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Online learning has made education more accessible than ever, but few platforms make getting a quality education easier or more affordable than the non-profit edX.
edX is a massive open online course (MOOC) provider founded by MIT and Harvard in 2012. By partnering with more than 90 of the world’s leading universities, non-profits, NGOs, and corporations, it’s able to offer free, high-quality courses across a large range of subjects.
edX’s mission is to:
While you can learn anything from programming in Java to the science of happiness for free, you can also pay a fee (ranging from $40-$160) to receive a certificate of completion from each course. Other special programs include professional certificates, MicroBachelors, and MicroMasters, which are designed to provide specialized training, career advancement opportunities, and even transferable college credits. Even edX’s online master’s degrees cost a fraction of the price of traditional on-campus education.
Here are just a handful of names you’ll recognize:
See a full list of schools and organizations here. You can click on each school to learn more about it and see which edX courses it offers.
On the courses page, you can filter by subject, proficiency level (e.g. intermediate), credit eligibility, and even language.
edX offers the most courses in computer science, business and management, engineering, social sciences, and humanities, so definitely consider the platform if you’re interested in these subjects.
These are some top courses from the site:
Other cool courses we found include:
The verified certificate, signed by the instructor and bearing the institution’s logo, gives you the ability to highlight your new skills and knowledge on your resume or LinkedIn profile, plus some extra incentive to finish the course. The certificate fee, which can cost $40-$160 depending on the course, also helps support edX as a non-profit.
If you choose to audit the course for free, you still get complete access to all the course materials, activities, tests, and forums.
Many courses are self-paced, which provides great flexibility for your busy life. At the same time, everything is structured enough so you won’t feel lost or out of control with all the independence.
These programs are a series of undergraduate and graduate-level courses that dive deep into specific career fields. The credits you earn from passing these courses go toward a MicroBachelors or MicroMasters certificate, which can also count towards an on-campus degree.
The certificate doesn’t guarantee admission to a full bachelor or master’s program; instead, if you apply and are accepted into the on-campus or online program that is associated with your MicroBachelors or MicroMasters program, the credential will count toward the degree, reducing your financial burden and time commitment.
Pursuing this certificate is significantly less expensive than a traditional, fully-on-campus degree, so if you find that cost is a prohibitive factor in your goal of getting a bachelor’s or master’s, you should check out the MicroBachelors and MicroMasters programs on edX.
The professional certificate programs are structured like the MicroBachelors and MicroMasters, but more focused on helping you build your professional skills so you can succeed in the most in-demand jobs and industries today. Learning doesn’t stop once you leave school, and as different industries continue to evolve, it’s important to stay on top of the shifting responsibilities and skillsets that are expected of employees.
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