Learn Targeted Abilities Quickly and Advance Your Career.
Develop new capabilities by completing an undergraduate certificate. Courses are higher-level and certificates can be completed on their own, or be accumulated into a degree later. These programs are built for exactly where you are right now: working, experienced, and ready to advance yourself at work. Complete courses on your schedule, at your pace, and with an RPI degree at the end.
• 100% Online • Project-Based • 12 Credit Hours (Two Courses) • No Prerequisites • Stackable Toward the B.Tech
About the Certificate
The Business and Management Certificate helps you build the practical management capabilities needed to contribute more effectively across your organization. You'll learn how organizations create value, understand what customers and stakeholders value most, and explore the strategies, processes, and decisions that drive business performance.
Through applied, project-based learning, you'll develop the confidence to manage people, projects, budgets, and day-to-day operations while setting measurable goals and delivering results. Throughout the certificate, you'll apply what you learn to real workplace challenges—often using your own organization as a live case study—with personalized guidance and feedback from an RPI faculty mentor.
What You Will Be Able to Do
- Understand how organizations create value and align decisions with business goals and customer needs
- Evaluate market conditions to identify opportunities, anticipate change, and support informed decision-making
- Manage financial performance by developing budgets and using financial information to guide business decisions
- Set goals, measure performance, and drive continuous improvement across people, projects, and operations
- Manage teams through change while considering organizational culture, structure, and business priorities
- Communicate recommendations with confidence through clear, professional written and oral communication
- Use AI-powered tools responsibly to improve decision-making, problem-solving, and organizational performance
Required Courses
Learn to evaluate an organization's strategic mission, vision, and values. Map the value creation process in the context of a dynamic client and market. Identify where the existing state is not aligned with the desired state and make recommendations for improvements. Contextualize organizational direction from market, competitive, and financial perspectives.
Number of Credits: 6
Learn how to implement performance improvements and change within an organization, including how to manage teams and individuals to achieve specific outcomes and metrics. Plan specific performance improvements and evaluate how those changes will impact and be impacted by culture and organizational structure. Practice crucial conversations to improve interpersonal communication.
Number of Credits: 6
Learn by Doing
Every course is built around authentic workplace challenges—not hypothetical case studies. You'll solve real operational and management problems, receive personalized feedback from faculty mentors with industry expertise, and demonstrate your progress through applied projects rather than quizzes. A small number of live evening sessions (4-5 per semester) provide opportunities to engage with faculty and classmates, while the rest of your coursework is completed on your schedule. Live sessions are recorded, and all required digital learning materials are included with tuition. Courses begin each January, May, and at the end of August.
Stack Your Certificate Toward a Bachelor's Degree
Every certificate in RPI at Work's Bachelor of Technology in Production and Operations Management program is designed to stand on its own while also counting toward the degree. The credits you earn in this certificate apply directly to the bachelor's program, allowing you to build your education one credential at a time.
Complete all five undergraduate certificates and the required capstone project to earn your Bachelor of Technology degree—without repeating coursework or losing credit along the way.
Ready to Advance Your Career?
If you're ready to move from contributing to managing, this certificate provides the practical management capabilities to take the next step. Applicants should have an associate's degree and at least three years of work experience. Our enrollment team is happy to discuss your goals and background to help you determine the best path forward.
Admissions
We've designed this program for working adults who are ready to take the next step in their careers. To be eligible for admission, you'll need a completed associate's degree from an accredited institution and at least three years of professional work experience. Every application is reviewed holistically, and our enrollment team is happy to discuss your background, answer your questions, and help you determine whether the program is the right fit. With fall, spring, and summer start terms, you can begin when the time is right for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Each RPI at Work certificate stands on its own. You can complete this certificate, put the credential to work, and stop there. If you decide to continue, every credit counts toward the B.Tech in Production and Operations Management.
Yes. This certificate is one of the five building blocks of the B.Tech in Production and Operations Management. Complete all five plus a capstone project to earn the degree. Nothing you complete at RPI is wasted.
Each course includes around five live sessions, held in the evenings roughly every two to three weeks, with all dates provided at the start of the semester. Sessions are recorded and posted with a transcript if you cannot attend. The rest of your coursework is completed on your schedule.
Start Building What's Next
Whether you're ready to earn your first certificate, complete your bachelor's degree, or simply explore your options, we're here to help you find the path that's right for your career. Connect with an enrollment specialist to discuss your goals, review your background, and take the next step with confidence.