Carolina Graduate Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good

Who can apply to the certificate program?
Any master’s or doctoral student currently enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill can apply.

How long does it take to complete the certificate program?
We expect students to complete the certificate over a two-year period, although it is possible to complete it in a shorter timeframe.

Is there a required course sequence?
There is no required course sequence for completion, although we encourage students to consider taking the core course (HBEH 748: Design Thinking for the Public Good) early in the certificate.

During which semesters are the courses offered?
The core course (HBEH 748: Design Thinking for the Public Good) is offered during the fall and spring semesters. Other elective courses are offered during the fall and spring semesters.

Can a student apply the same course credits toward CIPG and their degree credentials?
In 2021, the faculty Administrative Board of The Graduate School, with the support of the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, approved policy changes that will allow greater double counting/crossover of credits between graduate degree programs and certificate programs. Students in CIPG may now fully double count certificate credits and degree credits at the discretion of their degree program. Please note: At least 3 credits for the certificate must be taken in a school separate from the students’ home school. For example, if you are a graduate student at Gillings, 6 credits can come from courses taught in Gillings but 3 credits need to be taken outside of Gillings. Please reach out to your academic advisor if you have any questions.

Is CIPG offered as a joint program with another university?
No, at this time the program is only offered at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Is there a distance learning option?
Currently, the certificate program is only offered on campus at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Who are the academic sponsors of the certificate?
The three sponsoring academic units are the Department of Public Policy in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and the School of Education.

What are the key deadlines?

Applications for our Spring cohorts open each year on Feb. 1 and close on Feb. 15, with decisions going out by March 1. Our Fall cohort application will open each year on Sept. 1 and close on Sept. 30, with decisions going out by Oct. 15.

How will you decide which students to accept?
We will use a holistic review process, and each application will be reviewed by at least two reviewers. Reviewers will include certificate leadership and advisory board members. We will assess students based on academic diversity, the feasibility of certificate completion in their proposed course of study, and the quality of their personal statements.

If I’m not accepted into this next cohort, can I reapply in a future semester?
Yes, if you are not accepted into the initial cohort for which you applied you can reapply in future semesters.

I’m interested in taking some of these courses listed under certificate requirements before I apply for the certificate. Is that recommended?
Yes, we recommend that you enroll in certificate courses that you are interested in now. Many of them have limited enrollment for certificate students, so there is no guarantee that you will be able to get into courses in a future semester (aside from HBEH 748). For HBEH 748, priority will be given to enrolled certificate students. There is a waiting list for non-certificate students. If you would like to be added to that waiting list, please fill out this form.

How do I know whom my academic coordinator and degree advisor are?
Your academic coordinator is the person in your department/school who signs off on degree requirements/graduation paperwork. The degree advisor is typically the faculty advisor/mentor assigned to you. If you are a student without an assigned advisor/mentor, your program director can serve as the degree advisor for the purposes of the CIPG application.

For the CIPG application, can I submit electronic signatures rather than original signatures?
Yes. We recommend sending the PDF document to your academic coordinator and degree advisor and having them sign electronically.

I’d like to submit a course substitution request for either the Innovation Methods, Tools and Best Practices requirement or the Social Innovation in Practice Requirement. How might I do that?

In order for your course substitution request to be considered by the CIPG Advisory Board, please review the criteria below and fill out our course substitution form. Our CIPG Advisory Board reviews these requests on a rolling basis. To inquire about the status of your request please email cipg@unc.edu.

The learning objectives of the Graduate Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good are for students to:

1. 1. Identify how to center innovation designs as a response to the voice, experiences, wishes and aspirations of those most directly impacted by innovation;
   2. Develop an understanding of one’s own experiences, intentions, strengths and limitations, motivations and biases as a changemaker relative to the impacted audiences;
   3. Identify, define and clearly analyze a problem, recognize opportunities, challenges and the assets of communities as they address the problem, and generate optimal solutions through the application of social innovation in practice;
   4. Understand how the context in which a problem is located and solution is imagined shapes and impacts the innovation design and implementation process;
   5. Recognize and critically assess the strengths and limitations of various social innovation approaches including knowing when a particular approach is most appropriate for a given context;
   6. Understand how to effectively engage stakeholders in co-design, implementation, evaluation and adaptive learning associated with the innovation;
   7. Understand how to build and maintain collaborations and partnerships in support of a shared mission over time as the innovation moves from design to accepted practice.

Innovation Methods, Tools, and Best Practices courses offer students explicit skill-building and skills covered can be applied to multiple disciplines and populations to innovate. These courses spend 50% of their courses covering any of the following four CIPG objectives or a combination of them.

• CIPG Objective #1: Identify how to center innovation designs as a response to the voice, experiences, wishes and aspirations of those most directly impacted by innovation
• CIPG Objective #3: Identify, define and clearly analyze a problem, recognize opportunities, challenges and the assets of communities as they address the problem, and generate optimal solutions through the application of social innovation in practice
• CIPG Objective #4: Understand how the context in which a problem is located and solution is imagined shapes and impacts the innovation design and implementation process
• CIPG Objective #6: Understand how to effectively engage stakeholders in co-design, implementation, evaluation and adaptive learning associated with the innovation
• Social Innovation in Practice courses require students to build and apply CIPG objectives to real world case studies individually or as groups. These courses spend 50% of their courses covering CIPG objectives (any of the 7) and 50% or more of the assignments in the course focus on applying CIPG objectives individually or in groups.

How many courses may I request course substitutions for?
One.

I’m an MPH@UNC student. Am I able to enroll in the certificate?
Unfortunately, MPH@UNC students are not able to apply for or enroll in the certificate.

I’m an MPH@UNC student. Am I able to take the HBEH 748 course even if I’m not part of the certificate?
Unfortunately, MPH@UNC students are not able to take residential courses even if they are offered in an online (i.e. Zoom) format.