About Florida National University’s Graduate Certificate Programs

The Graduate Certificate program at Florida National University (FNU) is designed with the busy business professional in mind who does not have the time to invest in a full MBA program. However, he or she needs to improve or build his or her skills in a specialized area.
The program incorporates multiple learning features that make it one of the most innovative and advanced graduate certificate programs offered in the area. FNU offers five graduate-level certificate programs: Finance, General Management, Health Services Administration, Human Resources Management, Marketing and Public Management & Leadership.
Each program is designed so that an individual can earn a certificate in as little as four months.
All enrolled candidates will benefit from:

  • A combination of academic rigor with exposure to real world situation through the use of case study’s from the Harvard Case Library
  • Build communication, presentation and interpersonal skills
  • Team-building skills and one-on-one academic support through video conferencing with fellow students and professors
  • Access to an extensive online library of research journals and data banks
  • Access to simulation programs from the Capsim.TM and the libraries of leading Universities
  • Small Class Sizes that offer personalized attention
  • Course taught by professionals with experience in their field
  • All Courses (12 Credits) are transferrable to the FNU Executive MBA Program anytime within 5 years of receiving a certificate

Finance Graduate Certificate Required Courses

FIN-5409 APPLIED MANAGERIAL FINANCE (3 credits)

Through the use of real world examples and excel spreadsheet applications, this course provides managers with an in-depth understanding of financial theory that is essential for developing and implementing effective financial strategies. Students will learn how to use financial analysis, planning, forecasting and managing tools to evaluate performance as well as develop and implement improvements.

FIN-5246 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND MARKETS (3 credits)

This course reviews today’s financial institutions and instruments. It covers how interest rates and security values are determined along with an in-depth discussion of the global trends, including consolidations, privacy and consumer protection issues.

FIN-5307 CORPORATE FINANCE (3 credits)

This course explores the practice and theory of corporate finance to provide students with the tools necessary to conduct financial analysis. It provides students with a complete coverage of financial issues encountered by all senior managers.

FIN-5416 APPLIED MANAGERIAL FINANCE II (3 credits)

Students will gain a working knowledge of managerial finance by learning to develop a systematic approach to financial analysis; to apply techniques for planning, forecasting, and managing; as well as to evaluate and recommend improvements in the organization’s financial performance. Prerequisites: FIN5409 Applied Managerial Finance

General Management Graduate Certificate Required Courses

MAR-5829 MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (3 credits)

Students will gain an understanding of leading state-of-the-art business theories and will be able to apply them to real-world situations. They will learn to understand and challenge the ideas of 20th century management thinkers, and to practice developing and challenging their own theoretical and applied models and paradigms.

FIN-5409 APPLIED MANAGERIAL FINANCE (3 credits)

Through the use of real world examples and excel spreadsheet applications, this course provides managers with an in-depth understanding of financial theory that is essential for developing and implementing effective financial strategies. Students will learn how to use financial analysis, planning, forecasting and managing tools to evaluate performance as well as develop and implement improvements.

MAN-5508 MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS IN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS (3 credits)

This course provides the student with acknowledge of the strategic and tactical issues related to designing and managing service operations. Along with the necessary tools, it gives the students the background knowledge needed to analyze operations, design processes, plan and implement systems to provide quality customer series. This is accomplished through the use of case studies to reinforce the learning experience.

ENT-5125 ENTREPRENEURIAL AND STRATEGIC THINKING (3 credits)

Students will gain a well-developed understanding of business enterprises and the entrepreneurial and strategic thinking that drives them in a dynamic, competitive regional, national, and global economy. Students will learn to apply entrepreneurial and strategic management practices (e.g., using case analysis) to organizations of varying sizes

Health Services Administration Graduate Certificate Required Courses

HSA-5175 HEALTH CARE FINANCE (3 credits)

This course examines financial decision-making in the health care industry. It explores finance theory and its practical application in health care across a full range of facilities. It includes real-world examples of financial problems and solutions.

HSA-5425 HEALTH CARE LAW & LEGISLATION (3 credits)

This course has been designed to explore the healthcare information technology planning and management issues associated with decision making in healthcare organizations. IT provides a framework to understand the types of information systems prevalent in healthcare organizations, evaluate specific strategies related to healthcare IT investments, and understand the ramifications of health data standards and privacy concerns on information management policy. In this course, you will learn how the core competencies of healthcare informatics can be developed and applied using real-world case studies. You will be exposed to specific concepts related to electronic medical records (EMR), health data and standards, sourcing, and IT investments in healthcare.

HSA-5198 HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 credits)

This course examines the various types of biomedical data resources and the software tools needed to use medical data. It also examines the ethical, legal, and social aspects of biomedical informatics, including the legal and regulatory issues related to confidential medical data.

