Find Your Unique Path to Success
What's Right for You?
Certificates
There are several reasons why you might be considering continuing your studies. An upgraded education section on your resume can open the door to a new career, or, if you're already working, lead to a promotion and a higher salary.
While you're working, going back to school is an excellent way to stay current in rapidly changing fields like computer programming and logistics, or, if you've been away from the workforce for a while, to quickly get caught up in the latest trends, concepts, and advances.
Completing additional schooling can be a cost-effective way to achieve state licensing requirements, and for IT professionals, to obtain a lucrative professional certification. Finally, returning to the classroom is always a stimulating path towards fulfilling the basic human need of increasing one's knowledge, experience, and expertise.
UCR University Extension offers professional certificate programs year-round, in online course formats, that adhere to UC's world-class standard of higher education, ensuring that the quality of the program outstrips even its outstanding value.
While there are as many paths to follow, as there are reasons to follow them when approaching a professional certificate. They offer enormous value in terms of time, financial investment, and personal flexibility while gaining practical training from working professionals in your industry that extends beyond the theory of the classroom and into the real world.
Along with your certificate, you'll receive practical training in your field through curricula developed by instructors with extensive experience both in the classroom and in industry. Many of the programs culminate in not just a professional certificate, but also professional certification. The Professional Certificate for Computer Technician program, for instance, provides direct training for A+ certification, which can translate into a foot in the door of the IT industry.
Professional certificate programs are also perfect for those who may have already earned a Bachelor's degree, and who might not feel ready to go the full Master's route, or who lack the commitment of time and money necessary to succeed in a traditional two-year Master's program. Working professionals might find pursuing a professional certificate a rewarding way to keep studying, learning, growing, and advancing in their field.
Given the high value in time and cost, combined with the flexibility of when and where to study, it is no wonder professional certificates are now the second-most awarded postsecondary honor, after Bachelor's degrees, with more than one million earned each year in the United States alone.
Credentials
The best teachers know their education does not end with a teaching credential–it's only the beginning. Now is the time for you to start thinking about the future and take steps to ensure that you have the skills necessary to succeed in your existing job, or move into a new position. Take the initiative to learn new educational skills and methods and make a difference in the lives of your students, your school, and your district.
These have been challenging times for educators and UCR University Extension’s experts have been developing new programs to give teachers the tools they need to address those challenges, and succeed in today's new virtual world.
Learn from teaching professionals in education technology, curriculum development and student evaluation. Understand instructional strategies, activities and materials appropriate for students with diverse needs. Develop methods to increase student motivation and retention.
Our credential programs have been developed in alignment with the CTC credential and authorization requirements. When you successfully complete all of the classes in a program, and fulfill some additional requirements, we will recommend you to the CTC to receive your credential.
Content Specific Pedagogy
It is critical for teachers to translate knowledge of a subject area into content that is understandable by and developmentally appropriate for students at all grade levels. The ability to provide illustrations and examples, and to attach what is being learned to what a student already knows, is essential to the art and skill of teaching. Content knowledge alone does not provide these skills.
UCR University Extension's in-demand courses in pedagogy are designed to help teachers develop these skills, and become masters at creating engaging lessons, aligned with today's Common Core state standards.
Completion of UCR Extension's content specific pedagogy courses, combined with passage of the appropriate CSET exam(s), allows California teachers to add additional secondary content areas in Mathematics, History/Social Science, World Languages, English Language Arts, and Sciences to their existing Clear Multiple or Single Subject (with an EL authorization) Credential.
