Certificate in Professional Ethics

Program Overview

The graduate certificate in Professional Ethics will help students engage more fully with ethical issues in their professional life. This 12-hour certificate program will enhance students' abilities to analyze arguments, capacities to reason and express themself clearly, leadership skills, and awareness of the ethical dimensions of work and public life. The certificate is available online or face-to-face and is open to all interested persons who hold a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 minimum GPA. 

Application Requirements

Application requirements consist of institutional and program requirements for applicable semesters of entry during the current academic year. Additional information and changes to admission requirements for semesters other than the current academic year can be found on The Graduate College's website.

Unless otherwise noted on The Graduate College program page, AI tools can only be used to correct spelling and grammar errors in application materials.

Institutional Requirements

Institutional requirements are the minimum standards for admission to any graduate program at Texas State. These include:

  • Completed online application
  • Nonrefundable application fee
    • Degree Programs (Doctoral and Master’s)
      • $55 fee, or
      • $90 for applications with international credentials
    • Post-Baccalaureate Programs (Certificate, Certification, Non-Degree, and Visiting)
      • $20 fee, or
      • $60 for applications with international credentials
  • Official transcripts from each institution where course credit was granted. Final transcripts showing degree completion are required before the student may register for their second term of enrollment. 
  • GPA requirements (a higher GPA may be listed in the Program Requirements)
    • Doctoral programs require a 3.00 overall GPA or a 3.00 GPA in your last 60 hours of undergraduate course work (plus any completed graduate courses).
    • Master’s and Specialist programs require a 2.75 overall GPA or a 2.75 GPA in your last 60 hours of undergraduate course work (plus any completed graduate courses).
    • Post-Baccalaureate programs require a 2.50 overall GPA or a 2.50 GPA in your last 60 hours of undergraduate course work (plus any completed graduate courses).
  • Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited university. (Non-U.S. degrees must be equivalent to a four-year U.S. Bachelor’s degree. In most cases, three-year degrees are not considered. Visit our International FAQs for more information.)

Approved English Proficiency Exam Scores

Applicants are required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score that meets the minimum requirements below unless they have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a country on our exempt countries list. Some programs may restrict acceptable tests or require higher scores than the institutional scores; this will be noted in the Program Requirements.

  • official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 78 overall if taken on or before January 21, 2026
  • official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 4 overall if taken after January 21, 2026
  • official PTE scores required with a 52 overall
  • official IELTS (academic) scores required with a 6.5 overall and minimum individual module scores of 6.0
  • official Duolingo scores required with a 110 overall
  • official TOEFL Essentials scores required with an 8.5 overall
  • official Texas State Intensive English Program score of 90% or higher in the highest-level course (level 5)

The institution does not offer admission if the scores above are not met.

  • completed online application
  • $20 nonrefundable application fee

          or

  • $60 nonrefundable application fee for applications with international credentials
  • baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited university (Non-U.S. degrees must be equivalent to a four-year U.S. Bachelor’s degree. In most cases, three-year degrees are not considered. Visit our International FAQs for more information.)
  • official transcripts from each institution where course credit was granted
  • minimum 2.5 GPA overall GPA or a 2.5 GPA in the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work 
  • minimum 3.0 GPA in all completed graduate course work (if applicable)
  • GRE not required

Approved English Proficiency Exam Scores

Applicants are required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score that meets the minimum program requirements below unless they have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a country on our exempt countries list.

  • official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 78 overall
  • official PTE scores required with a 52
  • official IELTS (academic) scores required with a 6.5 overall and minimum individual module scores of 6.0
  • official Duolingo Scores required with a 110 overall
  • official TOEFL Essentials scores required with an 8.5 overall

Course Requirements

The graduate certificate in Professional Ethics requires 12 semester credit hours – six hours of required course work (two courses), three hours of directed PHIL elective and three hours of elective course work. The required courses are PHIL 5322: Professional Ethics and PHIL 5360G: Applied Ethics.

The directed elective must be chosen from:

PHIL 5303: Philosophy of Technology

PHIL 5320: History of Ethics

PHIL 5323: Environmental Ethics

PHIL 5327 Medical Ethics and Bioethics

PHIL 5329: Food Ethics

PHIL 5360A: Ethics and Dementia

PHIL 5360B. Moral Psychology

PHIL 5360C. Philosophy, Nonviolence, Sustainability, and Social Change

PHIL 5395. Internship in Applied Philosophy

The elective course may be selected from any of the graduate courses in PHIL or REL.