Graduate Certificate
In earning the Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising, you will acquire essential skills to foster student success and guide students through academic and career planning. The program provides a deep understanding of student development theories, advising techniques and institutional policies. These skills enhance professional effectiveness and can open doors to new career opportunities and strengthen your expertise.
Attending college is a big step for students. Often, it’s among the first important decisions a student has made in their life as a young adult. There are many factors for a student to consider. They have to:
- Decide on a major and career path.
- Navigate student housing.
- Find student organizations to belong to.
- Build their academic schedules.
- Find and utilize campus resources.
- Discover career opportunities.
This is a complex list of needs for anyone to figure out, let alone someone just entering higher education. Guiding students through these processes and more of life’s questions lies at the heart of the online Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising program.
About the Academic Advising program
This online graduate certificate program was created by Mizzou’s College of Education and Human Development. It was designed for professionals who want to develop the skills needed to support student success in higher education. You’ll learn from our esteemed faculty in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis as you study current best practices to support your students on their path through higher education.
Quick facts
Official name
Graduate Certificate in Academic AdvisingCampus
Program type
Graduate certificateAcademic home
College of Education & Human Development | Department of Educational Leadership and Policy AnalysisDelivery mode
100% onlineAccreditation
Higher Learning CommissionCredit hours
15Estimated cost
$8,427.00*This cost is for illustrative purposes only. Your hours and costs will differ, depending on your transfer hours, your course choices and your academic progress. See more about tuition and financial aid.
Career prospects
Graduates of the program could obtain careers as the following:
- Academic advisor.
- Student affairs professional.
- College access advisor.
Program structure
This graduate certificate program is completely online. Courses are taught synchronously, in a semester-based format. One course, the Introduction to Academic Advising, is taught asynchronously. It typically takes about one year to complete the program.
Coursework includes
- Understanding student development
- How to serve students from varied backgrounds
- Explorations of college life and student affairs
- Internships
Review all requirements for the online Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising program.
Delivery
100% onlineCalendar system
Semester-basedTypical program length
1 yearTypical course load
6 credit hoursAccreditation
University of Missouri is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.
Faculty spotlight
Lisa Scheese is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri. She teaches courses in the EdD, higher ed, and BES programs and is the program coordinator for several degree tracks, from the bachelor’s to doctoral levels.
Michael Steven Williams is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis in the College of Education at the University of Missouri. His research program broadly focuses on the social-psychological development of students and institutional excellence in American postsecondary education.
Casandra Harper is and associate professor of higher education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri. Dr. Harper studies the differential effect of college on students across a range of topics including: parent and family engagement in first-generation college students’ lives, student success, and how students and families navigate the financial aid process. She is also a faculty affiliate in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies. Dr. Harper earned her doctorate in higher education and organizational change from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Laura Page is an assistant teaching professor and coordinator of the higher education master's program in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri. Dr. Page has 20 years of higher education and student affairs experience and recently served as assistant dean of Mizzou's Graduate School.