Stackable Online Certificates in Product & Service Innovation
Designed with the working professional in mind.
You’re an innovator and design thinker. You're ready to advance your skills, but you're also busy with your career. Pursue any or all of our certificates on your own time, based on the skills you want to acquire. As you complete each step, you’ll have a Carnegie Mellon University transcript to show for it. Once a certificate is completed, you can return and earn more or work toward a master's degree as long as it's completed within five years of starting the process.
Take your career to the next level with these certificates:
Hands-On Innovation Process
Students take ideas from concept to prototype using a fast-paced, project-based approach that mirrors real-world product development and emphasizes creativity, structure, and execution.
User-Centered Research
Through practical ethnographic and qualitative methods, students build a research toolkit to uncover meaningful user insights, ask the right questions, and design with clarity and purpose.
Visual Communication Tools
Learners gain visual storytelling skills—using sketching, UI design, dashboards, and pitch materials—to communicate ideas and insights in ways that drive understanding and action.
49-604: Innovation Process & Tools
49-605: User Experience Research for Digital and Physical Products
Next Term Offered:
Spring 2026, Summer 2026, Fall 2026
Strategic Market Launch
You’ll gain the skills to create and execute comprehensive product launch plans, covering pricing strategies, market segmentation, and financial analysis.
Cross-Functional Leadership
The program emphasizes mastering both product and brand management roles, teaching you to lead across marketing, engineering, finance, and manufacturing functions.
Hands-On Business Simulation
Through interactive simulations, you'll learn how different business models and functional areas interconnect to inform strategic product decisions.
49-606: Understanding Markets for Products & Services
49-607: Product Strategy & Planning
Next Term Offered:
Spring 2026, Fall 2026
Holistic Design Foundations
You’ll explore industrial, software, and UX/UI design techniques—such as free-form sketching, concept modeling, and prototyping—that enable turning user needs into tangible product ideas.
Full-Cycle Development Practice
Through rigorous coursework and hands-on projects, you’ll learn to research, sketch, model, test, and present design concepts across physical and digital mediums.
Service & Experience Innovation
The program equips you with frameworks and skills to design systems of products, services, and human interactions—ensuring comprehensive and impactful user experiences.
49-600: Introduction to Design Innovation
49-601: Innovation of Services & Experiences
Next Term Offered:
Spring 2026, Summer 2026
Technical Proficiency
You’ll gain a deep understanding of current technologies, materials, and systems—including their capabilities and limitations—to inform smarter product decisions.
Engineering for Production & Sustainability
Learn to apply engineering fundamentals—such as stress analysis, heat transfer, kinematics, and sustainable design—to create products optimized for manufacturability and lifecycle impact.
Connected & Intelligent Systems
Learn to build AI-enhanced and IoT-connected devices. This certificate provides practical skills in data gathering, modeling, prototyping, and presenting technical information effectively.
49-602: Designing for Production and Sustainability
49-603: Cyber-Physical Product Design
Next Term Offered:
Summer 2026, Fall 2026
Your next career steps— at your pace.
Each certificate is comprised of two sections which may be taken concurrently or sequentially. This means that any certificate may be completed in either one (taking two sections) or two (taking just one section) semesters.
Online Applications are always open, with rolling admission cycles.
Ready to Apply?
Spring 2026
Certificates being offered:
Product Design Innovation
Methods & Tools for Product Innovation
New Product Management
Summer 2026
Certificates being offered:
Technology for Product Management
Product Design Innovation
Methods & Tools for Product Innovation
Fall 2026
Certificates being offered:
Technology for Product Management
Methods & Tools for Product Innovation
New Product Management
Online Course Schedule & Class Times
iii Online coursework teaches students to:
- Work alongside professionals from various disciplines including engineering, design, and business
- Address industry and society’s problems through new products
- Tackle complex issues in the product development process
Am I a Good Fit?
The iii's online coursework attracts career-minded individuals who are looking for a flexible learning structure that allows them to go to school and continue working full time.
Highly qualified candidates demonstrate a passion for product & service development, innovation, and/or entrepreneurship and have the following background. Sound like you? Learn more about the admissions process.
Seth Mitchell
(MIIPS Online '26)
Seth is currently a UI Lead at GM. He began his career in visual merchandising at Apple, where he developed a strong foundation in design and user experience. He holds a BFA in Graphic Design from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is also the founder of The Blocks, a fintech startup focused on creating accessible, user-friendly personal finance tools.
He's currently pursuing the MIIPS Masters degree and plans to graduate May 2026.
Hedy Wang
(MIIPS Online '25)
Hedy is currently a UX Research Consultant at IBM. She has experience working on user research, design strategy, and product innovation across various industries.
She's currently pursuing the MIIPS Master's degree and plans to graduate in Dec 2025.