Graduate certificates can be awarded to individuals who do not desire to work toward a degree as well as to students who are working on graduate degrees.  Of the graduate course work (5000-level or higher courses) for the certificate, at least 2/3 must be graded course work taken on the A/F grading option.  While some currently-offered graduate certificates can be earned with a minimum of 9 hours of Virginia Tech graduate course work credits, new certificates must require a minimum of 12 credit hours.  No transfer credits can be applied to graduate certificates.  No more than 50% of the credits for a particular graduate certificate can be double-counted toward another graduate certificate, and credits for a particular course cannot be counted toward more than two certificates. All credits for a graduate certificate can duplicate credits on a degree plan of study.  All grades for certificate courses must be "C-" or higher and the overall certificate GPA must be 3.0 or higher.  The specific requirements for each certificate can be found on the Graduate School Certificate Page: https://secure.graduateschool.vt.edu/graduate_catalog/certificates.htm.  Certificate candidates must be admitted to the Graduate School and formally accepted to the certificate program: http://graduateschool.vt.edu/admissions/how-to-apply.html

Upon successful completion of certificate requirements, an Application For Certificate Conferral
  https://graduateschool.vt.edu/content/dam/graduateschool_vt_edu/forms/Degree-Certificate_Conferral_Request.pdf  must be signed by the department and submitted by the Application for Degree deadline in the term in which the certificate will be awarded.  Meeting this deadline is necessary for the student's name to appear in the commencement bulletin. http://graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/commencement_deadlines.