Master's degree students specialize in a field or subject. A master's degree is a complete graduate academic degree program and students study coursework more advanced than undergraduate courses. Master's degree students typically finish a full-time degree in two to three years.
Graduate certificates help students gain continuing education credit, enter a new field, or gain skills in a specific area. Graduate certificates do not lead to a degree.
Each graduate program determines the number of credits to complete a graduate certificate. According to the University of Kentucky, a graduate program usually requires nine to 15 credits.
A student can apply the credit from a graduate certificate to a master's or doctorate degree in many programs.
You can find a quality graduate program online with College.gov's "College Navigator."