An undergraduate certificate is a program (academic) attesting to a level of competence or skills in a particular area or field. It is distinct from an undergraduate degree program, stream, specialization or informal concentration.

Certificates may be general certificates or they may fall into one of the following categories:

• cross-disciplinary: a cluster of courses in a defined thematic area of interest, which are not confined to a single disciplinary area of study or major,
• disciplinary: a series of courses in a specific area of study that form a distinctive complement to studies in an undergraduate major discipline,
• professional: a series of courses that build specific skills and/or competencies often related to professional expertise, including expertise recognized by an external professional body,
• certificate of proficiency: an acknowledgement of proficiency (normally in a language) in a given area, or
• advanced: an acknowledgement of advanced skills and/or competence in an area

Some certificates (concurrent certificates) are only open to students currently enrolled in a degree program at York. Other certificates (consecutive certificates) are open to candidates who are not currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at York but who have previously completed a university degree and meet minimum admission requirements.