Certificate requirements vary widely

While some may think all certificates are created equal, admission into certain programs requires much more than simply fulfilling course requirements.

Some programs require applicants to fill out an enrollment form, but others impose minimum grade requirements or admit students through a selective and subjective application process.

Joseph Scanlan, a visual arts professor and director of the Program in Visual Arts, said in an e-mail that in a pool of 50 to 60 applicants, roughly 16 are admitted to the visual arts program each year. Students must submit an application and a portfolio for consideration.

“The application process is not rigorous,” he noted, “but earning the certificate itself is one of the greater commitments a Princeton student can make.”

Yacine Ait-Sahalia, who directs the Bendheim Center for Finance and administers the finance certificate, said, “We almost never reject an applicant who fulfills the requirements.”

But in an effort to limit the size of the finance certificate program, the program has recently raised the standards for consideration. Economics and operations research and financial engineering majors who apply to the certificate program must have a minimum B-plus average in the three prerequisite courses, one each in mathematics, microeconomics, and probability and statistics. For students from other departments, there are no strict minimum grade requirements.

“Before we had the requirements in place, the certificate had grown to about 160 entering juniors and ... we simply weren’t able to deal with them,” Ait-Sahalia said, though he emphasized that there is no official cap. The program now has about 80 students.

The creative track

East Asian Studies major Jeremy Blum ’10, who is pursuing a certificate in creative writing, noted that applying to the program is “more than just taking a certain number of classes.”

In addition to course requirements, the Program in Creative Writing requires students to submit a portfolio of original work. Roughly half of the applicants are admitted, resulting in disappointment for many.

“I did know ... a senior [who] wanted to pursue the creative writing requirements” but was ultimately denied, Blum explained. “I think she was a little bitter because she wanted a chance to write her creative thesis.”

Students pursuing certificates in theater may follow several different directions to fulfill the requirements, including writing, directing and acting, and they often face an additional level of selectivity.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Shawn Fennell ’10, who wrote and directed the play “Other People’s Houses (and the Stuff Inside)” for his creative thesis, explained that getting an original production onto the stage is a difficult process.

“I sat down and pounded out the application — about 20 pages of work,” he said. “Then there was an interview after the submission of the application, which was a little bit nerve-wracking because a bunch of Lewis Center bigwigs ask you about your application.”

The Lewis Center for the Arts only accepts a small number of play proposals to produce per year. Fennell added that the theater program is “looking to put together a theatrical season, like six or seven shows that work together as a group.”

But writing a creative thesis is not a requirement for earning a certificate in theater, history major Liz Dengel ’10 noted. Dengel, who is also pursuing certificates in theater and creative writing, chose to incorporate a theater-related topic into her history thesis after her creative thesis for theater was denied.

Fennell noted that a creative thesis in theater is a “far less viable option” than earning the same theater certificate by incorporating a theatrical topic into an existing thesis.

“[It] actually turned out to be a huge blessing because I don’t think I would’ve been able to write my fiction thesis and put up a play and write my history thesis all at the same time,” Dengel explained. “I think I would’ve just gone mad.”

The non-creative track

Outside of the creative sphere, though, the application process tends to be more relaxed.

The certificate program for quantitative and computational biology has relatively light requirements, molecular biology major Sandeep Raj '11 said.

“You had to fill out a brief application, but if you had the prerequisite courses, that’s all you needed,” he said, adding that the department was “even pretty generous with turning in applications late.”

Ecology and evolutionary biology major Jen Oswald ’11 explained that the application for the environmental studies certificate only entailed filling out a form with information including her major, prerequisite courses and her reasons for pursuing the certificate.

Oswald explained that though the application itself was straightforward, “I feel that there’s no personal guidance or connection with the department in a way.” This lack of guidance makes the process “about responsibility,” she said.

Though the website for the certificate program in global health and health policy lists a minimum 3.3 GPA requirement, this grading requirement is “soft” and should not deter students with a lower GPA from applying, said Kristina Graff, associate director of the Center for Health and Wellbeing.

Graff added that students do not need to demonstrate extensive previous experience in the field to be considered for admission.

“Some people think you need to have done an internship ... and that is not true,” Graff explained. “The way you can show your interests are myriad.”