Policy Issues on Work and Pay Certificate

What You'll Learn

Whether you want to enhance your skills for your current job or prepare for a career move, this certificate is an interdisciplinary blend of principles designed to give you a well-rounded education in work and pay related policy issues. You'll learn about:

• How to review and evaluate various statutes
• How employers, unions, and governments interpret those policies
• How policy affects the working conditions of employees

Certificate Benefits

Real-world knowledge for real-world success—that's what credit certificates at the University offer you. Enhance your knowledge and skills, learn new skills, or begin working toward an undergraduate or graduate degree. These accredited certificate programs are:

• Designed for working professionals
• Shorter than degree programs
• Used as an area of study for a degree program
• Offered late afternoon and evening; some online
• Taught by University faculty members

Certificate Requirements

Prerequisite course (4 credits)

This course is not counted in the credits for the certificate program:

• Econ 1101 Principles of Economics: Microeconomics (distance education course) (4 credits)

Core requirements (5 credits)

These courses must be taken for a letter grade:

• PA 5431 Public Policies on Work and Pay (3 credits)
• HRIR 5054 Public Policy on Employee Benefits (2 credits)

Note: All core courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Elective courses (10 credits)

Choose any three to five courses:

• HRIR 5000 Topics in Human Resources and Industrial Relations (2 credits)
• HRIR 5021 Systems of Conflict and Dispute Resolution (4 credits)
• HRIR 5023 Employment Labor Law for the HRIR Professional (2 credits)
• HRIR 5025 Comparative and International Human Resources and Industrial Relations (2 credits)
• HRIR 8071 Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining (4 credits)
• PA 8386 Research Methods in Social and Labor Policy (3 credits)
• PA 5401 Poverty, Inequality, and Public Policy (3 credits)
• HIST 5844 U.S. Labor History (3 credits)
• LAW 6203 Labor Law (3 credits)
• LAW 6231 Topics in Employment Discrimination (2 credits)
• LAW 6625 Disability Law (3 credits)
• LAW 6833 Alternative Dispute Resolution (2 credits)
• APEC 5511 Labor Economics (3 credits)
• SOC 8421 Work and Occupations (3 credits)

Certificates in Degree Programs

The Policy Issues on Work and Pay Certificate Program has made agreements with the Industrial Relations Center at the Carlson School of Management, the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and the Law School, which allow you to complete both a degree and certificate program. Your program application must be completed before any course work can be applied towards a degree program.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted into the Policy Issues on Work and Pay Graduate Certificate Program, you must have:

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
• Mathematics courses at least through algebra and a one-semester course in microeconomics
• A preferred performance level for your undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0.
  
• No Graduate Record Exam (GRE) required
• Admission to the certificate program is recommended no later than after completion of the first course

Click here to apply for any of our certificate programs.