<p>In state school in which a student can get a certificate in certain areas- eg "European Union Studies", "Russian and Eastern European Studies", "Professional Translation" (to name a few my daughter is interested in). Some extra courses outside the major are required, I think. Are these "worth" anything (in the job market, that is), or is an advanced degree considerably more important?</p>
<p>Such certificate programs often amount to roughly the same thing as having completed an interdisciplinary minor. The skills or abilities that a student acquires may be valuable to a particular employer, but it's not really comparable to holding an advanced degree. </p>
<p>Sometimes such certificate programs and interdisciplinary minors, academic progams that don't reside in a particular discipline and draw on faculty from several departments, are frankly ways for colleges to make it look like they have broader academic offerings, when, in fact, these programs are cobbled together largely from courses that would be offered anyway. Other programs are the real thing, though: they sponsor lectures series, foster faculty interactions, organize activities for students, etc.</p>