Libby Worthington, data governance manager in UAB Information Technology, and Mahmood Abdul Gahni, assistant nurse manager in the Tele-ICU division of UAB eMedicine, earned master's degrees through the Graduate School's Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies program.There are more than 200 different job titles among the 275-plus openings on the UAB staff careers site as of Feb. 13, 2026.
That is a lot, but not nearly as many options as UAB employees have to further their careers, or just expand their educational horizons, through the UAB Graduate School’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies master’s programs.
IGS students combine two participating graduate certificate programs at UAB to create their own personalized master’s degree that is customizable, competency-based and learner-centered.
“Through this versatile structure, students gain both the depth of specialized certificate‑level expertise and the breadth needed to operate effectively across disciplinary domains,” said Carmel McNicholas-Bevensee, Ph.D., director of the Graduate School’s Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate and Professional Studies and program director for the Master’s in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies program. “Thus the degree is tailored to individual career goals, emerging workforce demands or evolving professional contexts.”
“Right now, 49 of the 73 graduate certificates currently offered at UAB are partnering with us,” McNicholas-Bevensee said. “And if a student says, ‘I’m interested in a certificate that is not on your list,’ then I will reach out to the program to see if they want to participate.”
Learn more about Educational Assistance
Take your pick of 49 certificates, plus one of the remaining 48 — that equals 1,176 possible degree combinations ((49x48)/2). Those numbers will continue to rise, because new certificates are being offered at UAB and added to the IGS program all the time, McNicholas-Bevensee says.
Learners can choose from Master of Arts and Master of Science options (which depend on the certificates selected). After they complete their two certificates, students apply that knowledge to a problem, need or opportunity within their workplace — or general interest — as a capstone project.
The IGS program was launched in 2020 to support students who wanted a graduate degree but did not have an established curriculum to follow.
A popular option for UAB employees
In the past five-plus years, IGS has proved to be a popular option for UAB employees using their Educational Assistance benefit, says McNicholas-Bevensee. Forty-five UAB employees have now graduated from the program.
“Mostly, that is because of the flexibility,” McNicholas-Bevensee said. “You can tailor a degree to your own career plan or interest, to make you more competitive for a new role, to add a new skill for your current role or just to gain new knowledge.”
Apply to UAB
If you are an employee who hasn't taken classes at UAB before, the first step is to apply.
Another perk is the price: “With UAB’s Educational Assistance benefit, you can essentially get the degree for free,” McNicholas-Bevensee said.
Time is always a consideration for people with full-time jobs. Nearly all of the certificates are online, “so it fits in with the busy schedules that UAB employees have,” McNicholas-Bevensee pointed out. “Also, you have five years to complete the program,” she said. “Many people take one class per semester; others take classes at certain times of the year and then take a break when it is their really busy time at work. You don’t have to worry about getting it done in a hurry; you can do it at your own pace.”
Learners who have already completed one certificate can add a second to create an Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies master’s degree. And there is the opportunity to rethink your path. “You can take one class toward a certificate and see if you like it, then apply for the degree,” McNicholas-Bevensee said. “Even if you get a few classes in and decide that a certificate is not the best option for you, you can potentially switch it out for another one. There is also the potential to register as a non-degree-seeking student and take classes to see if this is the best fit before committing to apply for the degree.”
“A single career-relevant degree”
The ability to combine two certificates that were a perfect match for her career plans was a major draw for Libby Worthington, who worked in the Graduate School when she started in the IGS program and is now data governance manager in UAB Information Technology. “At the time, I was completing the Leadership and Professional Development graduate certificate when the Collat School of Business announced the new Business Analytics with Information Technology certificate, which was exactly the analytics coursework I had been hoping for,” Worthington said.
