College of Education and Human Services
School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration
www.kent.edu/ehs/ldes

About This Program

The Qualitative Research graduate certificate provides advanced training in research methods, data analysis and theoretical approaches to qualitative research across a variety of disciplines. Whether you are a graduate student seeking to enhance your research skills or a professional looking to expand your expertise, this program will help you achieve your goals. Read more...

Contact Information

• Sheryl Chatfield | schatfi1@kent.edu | 330-672-3945
  Tricia Niesz | tniesz@kent.edu |
  330-672-0591

• Connect with an Admissions Counselor

Program Delivery

• Delivery:
  • In person
• Location:
  • Kent Campus

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries*

^{* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.}

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

Admission Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
• Minimum 2.750 undergraduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale
• Official transcript(s)
• Résumé
• Goal statement
• Two letters of recommendations
• English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:¹
  • Minimum 79 TOEFL iBT score
  • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
  • Minimum 58 PTE score
  • Minimum 110 DET score

Review of applications will be handled by one of the certificate co-coordinators, who will also evaluate prerequisites (if substitute syllabi are submitted by student).

¹

International applicants who do not meet the above test scores will not be considered for admission.

Application Deadlines

• Fall Semester
  • Rolling admissions
• Spring Semester
  • Rolling admissions
• Summer Term
  • Rolling admissions

Program Requirements

Certificate Requirements

¹

These courses can be used to fulfill the requirement for other required courses if the following conditions are met: (1) the course was not previously taken to fulfill the required first course requirement; (2) the course is outside of the student's primary major or degree area.

²

Other courses that may be applied toward this elective requirement are special topics and independent study courses offered by faculty/departments with courses represented by the certificate—or in Anthropology (ANTH), Computer Science (CS), Interior Design (ID) or in others—as approved by a program co-coordinator.

Graduation Requirements

• Students declared in a doctoral degree should enroll in the doctoral-level version of these courses if offered.
• Prior coursework may be counted for all requirements, as long as it is substantially similar as judged by syllabi from the course and is less than six years old at time of earning the certificate. Students may substitute courses at the discretion of the program coordinators.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Argue for the value of qualitative methodological approaches and help others understand the value of this form of inquiry to enhance understanding within their respective fields.
2. Critique and review a wide variety of qualitative research in their respective fields.
3. Create and enact a variety of forms of high-quality, ethical qualitative research in their respective fields.

Graduate Certificate Policy

• Students seeking a graduate certificate must maintain a minimum 3.000 grade point average. A graduate certificate student who receives a combination of more than 8 credit hours of B- or lower grades, or more than 4 credit hours of grades lower than C is subject to dismissal. Students who are unable to maintain academic standards of the College are subject to dismissal for academic reasons. Grades of C- or below are not counted toward completion of the certificate.
• Certificates must be completed within six years after the first graduate enrollment.
• No more than 2 credit hours of workshop may be used toward a certificate.
• Before being eligible to be awarded a Certificate, students must be admitted to the Certificate program.
• Students currently in a graduate degree program may also apply to a certificate program. Their degree seeking coursework may be applied to the certificate coursework with advisor approval. The courses must be completed within six years and satisfy certificate course requirements.
• Students who have a previous graduate degree and are not currently seeking another graduate degree may transfer a maximum 6 credit hours with advisor approval. These credits may include hours from another KSU program, or from another accredited institution, if the following conditions are met:
  • courses were at the graduate level;
  • a grade of "A" or "B" was earned;
  • credit will be less than six years old at the time the certificate is conferred at Kent;
  • and student was admitted as a graduate student at the time the course was taken.
• Some program areas may be more restrictive. Students are advised to consult their program.

Full Description

The Qualitative Research graduate certificate is for students who wish to improve their ability to design, conduct, analyze and quality-assess qualitative approaches to research used in the context of funded research, educational assessment, program evaluation, critical, creative, exploratory or theoretical endeavors or other applications.

The courses in this program offer students inter- and trans-disciplinary opportunities to learn and develop skills in qualitative methodologies, including grounded theory, phenomenology, ethnography and descriptive approach; as well as methods, including observation, interviewing, transcription, data analysis, use of software, analytic memoing and others.