University of Washington-Seattle Campus Graduate Certificate in AI and Machine Learning for Engineering (Online)

This is the certificate for working engineers who want machine learning applied to physical systems. It is 16 credits at $1,061 each and the school estimates $18,000, delivered mostly asynchronously over 9 months part time. It starts once a year and expects you to code and to have calculus and physics behind you.

The Graduate Certificate in AI and Machine Learning for Engineering comes from the University of Washington's College of Engineering in Seattle. The school describes it as an online 16-credit graduate certificate, offered mostly asynchronously and completed fully online, part time, in 9 months.

It is an engineering program first. The courses connect machine learning to optimization and to physics, which is different from a business or general computer science certificate. The school also offers an online Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Engineering, which is the longer route.

The school says the program is offered mostly asynchronously and can be completed fully online, part time, in 9 months. Asynchronous means you can do most coursework on your own schedule, though the word mostly suggests a few fixed times.

There is one cohort a year, and the application deadline is June 1. The next cohort listed begins in fall 2027. If you miss the deadline, you wait a full year, so plan your transcripts and recommendations early. Ask which parts of the certificate are not asynchronous.

Who It Fits

• You are an engineer, physicist or chemist who wants machine learning for design and analysis work.
• You can write code in any language and have undergraduate calculus, differential equations, linear algebra and physics.
• You want a University of Washington credential without taking the GRE, which the school does not require.

Who Should Skip It

• You come from business or have no engineering or physical science background. The school strongly recommends a degree in engineering, physics, chemistry or a related field.
• You need to start soon or often. The certificate has one start a year and a June 1 application deadline.

The page names four courses. Foundations of Machine Learning for Engineering is the base. Data-Driven Optimization applies machine learning to engineering problems. Physics-Informed Machine Learning builds models that respect physical laws. The Machine Learning for Engineering Project is where you apply the material.

The school describes the 16 credits as a foundations course, a math course, a physics-informed machine learning course, a project and seminar or electives. The project is the most useful piece to ask about, since a finished engineering project is something you can discuss in an interview.

Courses the School Names

• Foundations of Machine Learning for Engineering
• Data-Driven Optimization
• Physics-Informed Machine Learning
• Machine Learning for Engineering Project

The school lists $1,061 per credit and an estimated total of $18,000 for the 16 credits. Multiply the per-credit rate by 16 and you get $16,976, so the estimate leaves room for extras. The application fee is $90.

Ask what the $18,000 estimate includes and where the gap between $16,976 and $18,000 comes from. Also ask whether the per-credit rate is fixed across the year and whether employer reimbursement is common among students, since many in this program are working engineers.

16 credits at $1,061 a credit comes to $16,976 in tuition, before fees.

You would earn a Graduate Certificate from the University of Washington's Seattle campus, a public research university.

Admission requires a minimum 3.0 GPA and the school does not require the GRE. If you later want the online Master of Science in AI and Machine Learning for Engineering, ask whether certificate credits transfer and whether finishing the certificate helps your admission.

Where this degree can lead: Data Scientist Jobs, Jobs You Can Get With an AI Degree.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• At about $18,000 estimated, it is a larger investment than a general AI certificate with a lower per-credit rate.
• There is only one start a year, with a June 1 deadline.
• Programming is required, and the school expects undergraduate calculus, differential equations, linear algebra and physics.
• The program is built for engineers, so it will feel narrow if your work is not in a physical science.

• What does the $18,000 estimate include beyond tuition?
• Which parts of the program are not asynchronous?
• How strictly are the calculus, differential equations and physics prerequisites enforced?
• Do certificate credits transfer into the online master's degree?
• What does the final project involve, and can I use a problem from my own job?
• How much time should I expect to spend each week over the 9 months?

• Best AI Certificate Programs Rank 32 of 54, graduate certificate
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