Introduction

The Proposal and Grant Writing certificate program is an opportunity for students to pursue formal study of grant development and proposal writing and to gain professional experience writing proposals and managing grants (through an internship pipeline and experiential/client-partnered courses). Students learn about and gain experience in all stages of the grant development process, including researching funding opportunities, building relationships with funders, managing complex grant proposals and teams, writing and designing proposals, and managing grant funds, work plans, outcomes assessments, and relationships.

Grant writing professionals are in demand and possess a specific set of skills–these factors make proposal and grant writing particularly amenable to certificate programming. Students who earn this certificate will gain a specific set of discrete and hands-on skills that translate into a range of workplace roles and skills.

Program Delivery

• The certificate can be completed through online, in-person, or hybrid courses.

Declaring This Certificate

Students interested in completing this certificate should complete this form: CLAS Undergraduate Certificate Intent to Declare Form, which requests that the certificate be added to your student record. Once added, you will be able to run a certificate degree audit. The certificate degree audit should be used in collaboration with the Certificate Advisor to ensure successful completion of the requirements.

Students should then work with Kari Campeau (kari.campeau@ucdenver.edu) – the certificate advisor, to ensure completion of all certificate requirements.

Completing This Certificate

Students must also complete the CLAS Undergraduate Certificate Completion Verification Form, before graduation, in order to confirm completion of their certificate. The certificate advisor will confirm that your certificate has been successfully completed, and will work with campus partners to apply the certificate to your transcript.

Students must fill out the Certificate Completion Form before the deadlines below, to ensure the certificate is applied to your transcript correctly. If you are a non-degree seeking student, please fill out this form in the term in which you intend to complete your certificate.

Spring semester – April 1
Summer semester – July 1
Fall semester – November 1

These program requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their Proposal and Grant Writing advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

Certificate Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 12 ENGL credit hours.
2. Students must complete a minimum of nine upper-division (3000- level or higher) credit hours. 
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the certificate and must achieve a minimum cumulative certificate GPA of 3.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to certificate requirements.
4. All credits for the certificate must be completed with CU Denver faculty.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following foundational course:
ENGL 4280	Proposal and Grant Writing
Complete three credit hours from the following professional writing elective courses. All professional writing elective courses include content and assignments that address different aspects of proposal and grant writing.		3
ENGL 3170	Business Writing
This course is most useful to students with career interests in business and nonprofits.
ENGL 3939	Internship
This elective is broadly applicable, as it provides the most direct experience in grant writing. It should appeal especially to students interested in working in research careers as well as students who want to pursue grant writing as a career path.
Students work on faculty members' grant writing teams and with ORS to build a grant repository for CU Denver.
ENGL 4088	Literary Editing: Copper Nickel
This course is most useful to students with career interests in the creative arts and publishing. Students who take Literary Editing and complete the Proposal and Grant Writing certificate will gain professional experience editing a national literary journal and composing and writing competitive grant proposals.
ENGL 4175	Writing in the Sciences
This course is most useful to students pursuing the certificate with career interests in academia, science, medicine, and/or healthcare.
Complete six elective credits approved by the certificate director.		6
Electives may be drawn from the professional electives or from courses selected in consultation with the certificate advisor. Electives should support students to gain experience in the fields that they want to pursue. For example, students who are interested in writing scientific research proposals might take courses in related science disciplines. Students who are interested in using grant writing skills in a nonprofit context would be encouraged to take courses in nonprofit and business management
Total Hours		9

By completing this certificate, students will be able to:

• Identify fundable problems in specific contexts

• Research funding opportunities and find funding matches for specific projects

• Understand the importance of building funding relationships

• Design, write, revise, and complete a grant proposal

• Conceptualize and use persuasive visual and design elements when compositing a proposal

• Respond to sponsors and manage grant funds

• Conceptualize and explain the role that proposal and grant writing will fit in their careers