Frequently Asked Questions

What is an undergraduate certificate?

An undergraduate certificate is a formal credential awarded by a college or university upon completing a focused program of study — typically taking between six and 18 months to obtain. Certificate programs usually require fewer credits than an associate degree and are often designed for students seeking targeted workforce skills in a specific field, such as auto repair, allied health, or cosmetology.

Certificate programs differ from degrees in that they do not require general education coursework and are not the same as professional licenses or industry certifications (like a CompTIA or AWS certification) granted by private organizations.

What programs are included in this data?

This tool includes undergraduate certificate programs at Title IV-eligible institutions, meaning they are accredited colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs. Programs must have had a sufficient number of graduates in the cohort to be included in the federal data release.

Programs are drawn from the U.S. Department of Education's earnings outcome data, covering students who completed programs in 2017–18 and 2018–19 and whose earnings were measured four years later. These data were initially released by the Education Department in January 2026, as part of its negotiated rulemaking session on Accountability in Higher Education.

Why might a program I'm looking for not appear?

A program may not appear in this data for several reasons:

• The institution is not accredited or does not participate in federal financial aid (Title IV) programs.
• The program had too few graduates to meet the federal reporting threshold for privacy protection.
• The program was not active or did not have completers during the 2017–18 or 2018–19 cohort years.
• The program is a graduate-level certificate (this tool covers undergraduate certificates only).
• The program is a non-credit or continuing education certificate not tracked in federal data.

What does "earnings premium" mean?

The earnings premium is the difference between a program's median graduate earnings and the median earnings of a high school graduate. A positive earnings premium means certificate graduates in that program typically earn more than a typical high school graduate. A negative premium means graduates typically earn less. For most programs, the difference in earnings is compared to high school graduates within the same state. For institutions that enroll more than 50% of their students from out of state, a comparison is made to the median earnings of a high school graduate nationally.

This comparison is intentional: it helps answer whether a certificate program leads to better economic outcomes than the alternative of not pursuing additional education beyond high school.

Why are earnings measured four years after completion?

Measuring earnings at four years allows time for graduates to establish themselves in the workforce, move past entry-level wages, and reflect more stable earnings trajectories. Measuring earnings immediately after graduation would likely understate long-term outcomes, particularly for programs where careers build over time. This also reflects recent changes in federal law, which uses this four-year timeframe as a mechanism to determine whether a college program is eligible for certain types of federal aid, such as student loans.

Questions or corrections?

For questions about the data or methodology, contact Open Campus. For questions about the underlying analysis, see the methodology section or contact The HEA Group.