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University Certificate in Public Administration

Regulations effective September 1, 2022.

The University Certificate in Public Administration is designed for students who aspire to careers in, or working with, organizations in the public and non-profit sectors. While many management principles are universally applicable, the UC-PADM focuses on administration at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government, as well as non profit and quasi governmental organizations. Students will take courses in management, policy, legal studies, and Indigenous studies. They can also take courses in such areas as communications, criminal justice, governance, human services, and women's and gender studies.

Students may find this certificate useful to enter or re-enter the job market, to change careers, or for promotion in the public sector and/or non profit sector, or to provide a foundation for further studies.

Planning your program

Our online program plans can assist you in selecting the courses needed to fulfill your program requirements.

Counselling Services offers an assessment website, Mapping Your Future.

Athabasca University has developed program learning outcomes that describe the career options that may be available to you upon graduating.


Ladder this certificate into the BPA degree program

This certificate can be taken in partial fulfillment of the 60-credit admission requirements for the Bachelor of Professional Arts (BPA) program. It can also be used for the first 30 credits taken as the third year of all four of the BPA majors: Communication Studies; Criminal Justice; Governance, Law, and Management; and Human Services.

Students planning to use 18 to 30 credits within the diploma toward the 60-credit total for degree completion must not take more than 12 junior credits (courses at the 200 level), including an English Language Assessment recommended skill-building course at the 100 level, if required. See English Language Assessment below.

Students pursuing this option should consult the online program plans to see how this certificate can ladder into the BPA major of your choice. Advising Services can assist you in selecting the courses needed to fulfill your program requirements.


English language assessment

Applicants to the UC-PADM are strongly advised to take the English Language Assessment (ELA). Based upon the applicant's ELA results, a recommendation will be made as to which writing skills course is appropriate. Those applicants whose test results suggest they would benefit from skill building courses at the 100 level can register in ENGL 155: Developing Writing Skills; ENGL 177: English for Academic Purposes; or PHIL 152: Basics in Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing and that course will count as a Junior Option.


Program requirements

Students complete the program regulations in effect at the time of their enrolment.

The following general regulations apply to all certificate programs.

University certificate programs provide interim qualifications in specific subject areas. Athabasca University has developed individual program learning outcomes that describe the career options that may be available to you upon graduating.

  1. Fifty per cent* of the total credits required must be completed through Athabasca University. Up to 50 per cent of the required credits may be transferred from another post-secondary institution.
    * Some certificate programs require less than 50 per cent, e.g., University Certificate in Counselling Women.
  2. University certificate credentials are awarded throughout the year. Students must submit an Application for Graduation Form to the Office of the Registrar (see Graduation).
  3. Students with less than 50 per cent of coursework completed in their current Athabasca University degree program may withdraw from their degree and apply into a university certificate program. Credit will be awarded (from the previous incomplete degree program) to the extent permissible under the applicable program regulations in effect at the time of the change of credential.
  4. Students with 50 per cent of coursework completed in their current Athabasca University degree program are encouraged to consult with a student advisor before changing programs.
  5. Students who change their program of study from an Athabasca University degree program to a university certificate program forfeit their standing in the degree program. If students wish to return to the degree program (after being enrolled in the university certificate program) they will be required to meet the degree requirements in effect at the time of re-enrolment (see Changing Programs) to the degree.
  6. Students who have completed a previous credential (degree, certificate, or diploma) from Athabasca University or another institution must complete a minimum of 50 per cent of the credits in course work not previously used towards any credential.

    Students who have a previous credential in the same subject area as the certificate cannot enrol in the certificate.

  7. Students who have completed the former University Certificate in Labour Relations or the University Certificate in Labour Studies may not enrol in the University Certificate in Human Resources and Labour Relations.