Making sense of the options
The number of choices available in the IGS program can seem overwhelming. Where should you start? “Begin with your role, your goal and personal priorities, then select two certificates that directly build the capabilities you, and your unit and/or UAB, need most,” Worthington advised. “IGS is built for customized education with immediate, relevant impact. The IGS degree has been instrumental in my transition into the role of data governance manager, especially as UAB advances the Igniting Data Insights initiative under interim Chief Data Officer Scott Sorenson.”
“My academic and professional background spans psychology, business, analytics and change management,” Worthington added. “I have long understood how systems succeed when people have clarity, coaching and trust; but I wanted to deepen my understanding of which leadership behaviors truly drive success.” The IGS program “allowed me to blend what might seem like two very different disciplines — technology and the people behind the technology — into a single career-relevant degree that directly supports how I lead and collaborate today.”
Worthington said that the “stackable design” of the IGS program “kept momentum strong with mini, achievable milestones, and each course immediately enhanced my day-to-day work, making my contributions more valuable and efficient.”
“I really appreciated the flexibility”
Mahmood Abdul Gahni, M.S., BSN, R.N., assistant nurse manager in the Tele-ICU division of UAB’s eMedicine department, earned an IGS degree with certificates in Healthcare Quality and Safety and in Leadership and Professional Development. Abdul Gahni began at UAB in 2019 as a nurse in the Cardiac Care Unit. But COVID “was an incredibly tough and stressful time,” he said. “There were moments when I even considered leaving nursing altogether.”
Looking to try something new, he joined UAB eMedicine. His unit was small; “but it grew, and I grew with it,” Abdul Gahni said. “As I have taken on more responsibilities in team management and project leadership, my interest in leadership has deepened.”
The certificate in Healthcare Quality and Safety, in turn, “supports my work in improving patient care and system processes,” Abdul Gahni said.
His experience in the IGS program was “very positive and truly rewarding,” Abdul Gahni said. “It gave me the knowledge and skills I need to grow as a health care leader, especially in quality improvement and patient safety. The coursework strengthened my critical thinking and helped prepare me for greater responsibilities. The LEAD program really helped me grow as a communicator, decision-maker and problem-solver, while the Healthcare Quality and Safety program reinforced my commitment to patient safety and continuous improvement.”
Abdul Gahni says he highly recommends the IGS program. “I really appreciated the flexibility of combining two certificates that are directly relevant to my role at UAB, which allowed me to immediately apply what I learned to real-life situations and strengthen both my skills and impact at work,” Abdul Gahni said. “For anyone looking to be a trailblazer in their profession, the IGS program is an excellent path to pursue.”
Building campus networks
Another benefit of taking classes was the opportunity to meet fellow UAB employees in different areas and job roles and to meet other professionals, both Abdul Gahni and Worthington note.
“It was a great experience connecting and learning from people across different departments, which made the program even more meaningful for me,” Abdul Gahni said.
“In the classroom, we built a strong peer network and learned from the diverse perspectives of classmates across industries,” Worthington said. “I still keep in touch with many members of my Collat cohort.”
The skills learned from UAB certificates “are valuable far beyond your immediate team,” Worthington pointed out. “UAB cultivates a campus-wide culture of continuous growth, development and learning. Engage with Communities of Practice, collaborate across units, and share your expertise to strengthen our UAB community.”
Capstone projects let employees apply their learning to their work
The capstone project is designed to give learners an opportunity to “fit it all together,” McNicholas-Bevensee said. “They do a literature review and show how what they have learned can contribute to addressing a problem in their workplace.”
In his project, Abdul Gahni “explored falls and the role virtual sitters can play by creating a protocol to standardize virtual-sitter practices,” he said.
Worthington looked at the effect of leadership traits on data project success. “I examined peer-reviewed literature to identify the leadership traits most strongly correlated with successful project outcomes,” she said. “I found that both transformational and transactional leadership styles are associated with success, and that overlapping traits, especially communicative and charismatic, appear most consistently in successful implementations. This research gave me an evidence-based framework for advising leaders on the specific traits that help complex data projects succeed.”