The Graduate Certificate in Nanotechnology (GCNT) is a three-course graduate certificate program with a prerequisite of one foundational science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) course at the advanced undergraduate level. The GCNT program provides high-quality education and training experiences in the general concepts of nanotechnology and detailed knowledge and practice in the areas of characterization and synthesis of nanoscale materials. The certificate program is designed to be synergistic with the undergraduate and master's programs in the Department of Physics and is closely linked with the establishment of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities Center for Nanotechnology (ConnSCU-CNT) at SCSU. The GCNT program is multi-institutional in its structure because select faculty from all four CSU campuses (Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western) are involved in the program, but the certificate is issued by the Department of Physics at SCSU.
The GCNT program is offered so that full-time students, people with part-time or full-time employment, people in transition between jobs, and K-12 teachers can participate. The program also actively seeks to partner with local businesses and academic institutions involved in nanotechnology-related work to improve the teaching, research, and training opportunities for the students and faculty. Hence the program is designed to reach as broad a spectrum of Connecticut residents as possible in order to prepare them to participate in the rapidly advancing field of nanotechnology.