and Development
Credits3
Market Research and Data Analytics
Marketing
Business majors

Certificate Description:

This certificate provides students with a comprehensive view of the tools that marketing managers use to understand markets and evaluate their marketing efforts. Gain valuable insight into the traditional qualitative and quantitative research methods used to collect primary data as well as the advanced analytic techniques used by marketers to transform secondary data into decision-making information. Central to the analytical methods used by marketing managers is access to data gathered through digital marketing efforts.

Required:
Credits
MKT370 Digital Marketing
Credits3
MKT410 Marketing Research
Credits3
MKT450 Marketing Analytics
Credits3
Marketing Communications and Branding
Marketing
Business majors

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Marketing Communications and Branding is designed to train for effectively communicating with customers across a variety of channels and developing branding strategies. Students completing this certificate could pursue employment at an ad agency or an agency specializing in branding, digital marketing, or sales promotion. Gain knowledge, skills, and experiences for employment as a marketing communications or digital marketing specialist.

Required:
Credits
MKT315 Marketing Communication Design
Credits3
MKT320 Integrated Marketing Communications
Credits3
MKT370 Digital Marketing
Credits3
Music Business
Marketing
All majors at CSU

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Music Business prepares students for a career in any segment of the music industry. Develop valuable foundations in business basics such as ethics, management and finance while exploring modern musical entrepreneurship by learning from guest lecturers from the industry and engaging with case studies on music festivals and events. By completing this certificate, you'll build in-demand skills and become competitive in the world of professional music performance, promotion, marketing and management.

Required:
Credits
BUS361 Principles of Music Marketing
Credits3
BUS362 Making Money in Music
Credits3
BUS363 Concerts and Live Events
Credits3
Operations, Logistics, and Supply Management
Management
Business majors, excluding supply chain management

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Operations, Logistics, & Supply Management provides the knowledge, process, and technological skills needed in order to operate in a dynamic and changing world, process improvement, and managing resources and relationships with suppliers and customers worldwide. This certificate provides real-world, hands-on learning experiences to prepare for decisions required for purchasing, producing, moving, and providing goods and services on a global basis.

Required:
Credits
Choose Three:
MGT375 Advanced Supply Management
Credits3
MGT376 Advanced Service and Manufacturing Operations
Credits3
MGT377 Advanced Logistics
Credits3
MGT486 Practicum in Supply Chain Management
Credits3
Strategic Marketing
Marketing
Business majors

Certificate Description:

The Certificate in Strategic Marketing provides experience in marketing decision making and planning. Be exposed to frameworks and concepts that are central to developing marketing strategies. The three courses that are each centered on different component of the marketing mix, will provide experience in addressing a wide variety of marketing problems.

Required:
Credits
Choose Three:
MKT320 Integrated Marketing Communications
Credits3
MKT330 Business Customer Relationships
Credits3
MKT364 Product Design
Credits3
MKT440 Pricing and Financial Analysis in Marketing
Credits3
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How to Earn a Certificate

Business majors can declare a certificate by completing the necessary paperwork during an advising session. Non-business majors should email undergradinfo@business.colostate.edu with your name, CSU ID number and certificate you wish to declare.

Curriculum

Each certificate has specific required courses. Please see the undergraduate certificates (PDF) for course information.