Liberal studies and real estate certificates are among the most popular options for students at El Camino College, with steady numbers throughout the past six years.

According to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Data Mart, real estate certificates increased in popularity the most, with 36 students earning it in 2022-2023, a 227% increase from 2018-2019, which had 11 recipients.

El Camino student William James Wilson III is one of the 5% of students who earned the certificate.

He credits the certificate for helping him pass his real estate test and obtain his license.

“I wanted to be in real estate, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Now I have a clear goal and a clear vision,” he said.

The flexibility of the classes made this program a good fit for working adults like Wilson himself and helped him reach his goals.

“I mean it’s so unique and so great and I feel like it’s undervalued because people don’t really know about it. I feel like El Camino College is doing something great that everyone should take advantage of,” he said.

Many community colleges in the area are seeing an increase in their programs. The Union compared four colleges to find the most popular and increasingly popular certificates.

Despite a 65% decrease, the liberal studies certificate was the most popular option for students in 2022-2023 with 268 earning it, according to the Data Mart.

The liberal studies certificate at El Camino has always been a popular program, peaking in popularity in 2018-2019 with 775 recipients.

El Camino was the leading community college in the area with this many certificates awarded, as the other colleges did not have liberal studies certificates except Santa Monica, which only had two awarded.

Other community colleges in the area had varied interests in what the most popular certificate was.

El Camino College associate professor of Childhood Education Cynthia Cervantes believes that part of the popularity of liberal studies is due to a long-time teacher shortage.

“Our students are interested in educating the community, our current population, our future population. So students are interested in giving back to the community. And education is one of the best ways to do so,” she said.

Different factors account for the high number of liberal studies certificates including support groups, on-campus programs and overall student support, said Cervantes.

“We have a very active child development club that provides weekly workshops and attendance certificates to our students who attend,” Cervantes added.

At LA Pierce College, the child development department is also home to the most popular certificate at Pierce called preschool age children.

According to the Data Mart, 148 certificates were earned in 2022-2023, a 2.6% decrease from 2018-2019, which had 152.

For Cerritos College, the most popular certificate was business management.

In 2022-2023, 430 students earned this certificate, a 9.97% increase from 2018-2019 when it was 391 according to the Data Mart.

Cerritos College associate professor of Business Administration and Retail Management and Program Manager Wendy Wright said that business is a practical degree, which helps increase student enrollment.

“Even just with the certificate, they’re much more likely to get promoted into a management role, they’re much more likely to see their wage increase,” she said.

The business department shares Cerritos’ most increasingly popular certificate, retail store operations and management, which increased 55% from 2018 to 2023.

At Long Beach City College, the most popular certificate in the 2022-2023 school year was fire technology with 48 awarded compared to eight in 2018-2019, a 500% increase according to the Data Mart.

Professor of fire science at Long Beach City College Brad Wilson said that the fire technology certificate helps students get jobs in the firefighter industry.

“It’s one more thing in your list of qualifications or certificates you have to sell you as far as preparing you to become a firefighter,” he said.

The certificate is a great way to build needed experience, and Wilson said that many people are currently trying to get into all the different fire departments.

Cosmetology and barbering are the most popular and increasingly popular certificates at Santa Monica College.

The certificate had 199 awarded in 2022-2023, according to the Data Mart.

This is a 2,111% increase from the 2018-2019 school year as nine were awarded during this period.

Santa Monica College Cosmetology Department Chair Deborah Perret says that there are several reasons for this sudden increase in cosmetology students, including the current market.

“Skin care is huge in the market right now, especially in social media. And you know, less people [are] doing surgical procedures and more people [are] doing topical treatments to the skin and makeup and waxing as well,” she said.

The other colleges’ certificates with the most increased popularity differ from the same department as their most popular certificate.

At El Camino, the most increasingly popular certificate in the 2022-2023 year was real estate.

Real Estate professor and department chair Yeressian believes this rise is partly due to the financial benefits of having a real estate license and certification.

“People have been starting to see real estate as part of their financial portfolio and a tool to create wealth,” he said. “It’s the quickest pathway to creating wealth more than anything else in this country.”

El Camino’s real estate certificate of achievement allows students to get their certification and real estate license simultaneously. It aligns with the state requirement for the state exam and only takes three classes.

At Long Beach City College, computer networking is the most increasingly popular certificate.

The certificate was 300% more popular in the 2022-2023 school year than it was from 2018-2023.

The most increasingly popular certificate at LA Pierce College was the job seeking/changing skills certificate in the 2022-2023 school year, with a 211% increase from 2019. There were 106 awarded last year and 34 in 2019.

Real estate student Wilson said that students thinking about obtaining certificates should be encouraged to.

“Don’t hesitate. Don’t hesitate because thinking about something and doing something, you need to be a doer,” he said.