By Jenna Ingalls |Staff writerThe Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences will introduce in Fall 2020 five certificates and a new degree program for students at Augusta University.“There is a bit of a national trend towards certificates for undergraduates,” said David Bulla, chair of the Department of Communication. “We wanted to try a couple to give our students a way to say I have a communication degree, but here’s what I focused on. This is so you can tell your boss then they’re looking at your resume ‘Hey, I had five classes of specialty.’”The Department of Communication is offering two new certificates this fall. There is now a certificate for media production and one for public relations. These certificates take 15 credit hours each.The Department of Art and Design is offering new certificate as well.“The certificate in arts administration prepares students from any major for employment in nonprofit organizations in the arts and cultural resources fields,” said Christine Crookall, a Pamplin associate dean.This certificate offers students the opportunity to learn grant writing and public relation practices, and applying those skills in an internship with an art non-profit.In the certificate in museum studies, “students will gain an understanding of the collection and care of objects; the creation, interpretation, and evaluation of exhibits; and the future of museums in a digital age,” said Crookall. This certificate also has an internship requirement for students in their chose field of focus.“The certificate in legal studies provides students with foundational knowledge about the law and the legal profession,” said Professor William Hatcher, the interim chair of the Department of Social Sciences.This certificate is not just for students planning to pursue a career in law, but for any student pursuing jobs in criminal justice, health care, social work, business, and public administration.“Layering these certificates with different majors is very appealing to future employers who are increasingly looking to hire employees with a more diverse, interdisciplinary skill set,” said Crookall.This fall, a degree in nonprofit leadership and administration will be offered to students. Development for this degree program began due to the growth of the non-profit sector and the demand for nonprofit administration courses, said Hatcher. Contact Jenna Ingalls at jeingalls@augusta.edu.