By Kourtney Husnick
Grants awarded to Cleveland State University are often mentioned, but what they mean for students – if they mean anything at all – often goes under the radar. The latest grant from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, however, has a clear, direct effect.
This $50,000 grant is set to provide funding for student scholarships in four short-term certificate programs, according to a news release from Cleveland State. Scholarships are broken down into $1,000 amounts and are specified for two undergraduate and two graduate certificate programs.
The undergraduate certificates eligible for the scholarship are the new Professional Sales Certificate and the Real Estate and Property Management Certificate, both offered through the Monte Ahuja College of Business. For those interested in the programs, the Professional Sales Certificate utilizes the ever-changing needs of the sales industry to create an educational program for sales professionals, and the Real Estate and Property Management Certificate gives students the qualifications to sit for the Ohio Real Estate Licensure exam.
The graduate programs offer students more variety. The certificates eligible for the scholarship are the Software Engineering Certificate, offered through the Washkewicz College of Engineering, and the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Certificate, which mixes coursework from the Ahuja College of Business and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.
The Software Engineering Certificate teaches engineering of software systems best practices. In the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy program, students receive a foundation in both business and legal concepts of data privacy and cybersecurity.
Eligible program selection stems from in-demand jobs in Northeast Ohio. Applicants to the scholarship are required to submit a statement explaining how the certificate will help them find a job after completion.
“Our short-term certificate programs prepare individuals to excel in occupations across Northeast Ohio where there are more openings than applicants,” Nigamanth Sridhar, dean of the College of Graduate Studies at Cleveland State, said in a news release. “We are grateful for the support of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, which is an investment in workforce development that ultimately benefits the entire region.”
The scholarship program is overseen by the Cleveland State’s College of Graduate Studies. Funding is provided based on students’ financial need. The university will announce further details by October 15.