Leadership and Strategic Planning in Nonprofit Sector, Graduate Certificate

Laila Sorurbakhsh, Ph.D. Graduate Director
N1072, (713) 221-8645
sorurbakhshL@uhd.edu
 

This certificate will develop leadership and strategic planning skills for those already working in the nonprofit sector.  The training they receive will permit them to positively transform their organizations.  Successful students who are later admitted into the Nonprofit Management master’s program will have an opportunity to apply qualifying credits earned in the certificate toward their degree.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who earn a certificate in Leadership and Strategic Planning in the Nonprofit Sector will be able to:

• Evaluate a non-profit organization’s status on leadership and teambuilding, report their findings, and initiate effective interventions to alleviate shortcomings in those areas.
• Create, implement, and plan data and research-driven strategies for recruiting and fundraising.
• Assess the environment of an organization and articulate ways to improve productivity from that assessment.

Admission

Admission to the Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management program is based on the applicant’s experience and interest in the nonprofit sector, academic ability, and the personal qualities necessary to successfully complete the program. Further consideration is given to the applicant’s ability to positively contribute to the nonprofit sector upon completion of the program.
 

NOTE: Candidates who do not meet these standards but present applications that provide good evidence that they will be successful in the program will be considered for conditional admission.

Applicants to the program should meet the following minimal criteria:

• Completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited university.
• A grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 for the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate or graduate study.
• Test of English as a Foreign Language minimum score of 550 with section scores of 50 or higher if graduate of a university in which English is not the native language.

Applicants must complete and submit and following documentation to the Office of Admissions prior to the admissions deadline for the semester they desire admission: UHD Office of Admissions - Graduate Admissions, One Main Street, Suite 325, Houston, TX 77002.

• Application for admission to the Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management, found online at http://www.uhd.edu/admissions.
• Personal resume.
• Personal statement: In 1000 words or less, describe your experiences with the nonprofit world and how those experiences have prepared you to work in the nonprofit world. The personal statement is a very important introduction to the Graduate Admissions Committee. The central purpose of the statement is to give you an opportunity to demonstrate why you are a good candidate for admission to the program.
• Official transcript(s) that document a bachelor-degree conferral and the final 60 semester credit hours (or more) of undergraduate coursework. Applicants who have completed graduate-level courses must also provide graduate transcript(s) in addition to the abovementioned undergraduate documentation.
• TOEFL results as outlined above, submitted by the admissions deadline (if baccalaureate degree coursework was in a language other than English)..
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores, unless you have five or more years of experience in the nonprofit section.
• Three letters of recommendation: The letters of recommendation must be from those individuals who have had personal and professional contact with you. Further, the writers should have had some authority over you either currently or in the past. Examples of these types of individuals would be college professors, supervisors, or community leaders. In their letters, the writers should address the following: how the writer is associated with you and the length of time of that association, their opinion regarding your potential for academic success including skills you possess that they feel demonstrate this potential, and how your completion of a master’s degree would benefit both you and the nonprofit sector.

Conditional Admission

Students admitted conditionally will be advised as to the specific limitations of this status and the conditions necessary to remove the conditional admission classification.

Minimum Grade Point Average

Students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Grades of C or lower do not count toward graduation, and two course grades of C or lower are cause for dismissal from the program.