Program structure

program structure
Total credits in the program 30
Required credits 15
Elective credits 12
Option credits 3
Minimum CMNS, CRJS, GOVN, or HSRV credits required to use UC-PADM to satisfy requirements in a BPA major (courses in LGST can be used in UC-PADM to ladder into the BPA-CRJS major) 9
Residency requirement. A minimum of 15 credits must be obtained through Athabasca University. 15
Maximum Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) credits 15

Required courses

(15 credits)

Students should register in ADMN 232 or HSRV 201 or CMNS 201 or LGST 230 or ENGL 255 or PHIL 252 early in their program.

required courses
ADMN 232
or
HSRV 201
or
CMNS 201
or
LGST 230
Introduction to Management
or
Social Work and Human Services
or
Introduction to Mass Media
or
The Canadian Legal System
(3)
ENGL 255*
or
PHIL 252*
Introductory Composition
or
Critical Thinking
(3)
* Note: Students who have taken a course deemed equivalent to one of these courses (ENGL 255 or PHIL 252) will be required to take the other course.
INST 203**
or
INST 205**
Indigenous Studies I
or
Indigenous Studies II
(3)
**Note: Student who have taken a course deemed equivalent to one of these courses (INST 203 or INST 205) will be required to take the other course.
GOVN/POLI 301
or
GOVN 380/HSRV 363
or
GOVN/POLI 405
Public Governance, the Public Sector and Corporate Power
or
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Governance
or
Innovative Public Management
(3)
GOVN 390
or
GOVN/POLI/GLST 403
or
HSRV 322
or
CMNS 401
Public Policy and Administrative Governance
or
Public Policy in a Global Era
or
Ideology and Policy Evolution
or
Cultural Policy in Canada
(3)

Elective courses

(12 credits)

Select four courses from the following list:

electives
ADMN 232 Introduction to Management (3)
HSRV 201 Social Work and Human Service (3)
CMNS 201 Introduction to Mass Media (3)
CMNS 202/LGST 291 Media and Power in Canadian Society (3)
LGST 230 The Canadian Legal System (3)
CMNS/GOVN 444 Media Relations (3)
CRJS/GOVN/LGST 377 Issues in Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (3)
CRJS 370 Youth Justice (3)
GLST 205 Building Blocks of Global Studies: Overview of Approaches, Concepts, and Issues (3)
GLST/ENVS 243 Environmental Change in a Global Context (3)
ENVS 305 Environmental Impact Assessment (3)
ENVS 435 Transformative Change in Building Sustainable Communities (3)
Any statistics course: (3)
such as:
CMNS 308
or
SOCI 301
Understanding Statistical Evidence
or
Social Statistics
ECON 247
or
ECON 248
Microeconomics
or
Macroeconomics
(3)
GOVN All GOVN courses  
HRMT All HRMT courses  
IDRL All IDRL courses  
INST All INST courses
LGST All LGST courses
POLI All POLI courses  
POEC All POEC courses (3)
 SOCI 381 The Rich and the Rest: The Sociology of Wealth, Power, and Inequality (3)
Any women-focused or gender studies course: (3)
such as:
WGST
or
ANTH 375
or
HSRV 421
or
POLI 350
or
LGST 390
All WGST courses
or
The Anthropology of Gender
or
Advocacy from the Margins
or
Women in Politics
or
Women, Equality, and the Law
Any professional ethics course: (3)
such as:
CMNS 455
or
PHIL (All)
Media Ethics
or
All PHIL Professional Ethics courses

Option courses

(3 credits)

Choose any 3-credit course. Those students with no post-secondary education are encouraged to take a 200-level course. Students with advanced analytical and writing skills might consider taking a 300- or 400-level course.

Notes:

Students cannot use the same course to satisfy both a required and an elective course requirement.

Students who plan to ladder into the BPA degree program should consult with Advising Services to ensure a seamless fit for their Elective and Option courses. Students using this certificate to count toward the first 60 credits of BPA admission are encouraged to select Junior courses. Those students who have 42 credits or more to apply toward admission to a BPA program, or who wish to apply the completed certificate to their 3rd year of a BPA program must complete no more than 12 junior credits within the certificate—only 12 Junior credits are allowed in the Majors, so additional junior courses will not all be transferable.

Students who wish to pursue employment in the federal civil service or foreign affairs are strongly encouraged to take French for their Option courses. Students interested in North American integration should take Spanish. Students interested in governance capacity building for First Nations communities should consider taking an Indigenous language course.

Information effective Sept. 1, 2022 to Aug. 31, 2023.

Updated July 19, 2022 by Office of the Registrar (calendar@athabascau.ca)

https://www.athabascau.ca/calendar/ 5eace01b0a2a55f3406c706270347ab7