Online Certificates of Achievement (COAs)

Featured COAs Offering a Fully Online Pathway*

Arts/Digital Media
Applied Photography (Santa Barbara)
Art History (Foothill)
Creative Writing (Glendale)
Digital Media Arts Production Artist (Santa Ana)
Digital Media Design (Coastline)
Digital Publishing (Santa Ana)
Game Audio (Foothill)
Graphic Design (Foothill)
Graphic & Interactive Design (Foothill)
Illustration (Foothill)
Music History & Literature (Foothill)
Music Technology (Foothill)
Pro Tools (Foothill)

Business – Accounting/Finance
Accounting (American River)
Accounting (Foothill)
Accounting (Glendale)
Accounting (Santa Ana)
Accounting (West LA)
Accounting and Finance (Lake Tahoe)
Accounting Clerk (American River)
Accounting Clerk/Bookkeeper (Shasta)
Accounting Technician (Lake Tahoe)
Bookkeeping (Santa Ana)
CPA Examination Preparation (Foothill)
Computerized Accounting Specialist (Glendale)
Financial Planning (Glendale)
General Accounting (Santa Ana)
Insurance Professional (Glendale)
Insurance Specialist- Property & Casualty (Glendale)
Professional Accounting (Santa Ana)

Business – Computing/Office Professional
Administrative Office Assistant (Cerro Coso)
Business Information Worker (Folsom Lake)
Business Office Technology (Cerro Coso)
Computer Applications for Small Business (American River)
Human Resources Assistant (Glendale)
Microsoft Office Professional (Santa Ana)
Office Clerk (Cerro Coso)

Business – Entrepreneurship/Small Business
Entrepreneurship (American River)
Entrepreneurship (Saddleback)
Business Administration: Business Entrepreneurship (Shasta)
Small Business Management/Entrepreneurship (Folsom Lake)
Small Business Ownership (Lake Tahoe)

Business – General/Other
Business (Allan Hancock)
Business (Cerro Coso)
Business (West LA)
General Business (Glendale)
General Business (Lake Tahoe)
General Business (Saddleback)
General Business – Introduction (American River)

Business – Global/International
Global Business (Saddleback)
International Business (Glendale)
International Business (Santa Barbara)

Business – Management/Leadership
Business Administration – Management (Fresno)
Business Leadership (Saddleback)
Business Management (Ventura)
Business Retail Management (Shasta)
Management (American River)
Management (Glendale)
Management (Cerro Coso)
Public Management/Civil Service (Folsom Lake)
Retail Management (American River)
Supervisory Management (Las Positas)

Business – Marketing/Communications
Business Communications Skills (Saddleback)
Business Communications (Saddleback)
Internet Marketing (American River)
Marketing (Saddleback)
Marketing (Santa Barbara)

Business – Project/Supply Chain Management
Logistics and Supply Chain Management (Modesto)
Project Management (American River)
Project Management (Folsom Lake)

Computer Technology/Information Systems 
Business Application & Database Management (West Los Angeles)
Business Information Systems Professional (Shasta)
CIS Computer Networking Management (American River)
CIS Microcomputer Applications (American River)
Computer Programming (Gavilan)
Data Analyst I (Cerro Coso)
IT Technician I - Computer Retail Sales Support (Glendale)
Information Technology (Cerro Coso)
Information Technology Plus (Cerro Coso)
Network Administration Essentials – Windows (American River)
PC Support/Network Management (Santa Barbara)
Programming for the Internet (Gavilan)
UNIX Operating Systems (Gavilan)

Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity (Cosumnes River, Fresno City)
Cybersecurity Technician (Cerro Coso)

Education
Associate Teacher (Cerro Coso)
Associate Teacher (Modesto)
Educational Studies: ECE Unit Concentration (Coastline)
Educational Studies: General (Coastline)
Educational Studies: STEM - Instructional Technology Support Concentration (Coastline)
Educational Studies: STEM - Math Concentration (Coastline)
Educational Studies: STEM - Science Concentration (Coastline)
Educational Studies: Teach Your Career/Community College Teaching (Coastline)
Master Teacher (Cerro Coso)
Online Teaching and Educational Technology (Evergreen Valley College)
Teacher (Cerro Coso)
Site Supervisor (Cerro Coso)

