SPONSORED: Use Your Elective Credits to Add a Professional Certificate or Diploma to Your Degree

Today’s top employers are looking for more than a Bachelor’s degree. They are selecting candidates with professional designations – either in the form of a diploma or a certificate – to join their team. To ensure you’re a qualified candidate for any job, your skillset needs to move beyond the degree. You need to show that you not only have the technical skills obtained from your degree, but also the soft skills required for many roles. Soft skills meaning a combination of people skills, career attributes, and more. 

The job market is competitive across all industries and companies are expecting that you have the skills and business intelligence to integrate quickly into their corporate culture. That’s where a certificate or diploma comes in. By earning a certificate or diploma you can gain valuable knowledge and skills in your area of interest. The best part is, now you can do it without having to go to college after graduation. 

If you're looking for a competitive advantage in the employment market and to be job-ready upon graduation, McMaster University Continuing Education offers the Degree + Diploma program pathway. It is an opportunity for current undergraduate students to apply their electives towards a professional certificate or diploma. In a nutshell, you can earn a degree and diploma all at once at once; saving you time, tuition costs and it will get you career-ready faster.

Pinar Ovali, a Communications student at McMaster, is taking the Degree + Diploma Web Design Certificate program through McMaster Continuing Education. When aked about her experience with the program Pinar says, “I will have a very useful certificate for my field at the end of the program. As a Communications undergrad, I know that taking this program will benefit me tremendously when I start applying for jobs.” Taking this program provides a huge personal return on investment, allowing you to develop your academic resume sooner and getting you one step closer to your dream job.

Degree + Diploma is offered through McMaster University Continuing Education.  There are many certificate and diploma options for you to choose from in the fields of business, communications, health and social services. Programs are designed to fit your schedule and are taught in flexible and convenient formats. You can select from an array of courses that are either  – in person or online - whatever accommodates your busy schedule. 

To get started visit mcmastercce.ca to learn more about the certificates and diplomas available to you.  Once you’ve got an idea of what you are interested in you can book a meeting with your Academic Advisor in your faculty who can help you get started on future proofing your career.