The Edward J. Bloustein School offers a hierarchy of professional certificates for learners who pass approved continuing education courses offered by the Bloustein School.  These certificates demonstrate to members of your field your level of competency in topic areas.

Certificates can be achieved in the following course tracks:

• Community development and social equity (CDSE)
• Economic development and real estate (EDRE)
• Planning law and legal issues (PLLI)
• Professional practice in planning or public policy (PP)
• Smart growth and sustainable development (SGSD)
• Urban design and placemaking (UDP)

Go to the Course Catalog to see courses in each course track.

All Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program courses can be applied to any of the following professional certificates.  Every BOCEP course counts for 20 hours of coursework eligible for a certificate

Certificates

Certificate of Completion
To receive this certificate, a learner must:

• Complete 60 hours of approved continuing education coursework.

Master Practitioner Certificate
To receive this certificate, a learner must:

• Complete 120 hours of approved continuing education coursework
• Prepare a Reflective Paper that meets program standards.  The Reflective Paper is a document of 10 to 15 pages describing what knowledge the learner gained in the program, and how the knowledge was applied in practice.  

Expert Practitioner Certificate
To receive this certificate, a learner must:

• Complete 180 hours of approved continuing education coursework
• Prepare a Reflective Paper as indicated in the Master Practitioner Certificate initiative.
• Prepare an Expertise Paper that meets program standards.  The Expertise Paper is a discussion, 20 to 30 pages in length, of a subject within the learner’s topic area.   The purpose of the Expertise Paper is for the learner to demonstrate his or her expertise in a subject.  To meet program standards, the Expertise Paper must be written to generally accepted standards for graduate-level research assignments.  

Additional information

• There is no deadline for completing a Certificate.
• Learners can apply work completed from one Certificate to another.  For example, a Learner who has already achieved a Certificate of Completion need only complete another 60 hours of coursework and prepare an acceptable Reflective Paper to receive a Master Practitioner Certificate.

Applying for the Professional Certificate program

• Learners must fill out an application to enter the Certificate program. There are no prerequisites, transcripts or application fees needed. All applicants are accepted into the program. They must complete program requirements to earn Certificates. To apply:
  • Download and complete the form and return as indicated in the application, or
  • Complete the application form online.

For more information on the professional certificates, please contact Professional Development Institute Director Leonardo Vazquez at vazquezl@rutgers.edu or 732-932-3822, x711.