University Certificate in Public Administration

Regulations effective September 1, 2023.

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.

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.
University certificate credentials are awarded throughout the year. Students must submit an Application for Graduation Form to the Office of the Registrar (see Graduation).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.		(3)
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.		(3)
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 470 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, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2024.

Updated June 22, 2023 by Office of the Registrar (calendar@athabascau.ca)