Non-degree credentials, such as certificates and other micro-pathways, have become a reliably positive metric for national undergraduate enrollment over the past two years. But did you know that graduate certificates were growing rapidly as well?
Estimated enrollment in graduate certificates has grown by 9.5% between 2023 and ’24, according to the “2025 Landscape of Higher Education Report” by Education Dynamics, an enrollment management service. On the other hand, undergraduate non-credit pathways had only grown by 3.6%. Kentucky—along with North Carolina and Montana—saw the highest increases in graduate certificate completions between 2019 and 2023.
Christine Harper, acting associate provost for academic operations at the University of Kentucky, connects the rise of its certificate offerings to the development of the university’s online portal, which aims to increase the state’s number of credential earners by offering synchronous and asynchronous learning modalities.
“It’s very hard once you’re working to [return to school full-time] with all the obligations of an adult learner,” she says. “Online certainly gives us more options for potential opportunities across all the different areas.”
Undergraduate and graduate certificates have become valuable methods for young adults and mid-career professionals to enter higher education without the degree commitment. However, the latter presents a more specialized pathway that builds on prior qualifications.
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University of Kentucky graduate students can enroll in a certificate or they can tack one onto their degree. For example, a certificate in taxation can propel accounting postgraduates to becoming a CPA, a career path struggling with national workforce shortages. The graduate certificate in arts emergency management prepares students on how to protect artwork from floods and other natural disasters.
Graduate and undergraduate certificates connect colleges and universities with employers to scale in-demand jobs. North Carolina A&T State University and ECU Health, the largest employer across Eastern North Carolina, launched a new graduate certificate to provide nurses with a specialized track in elder care. Only 6.1% of nurses currently specialize in this field, according to the hospital.
The Education Dynamics report identified a 228% uptick in graduate certificate completions across North Carolina since 2019. However, Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, dean of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School, offers some guidance for creating credentials. “We are very careful to ensure academic rigor for any graduate certificate we offer. We have those programs go through the same process for approval that we have for degree programs internal to our campus.”