HSA-5114 U.S. HEALTH CARE SYSTEM (CAPSTONE) (3 credits)

This course examines the structures and operations of the U.S. health system. The course covers the historical origins and resources of the U.S. health system, as well as its individual services, cost, and quality. The course also explains how the various complex components of the U.S. health system fit together.

Human Resources Management Graduate Certificate Required Courses

MAN-5245 ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS (3 credits)

Students will gain a working knowledge of how to manage personal, interpersonal, and group processes by having the interpersonal skills to assume responsibility for leading and promoting teamwork among diverse stakeholders. Students will learn to manage individual and group behaviors in improving organizational productivity and performance. Through experiential learning, students will learn to integrate home, work, and educational observations and experiences and to convert them into proactive practical applications for growth and renewal.

MAN-5305 HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (3 credits)

Students will gain a working knowledge of planning, organizing, and managing human resource systems; and will gain hands-on abilities to design, direct, and assess human resource systems in enhancing relationships with internal and external customers, leading to organizational effectiveness.

HUS-5711 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (3 credits)

This course views managing human resources as a strategic organization asset that supports competitive advantage and major strategic objectives. It positions HRM as an integral individual in a firm’s strategic planning and implementation, and focuses on HR planning and strategies and their applications in HR programs and processes. Additionally, students learn how to align mission, vision, strategy and values to enhance the business results of public and private organizations.

HUS-5950 HUMAN RESOURCE CAPSTONE COURSE (3 credits)

This course provides a unique learning experience by integrating and applying human resource theories and concepts that link HR processes to support business strategies. Students analyze case studies, identify problems and their causes, and propose solutions. The course is also designed to broaden the student’s exposure to the classical and contemporary literature of human resource management.

Marketing Graduate Certificate Required Courses

MAR-5849 SERVICE MARKETING (3 credits)

The course prepares the student for success in our service driven economy. It focuses on the unique challenges of marketing and managing services and delivering quality service to customers i.e.., the attraction, retention, and building of strong customer relationships through quality service and services. This course is applicable to organizations whose core product is service (e.g., banks, transportation companies, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions, professional services, telecommunication, etc.) as well as organizations that depend on service excellence for competitive advantage (e.g., high technology manufacturers, automotive, industrial products, etc.).

MAR–5501 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (3 credits)

The course introduces a wide range of behavioral concepts, and explores the strategic implications of customer behavior for marketers. The course challenges students to explore the realities and implications of buyer behavior in traditional and e-commerce markets and demonstrates how an understanding of buyer behavior can help to improve strategic decision making.

MAR-5157 INTERNATIONAL MARKETING (3 credits)

This course provides the student with an overview of the unique aspects of marketing in the global economy on which to build a framework for analysis. Emphasis is placed on the development of strategies for markets in diverse cultural, political, and economic situations. The course focuses on foreign market analysis, target market identification, product planning, promotion, and channels of distribution.

MAR-6816 MARKETING STRATEGIC THINKING SIMULATION (3 credits)

This course incorporates the latest market and competitive behavior theories to analyze the competitive environment, the sources of differential advantage with emphasis on marketing mix decisions, and the implementation of marketing strategies. This simulation allows applying strategic marketing concepts by experiencing different marketing tools such as: marketing plan, perceptual mapping, conjoint, regression, portfolio analysis, R&D projects to evaluate competitor actions and reactions, market and distribute new products, and design pricing and communication tools.

Public Leadership and Management Graduate Certificate Required Courses

PAD-5134 CONTEMPORARY PROJECT MANAGEMENT (3 credits)

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to appraise the process of implementation, operation, and termination of a project. Explore project possibilities in obtaining funds for delivery of services to general government contracts. Project selection, organizational capability, budgeting, and evaluation of projects will be discussed. The process of proposal writing will be also discussed.

PAD-5207 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS (3 credits)

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to assess processes, tools and methods used in financial planning and control of public entities with focus on utilization of critical performance indicators deployed over agency budget and lifecycles. The student will be able to analyze the impact of public policy on public financing. The student will gain an understanding of basic government financing mechanisms and the implications of each.

PAD-5605 ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY (3 credits)

Upon completion of this course the student will be able to examine the branch of the federal government known as federal administrative agencies and practice. Application of major administrative law doctrines in representing federal, state and local governmental agencies and clients in the private business sector, policy development, approval, implementation, and evaluation, data analysis, research, and design methods to scholarly research in the study of policy, administrative, and management issues.

PAD-5434 THE ADMINISTRATION OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS (CAPSTONE) (3 credits)

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to survey a comprehensive analysis of the field of public management and leadership. Includes instruction in the roles, development, and principles of public administration; the management of public policy; executive-legislative relations; administrative law; public personnel management; professional ethics; and case studies.

Enrollment Application