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Info for Shelter Team Members
Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program Information
Introducing our Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program!
With this game-changing professional development program for shelter team members, you can elevate your professional skills and credentials, positioning yourself for a more fulfilling career in animal welfare.
This program will provide you with a robust foundation in critical areas of best practices in animal care and shelter operations, leading to certification as a Shelter Care Specialist.
Sign up to receive updates about our Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program and we'll keep you up to date with information on this opportunity.
Program Overview
Our program offers six comprehensive courses, each lasting six weeks, covering the most critical aspects of animal care and shelter operations. You'll start with our core courses - Modern Shelter Foundations and Animal Care Foundations, which will equip you with fundamental knowledge about shelter operations, animal welfare, and basic daily and medical care.
After mastering the basics, you can choose from four elective courses tailored to your interests and professional needs to complete your Shelter Care Specialist (SCS) certification. These include Medical Focused Electives - Advanced Medical Care, and Clinic Skills and Operations, or Welfare Focused Electives - Population Management and Behavior, Training, and Enrichment.
Our flexible certification options allow you to customize your learning journey. Earn your Shelter Care Specialist (SCS) certification by completing the two required courses and two electives with your choice of Medical or Welfare Focus. Step up to an Advanced Shelter Care Specialist Certification (ASCS) with two required courses and all four electives. Or aim for the pinnacle of professional development with our Master Shelter Care Specialist Certification (MSCS), which includes both required courses, all four electives plus a Masters Project and a Co-Coach role.
Each course in this program provides 10.0 continuing education (CE) units through NACA and CAWA.
Shelter Care Specialist
Welfare Focus
Required Courses:
- Modern Sheltering Foundations
- Animal Care Foundations
Welfare-Focused Electives
- Population Management
- Behavior, Training, and Enrichment
Shelter Care Specialist
Medical Focus
Required Courses:
- Modern Sheltering Foundations
- Animal Care Foundations
Medical-Focused Electives
- Advanced Medical Care
- Clinic Skills and Operations
Advanced
Shelter Care Specialist
Required Courses:
- Modern Sheltering Foundations
- Animal Care Foundations
All Four Electives
- Population Management
- Behavior, Training, and Enrichment
- Advanced Medical Care
- Clinic Skills and Operations
Masters Shelter Care Specialist Certification
Want to aim for the pinnacle of professional development?
Consider our Master Shelter Care Specialist Certification (MSCS).
Required Courses:
- Modern Sheltering Foundations
- Animal Care Foundations
All Four Electives
- Population Management
- Behavior, Training, and Enrichment
- Advanced Medical Care
- Clinic Skills and Operations
PLUS
- Masters Project
- Co-Coach Role in the SCS Project
Shelter Care Specialist
Program Courses
Required Courses:
- Modern Sheltering Foundations (MSF)
- Animal Care Foundations (ACF)
Electives
- Population Management (PM)
- Behavior, Training, and Enrichment (BTE)
- Advanced Medical Care (AMC)
- Clinic Skills and Operations (CSO)
Shelter Care Specialist
Upcoming Group Start Dates
- Late Summer 2025 - Starts 8/4/25
- Fall 2025 - Starts 10/13/25
Sessions and Courses
Past Sessions:
- Late Summer 2024 - 8/19 - 9/29/24
- Course: MSF
- Fall 2024 - 10/21 - 12/8/24
- Courses: MSF, ACF
- Winter 2025 - 1/6 - 2/16/25
- Courses: MSF, ACF
- Spring 2025 - 3/3 - 4/13/25
- Courses: MSF, ACF, PM, AMC
- Early Summer 2025 - 5/26/25 - 7/7/25
- Courses: MSF, ACF, BTE, CSO
Upcoming Sessions:
- Late Summer 2025 - 8/4/25 - 9/15/25
- Courses: MSF, ACF, PM, AMC
- Fall 2025 - 10/13/25 - 11/24/25
- Courses: MSF, ACF, BTE, CSO
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Interested in Applying for the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program?
If you would like to be considered for the summer Shelter Care Specialist Certificate Program session beginning August 4, 2025, please complete this application by July 4, 2025.
We have had a great deal of interest in this program since it was first offered to applicants in October, 2024. We do have to limit enrollments so that we can provide appropriate coaching to our learners.
Due to these program enrollment limitations applications are reviewed for each session based on each session's group/cohort goals.
Summer 2025 Session Cohort Priorities:
- Shelter Type: Public or Private Shelter with Stray Intake Contracts
- Shelter Intakes: Shelters must take in both dogs and cats.
- Shelter Size: This group will prioritize medium to larger shelters (typically 4,000 intakes or more)
- Shelter Location: We will review all applications and select learners to include shelters in approximately 4–8 states/geographic areas to help us better answer questions about specific areas of the country.
NOTE: If your shelter does not meet these criteria you may still apply, but please be aware that your application will likely be saved for a future cohort with priorities that better match your situation. If you are not currently working in a shelter or not accepted into the next cohort, check out our online, self-paced, on-demand offerings: View Our On-Demand Catalog - Here.
If you previously submitted an application for past sessions, please indicate that in your response so you do not have to fill out the entire application again.
If you check the "Add to Mailing List" option at the end of this form, we will keep you up to date on SCS happenings and future session start dates.
To review information about the SCS program, visit our "About Certification" page.