Transportation Studies Certificate

Please note: The Transportation Studies Certificate is effectively discontinued in its current form, as of July 30, 2010, and will no longer be accepting new students. The information on the following Web pages is applicable to current students in the program, who will be notified in the next several weeks of the time available to them to complete their studies.

Meeting today's transportation challenges requires specific technical knowledge and an appreciation of the broader social, political, and technological contexts. To help prepare professionals for leadership in this dynamic field, the Center for Transportation Studies and the Graduate School at the University of Minnesota have created a Graduate Certificate Program in Transportation Studies.

The certificate is designed to meet the needs of professionals who want to expand their skills and qualifications, as well as students pursuing a graduate degree who wish to build on their degree program with an additional transportation credential. This interdisciplinary program is structured around a group of required core courses as well as elective courses in transportation planning and engineering, political and social analysis of transportation issues, and transportation management and logistics.

Transportation Career Outlook

Each participant in the certificate program works with a program faculty adviser to develop a personalized curriculum, choosing from the many transportation-related courses offered in departments across the University.

The Graduate Certificate program also offers employers a unique opportunity to develop their workforce and improve their capability to take on increasingly demanding transportation projects of today and tomorrow. Employers can work with the certificate program administration to select focused elective course work to meet particular workforce development needs and maximize return on investment.

What You'll Learn

You will design an individualized curriculum that meets your needs, interests, and career goals, and work with a faculty adviser to choose courses in one of two program tracks:

• Civil Engineering
• Planning/Public Policy.

For more specialized training, you also can customize either program track to concentrate in traffic engineering and operations.

Following is a list of courses that you can choose from depending on the track:

• Traffic engineering and systems
• Transportation, land use, and design
• Transportation policy, planning, and deployment
• Transportation planning and design
• Transportation and organizational management
• Transportation and urban planning
• Transportation and supply chain management
• Transportation forecasting and modeling

Certificate Benefits

Real-world knowledge for real-world success -- that's what credit certificates at the University offer you. Enhance your knowledge and skills, learn new skills, or begin working toward an undergraduate or graduate degree. These accredited certificate programs are:

• Designed for working professionals
• Shorter than degree programs
• Used as an area of study for a degree program
• Flexible and offered at various times 
• Taught by University faculty