Admissions Criteria

UNC Graduate Students

Admission is granted automatically, yet students must complete and submit an application to indicate their intention to complete the certificate and a plan of study.

All Others Persons (not currently a UNC Graduate Student)

Admission is determined based on the following criteria:

• Educational Requirement: Completion of a Bachelor’s degree in any major.
• Applicable Professional Interests: Alignment between the student’s professional development goals and the goals of the Program.
• Nonprofit Work Experience: At least two years of paid, professional work with a nonprofit organization, preferably in a position with at least some managerial duties (i.e. Program Director or Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, Director of Development, etc.).  Substantive unpaid, professional nonprofit work experience with some managerial duties can be considered in lieu of this requirement.
• Potential to Complete Graduate-Level Work: Evidence of the ability to successfully complete graduate-level course work, including but not limited to: undergraduate transcript and GPA, transcripts of any graduate study, a professional writing sample (e.g. grant application, program report) or a brief reaction paper submitted for a writing assessment in addition to the application.

Application Procedures

Applications are accepted year round, though persons who are not current UNC graduate students should submit their application at least one month prior to the start of the academic term in which they wish to begin taking classes.

• UNC graduate students should complete and submit the Nonprofit Leadership Certificate application (see link below).
• Persons who are not UNC Graduate Students should complete and submit the Nonprofit Leadership Certificate application (see link below) and include an updated resume, transcripts of undergraduate and any graduate study and a writing sample.  If a writing sample is not available, the student will be asked to complete a brief reaction paper to comprise a sample. Subsequently, the student will be contacted for an in-person or telephone interview. If granted admission, the student will then need to enroll in the Part Time Classroom Studies program through the UNC Friday Center to be able to register for classes.

Complete the Application and Registration Form (pdf) and email it to Mat Despard. For the signature field, you may type your name.