Frequently Asked Questions

The next start date is July 9, 2025.

Upcoming start dates are listed on our “Registration and Requirements” page.

You'll get a confirmation email after you complete the registration form and submit your payment.

If you have questions about your registration, please call us at (888) 247-8744.

• You will receive an instructional email from Executive Education two weeks before the start of the program.
• All students need an active UC Davis email account to access Canvas. If you are a recent UC Davis graduate who no longer has access to your email, you will need to work with the Graduate School of Management and their IT team to reactivate your account. This process will be outlined in your email.
• All students will be invited to the course on Canvas on the start date. Once you receive the invitation, you can begin the self-paced coursework immediately.

An invitation to the self-paced course will be sent to all students via Canvas on the start date. You may begin the coursework as soon as you receive the invitation.

If the timing of the program doesn’t work with your schedule, you will have two weeks to withdraw. You will be removed from the certificate program and will have one more opportunity to defer. Please email us at info@leansixsigma.ucdavis.edu as soon as possible if you need to withdraw and defer.

Students who do not log into Canvas within two weeks of the course start will be automatically removed and considered withdrawals/no shows.

This course is offered four times per calendar year, typically in January, April, July, and October.

Visit our Registration and Requirements page for upcoming start dates and registration deadlines.

You can register for and succeed in the certificate program without any Lean Six Sigma experience. The certificate begins with basic concepts and builds from there. View our curriculum to see how the program progresses from fundamentals to advanced topics.

This certificate serves professionals at all career stages, from those starting their careers to senior leaders guiding organizational change.

To participate in the program, you will need:

• A computer with internet
• A webcam
• Headphones with a built-in microphone or speakers plus a microphone

For more details on recommended computer configurations, visit our Desktop & Mobile Computing Resources page.

You can move through the LSS Green Belt certificate at your own speed. All lessons and materials are available online whenever you want to learn, and there are no required times to sign in. You'll receive credit for each assignment you complete.

The coursework activities include:

• Video lessons from LSS experts
• Writing assignments
• Business case studies
• Interactive exercises
• Games that teach key concepts
• A course midterm and final

We do offer optional live sessions with instructors and your peers, which are great opportunities for coaching and networking.

The LSS Green Belt Certificate is divided into 10 learning modules that you complete at your own pace.

• Defining Lean Six Sigma: Yesterday and Today
• Factcheck! What Are We Dealing With?
• Let’s Get to the Heavy and Find Root Cause
• Let Numbers and Key System Insight Drive the Work!
• Resistance Thinking, Perceptions and Drama Triangles
• Architecting the Future
• Continuous Improvement as a Lifestyle
• Land the Executive Story
• You Have It All Figured Out? Moving Forward
• Continuing in a Lean Six Sigma Community

Our Lean Six Sigma Curriculum page includes a quick overview of each module. You can also download our program brochure to see more.

You will receive a digital certificate of completion from the Graduate School of Management. Our digital certificate distributor, Parchment, will send your certificate within two to four weeks after you complete your coursework.

Example of certificate:

Your instructors are business professionals who have decades of experience using Lean Six Sigma in their work. They’ve led successful projects at major companies and teach from their real workplace experience.

Get to know your instructors

Our program focuses on practical applications of Lean Six Sigma and how you can use its principles to make processes more efficient and improve results at your organization.

While we cover many concepts found in the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and the International Association for Six Sigma Certification (IASSC) certification exams, this program is not a test prep course. Our focus is teaching you useful tools you can use at work right away.

While our modules build a foundation for future ASQ or IASSC certification, we don't cover the advanced statistics and math found on these exams. Instead, we focus on the LSS tools most immediately useful to practitioners.

Lean Six Sigma is a set of proven, time-tested tools that have helped companies navigate, survive and succeed, even through periods of market uncertainty.

Very generally, Lean focuses on ways to reduce waste in workflows, while Six Sigma refines processes to be more efficient. Together, Lean Six Sigma is used to solve complicated organizational problems as well as guide continuous improvement.

This means a business can reduce waste and in turn reduce their product's cost to consumers. It means that a healthcare organization can spot dangerous time delays and improve care for their patients. It means a nonprofit can better direct their resources to help more of their communities.

Six Sigma uses statistics to reduce mistakes and inconsistency in work processes. Its goal is to reach nearly perfect results (99.99966% defect-free). Lean focuses on cutting out unnecessary steps and making work flow smoothly..

Lean Six Sigma combines both approaches. It uses Six Sigma’s data-driven methods to reduce defects, while applying Lean principles to cut waste and increase efficiency. This combined approach helps organizations improve quality while making processes faster and less costly..

Learning Lean Six Sigma equips you with practical tools to solve problems in any industry. These skills help you improve processes, reduce costs, and deliver better results..

Green Belt skills apply across nearly every industry. Students have applied their skills in manufacturing, healthcare, finance, technology, retail, government, and education, among many other industries.

Manufacturing is where Lean Six Sigma began, and it's often the first industry people associate with it. Green Belts help streamline production lines, reduce defects, and improve quality control in factory settings.

However, these skills have spread far beyond the factory floor. Here are some examples of how LSS skills can improve operations in other industries:

• Healthcare organizations can use these skills to improve patient care, reduce wait times, and minimize medical errors.
• Financial institutions may apply LSS skills to process transactions more efficiently, reduce compliance risks, and enhance customer service experiences.
• Technology companies use them to improve software development cycles, enhance customer support, and optimize product release processes.
• Education systems implement these techniques to improve administrative processes, enhance student services, and optimize resource allocation.
• Office professionals and knowledge workers use Green Belt methods to streamline email workflows, improve meeting efficiency, and make team collaboration more effective.

Green Belt skills work in any setting where processes can be measured and improved. The problem-solving approach helps identify issues, find their causes, and create effective solutions no matter where you work.

See our Lean Six Sigma curriculum to learn how these skills apply to your field, or talk to an enrollment specialist at (530) 753-7685.