Foreign Language
French Language (Glendale)
Japanese Language (Glendale)
Spanish: Non-Native Speaker (Gavilan)

Geographic Information Systems
Geographic Information Systems Technology I (Foothill)

Gerontology/Aging Studies
Gerontology (Sacramento City College )

Aging Studies Interdisciplinary(Saddleback College )

Health Care/Allied Health
Administrative Medical Assistant (Glendale)
Administrative Medical Assisting (Cerro Coso)
Allied Health Care Careers (Coastline)
Cancer Information Management (Santa Barbara)
Healthcare Data Analytics (Santa Barbara)
Medical Billing (Cerro Coso)
Medical Coding (Cerro Coso)
Medical Coding Assistant (Glendale)
Medical Coding Specialist (Santa Barbara)
Medical Office Specialist (Shasta)

Humanities
Humanities (Foothill)
Philosophy (Contra Costa)

Library Technology
Library Technology (Santa Ana)

Linguistics
Linguistics (Monterey Peninsula College)

Paralegal/Legal Studies
Legal Office Interpreting Spanish (Santa Ana)
Legal Office Technician (Santa Ana)
Legal Studies (Sacramento City)
Paralegal Studies (Cerro Coso)
Pathway to Law School (Santa Ana)

Public Safety
Administration of Justice (Hartnell)
Administration of Justice (Mt. San Antonio)
Administration of Justice (Porterville)
Criminal Justice (Lake Tahoe)
Law Enforcement (Gavilan)

Real Estate
Real Estate Studies (Coastline)
Real Estate Broker (Coastline)

Social & Behavioral Sciences
Addiction Studies (Hartnell)
Human Services Worker (Cerro Coso)

Transfer Studies
Transfer Studies CSU GE (Foothill)
Transfer Studies IGETC (Foothill)

Veterinary Science/Technology
Veterinary Assisting (Foothill)

Web Design
Web Design (Foothill)
Web Fundamentals (Cerro Coso)
Web Professional (Cerro Coso)
Web Product Specialist (Sacramento City)

How does it work?
Certificates of Achievement (COAs) are relatively short programs of study designed for students wishing to enter a new career or enhance their current job skills. Typically, COAs focus on major courses and do not include general education coursework. In many cases, COA coursework can also satisfy Associate Degree or Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) requirements. Contact your college counselor to determine the best option for you.

Can I earn a COA online?
Yes! The certificates listed on this page can be completed 100% online. Be sure to contact a counselor at your college to establish a formal student education plan. This way you will take all the courses you need (and only the courses you need).

What if I am not currently attending a college?
If you haven’t yet chosen a college, feel free to select any college that offers the program you are interested in. If you’d like to choose a college near you, use the Find a Community College Locator Page. But, keep in mind, not all of those colleges offer fully online programs.

How do I apply and enroll?
Once you have decided which program meets your needs, contact that college’s admissions office or visit their web page for application procedures. Applications are available online. Once you submit your application and are accepted, you will receive a student identification number and your date to start registration.

What if my college doesn’t offer all the courses I need?
If your home college does not offer a course you need in any particular term, you can use our online course finder, which provides up-to-date online course listings at community colleges throughout California. After completion, you will need to transfer those course units back to your home college. (Check with your home college counselor first to confirm that courses taken at another college will satisfy a requirement for your certificate program.)

Do I have to be a California resident to enroll in these programs?
The COA programs listed above are generally available to all U.S. citizens (and even some international students). However, students who do not live in California will generally be required to pay higher out-of-state enrollment fees. Contact the admissions office at your college for more information.

* The opportunities listed above do not represent all fully online COA programs available in California’s community college system.  Contact your college to determine if it offers additional programs that you can earn entirely online.

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This work by California Virtual Campus - Online Education Initiative, a project by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyright © 2024 by California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office