Computational linguistics certificate?

[Mirith]

I applied to universities for a computational linguistics master's degree, and got waitlisted at my top choice.  They recently emailed me and basically:

• I'm most likely not getting off the waitlist.  
• When I asked what I could do to improve my chances next year, they recommended this program.  
• They have a natural language technology certificate program, and 12 units of it can transfer to the comp ling master's later on.
• They said doing well in the certificate program will help me get into the master's program.

So my question is -- is this a cash-grab thing by the university, or is this worth my time?  It's a 12 unit/3 quarter committment, and 10k.  It's slightly more expensive per unit than the master's program.  

[fuzzylogician]

Take a look at their website and see if/how many current MA students went through the program. That might give you some idea. You might also ask what people do after the certificate program more generally, and maybe ask to speak to a former student or two. You might also try to reach out to current MA students to ask about their opinion of the certificate program, even if they didn't attend it. They may very well have thoughts about it, and it's very likely that they can give you some indication of how their own profs think of it. Masters in general are a money-generating device for universities, so it's hard to say if this program is more or less of that, without knowing more.