Certificate in Facilitation
About the program
Make every room work.
If you work with people, you facilitate. This program helps you do it with purpose and skill—across boardrooms, classrooms, Zoom rooms, and community spaces.
Why This Program?
The Certificate in Facilitation (non-credit) is a cohort-based program for professionals who lead meetings, retreats, and multi-stakeholder conversations. Across three months, participants blend immersive, in person learning with focused virtual labs—building practical skills to design meaningful gatherings, guide courageous dialogue, and move groups to decisions and action.
Why Now?
In a time of rapid change—hybrid teams, polarized discourse, and AI reshaping how work gets done—meetings can either drain energy or create momentum. Skilled facilitators turn groups into teams, information into insights, and discussions into decisions. With clear purpose, thoughtful process, and calm presence, they surface every voice, build trust quickly, and convert collective intelligence into productive action.
Excellent facilitation isn’t a nice to have; it’s a core leadership capacity that enables people to do their best work together. And when done well, facilitation is generative and fun—the room hums, ideas build on each other, and people leave with energy, belonging, and clear next steps.
Who Should Apply ?
Truly, anyone who works with people! More specifically:
- Managers, directors, team leads, community builders, coaches, and consultants who convene people to do work together
- Professionals who design or facilitate meetings, retreats, workshops, or cross-functional projects
- Leaders who are seeking useful tools for strategy, decision making, and navigating conflict across differences
- Those who want hands-on practice, coaching, and feedback in a supportive cohort
- Professionals interested in a transformational and stimulating growth experience
Program Details: March 9 – May 20, 2026
- Program Dates and Times
- March 9-11, 9AM- 5PM (in-person)
- March 23, 12-4PM (virtual)
- April 13, 12-4PM (virtual)
- April 27, 12-4PM (virtual)
- May 11, 12-4PM (virtual)
- May 18-20, 9AM- 5PM (in-person)
- Location: UVA Northern Virginia Fairfax Campus
- Credential: Certificate in Facilitation (non-credit) from the University of Virginia
- Content: Follow this link to dive deeper into the content
Please note: Attendance is mandatory to successfully complete the program.
If you have questions about the Certificate in Facilitation or would like additional information, please email Anna Fairs.
Discount Codes
UVA Faculty and Staff: This program is eligible for the UVA Faculty and Staff 10% discount. Use code UVAFACULTYSTAFF at checkout. The discount applies to all UVA employees, including full-time, part-time, wage, and temporary staff, with or without benefits.
Refund Policy
Registrants can request a refund until 30 days from the program start. Please note that a $100 administrative fee will be retained to cover the costs associated with application review. No refunds will be available after that date. To cancel your registration and request a refund, please contact northern@virginia.edu.
Skills you will learn
- Designing and leading engaging and results-driven gatherings
- Cultivating a confident, grounded presence
- Negotiating productive conversations with groups that hold multiple perspectives
- Adapting to group needs in real time
- Applying creative meeting design tools and structures
- Using facilitation as an adaptive leadership skill
- Surfacing group dynamics and navigating complexity and change
- Evaluation techniques to ensure impact and follow-through
Modules
- Module 1 (in-person): Foundations of Facilitation (March 9 - 11)
- Module 2 (virtual) : Facilitation and Design Thinking (March - May)
- Module 3 (in-person): Facilitating Change and Complexity (May 18 - 20)
Please note: All information is subject to change at the discretion of UVA Northern Virginia.