MA and PhD Certificates

The University of Chicago is renowned for its interdisciplinary culture, and masters students can pursue a variety of joint or dual degree programs:

Certificate in Computational Social Science

Eligible Programs: Any degree-granting graduate program (master’s or doctoral level).

The Certificate in Computational Social Science provides an innovative, cutting-edge approach to computational skills and is intended for students looking to deepen their research skills or develop a competitive portfolio for industry positions. It is designed to compliment a student’s training at the University of Chicago, allowing them to broaden their methodological expertise and apply this across a range of social scientific domains.

Requirements can be met in a single year or over several years of study.

Learn more about the Certificate in Computational Social Science.

Certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies

Eligible Programs: Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences, Divinity School master’s programs, any doctoral program.

The Certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies allows students in a variety of programs to deepen their academic interest in gender and/or sexuality. The interdisciplinary nature of the subject can lead to academic exploration above and beyond the specific course of study undertaken by UChicago MA/PhD students. Students are able to select relevant courses across departments and divisions in order to expand their knowledge of gender and sexuality. Students also participate in the CSGS Workshop/Working Group to learn about active research happening across campus. These opportunities allow students to gain an understanding of the breadth of subjects where gender/sexuality can be, and are, a focus of study. Requirements differ depending on the degree you are pursuing.

Learn more about the Certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Eligible Programs: Any degree-granting graduate program (master’s or doctoral level).

The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at the University of Chicago offers a certificate (or option, for students enrolled in MAPH) in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS), open to all graduate students within the University. The LACS certificate/option provides proof of area studies specialization and will be noted on the transcript.

Learn more about the Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Certificate in Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity

Eligible Programs: Any degree-granting graduate program (master’s or doctoral level).

The Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity Certificate—offered by the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity (RDI)—provides UChicago graduate students an opportunity to receive training in the concepts and categories that orient the study of race, diaspora, and Indigeneity. These three foundational concepts have shaped the modern world and continue to reverberate in contemporary thought, action, culture, and policy. Given the interdisciplinary and transnational approaches needed to study race, diaspora, and Indigeneity rigorously, the certificate program allows students to examine these concepts above and beyond the specific course of study initially set out for UChicago’s graduate students.

Learn more about the Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity Certificate.

Doctoral Certificate Advanced Quantitative Methods

Eligible Programs: Doctoral only.

Advanced Quantitative Methods (AQM) is offered by the Committee on Quantitative Methods in Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, a University-wide interdisciplinary group of distinguished scholars from the Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, and the Harris School of Public Policy. Its faculty are committed to improving methodological research and training in bio statistics, econometrics, psychometrics, and social statistics and in cross-cutting fields including formal modeling, survey methodology, and computational strategies, with the goal of advancing applied research of individuals, populations, and societies. Eligibility is limited to students who are currently enrolled full-time in a doctoral degree program at the University of Chicago. Students may apply to the certificate program at any stage of the doctoral study.

Learn more about the Certificate Advanced Quantitative Methods.

Doctoral Certificate in Critical Social Theory

Eligible Programs: Doctoral only.

Launched in Fall 2026, the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT)’s certificate in Critical Social Theory offers doctoral students the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of how institutions, ideas, and affects shape the world around us in ways that are often hidden, but also networked and powerful. With an emphasis on interdisciplinarity and collaboration, the program seeks to foster a lively intellectual community of students who share a commitment to defining and discovering new ways to explore pressing issues in contemporary life. 

Students take classes taught by 3CT fellows across the Social Sciences and Humanities; they also share and discuss works-in-progress with peers as part of the Critical Social Theory Working Group.

Learn more about the Certificate in Critical Social Theory.

Doctoral Certificate in Education, Society and Policy

Eligible Programs: PhD only.

The Doctoral Certificate in Education, Society and Policy is designed to prepare students to become independent scholars who can effectively design rigorous academic research in education, collect and analyze relevant data, and communicate results clearly to a range of audiences. Each student pursuing the Doctoral Certificate in Education, Society, and Policy will earn a PhD in their individual field of study while participating in a common program of courses, workshops, and structured mentoring, if desired.

Learn more about the Doctoral Certificate in Education, Society and Policy.

Doctoral Certificate in Environment, Geography, and Urbanization

Eligible Programs: Doctoral only.

The Doctoral Certificate in Environment, Geography and Urbanization is intended to support advanced research, build intellectual community, and facilitate scholarly collaboration among doctoral students and faculty working in diverse fields of environmental social science and environmental humanities. Grounded in the regular meetings of the long-standing Environmental Studies Workshop as well as specialized doctoral coursework in environmental social science and environmental humanities, the CEGU Doctoral Certificate aims to contribute to the further development of innovative, interdisciplinary doctoral research in these areas. Eligibility is limited to all full-time Ph.D. students in the Division of Social Science and the Division of the Humanities, although students pursuing a Ph.D. in other Divisions or Schools may also petition to pursue the certificate. Students may apply to the certificate program at any stage of their doctoral coursework (admissions are rolling). 

Learn more about the Doctoral Certificate in Environment, Geography, and Urbanization.

MA Certificate in Education and Society

Eligible Programs: Master of Arts only.

Students in all Master of Arts (MA) programs at the University can pursue the MA Certificate in Education and Society. To qualify for the certificate, students must first apply and be accepted into a terminal MA program at the University. Once accepted into such a program, students can declare their intention to complete the certificate. While students from any terminal MA program at the University of Chicago are eligible to complete this certificate, a recommended course of study is the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS).

Learn more about the MA Certificate in Education and Society.

MA Certificate in Environment, Geography, and Urbanization

Eligible Programs: Any full-time master's program.

The MA Certificate in Environment, Geography, and Urbanization (CEGU) offers University of Chicago students an opportunity to develop advanced training in environmental social science and environmental humanities, with a particular focus on the histories, geographies, and spatial dynamics of contemporary socio-environmental problems. The CEGU certificate focuses on how socio-environmental transformations emerge through the interconnected dynamics of production and consumption; urbanization, agro-food systems, resource extraction, land use change, and associated conflicts; environmental governance and political contestation; systems of waste management; and the evolving knowledge practices through which environmental change is experienced, represented, and shaped.

Learn more about the MA Certificate in Environment, Geography, and Urbanization.

MAPSS Applied Social Science in Industry Certificate

Eligible Programs: MAPSS only.

The MAPSS Certificate in Applied Social Science in Industry provides a structured opportunity through which students enrolled in the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS) learn about ways social science is applied in specific non-profit, for-profit, and/or government settings, develop methodological skills specific to those settings, and learn how to communicate their academic training and experience to industry audiences.

Learn more about the MAPSS Applied Social Science in Industry Certificate.