MicroMasters Program

src: i.ytimg.com

MicroMasters® programs were created by edX Inc. (edX) (www.edx.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to the commitment of excellence in teaching and learning, a pioneer in the development of online educational platforms, and a provider of massive open online courses (MOOCs) on a global basis.

EdX launched the MicroMasters® credential in 2015 in conjunction with its partnership and collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, and other educational institutions, to provide online access to educational courses and programs from elite educational institutions worldwide. As part of MicroMasters® programs, edX works with partner universities and educational institutions to develop and offer an online educational experience that is tailored to provide learners a deep level of knowledge in a specific career field with courses recognized by employers, such as, Walmart, General Electric (GE), IBM, and other multinational corporations. MicroMasters® programs include curricula focused on a wide range of fields including marketing analytics (University of California, Berkeley via BerkeleyX), supply chain management (MIT via MITx), business fundamentals (Columbia University via ColumbiaX), digital leadership (Boston University via BUx), artificial intelligence (Columbia University via ColumbiaX), robotics (University of Pennsylvania via PennX), among several others.

In addition to the benefit of gaining relevant skills in a particular field that can lead to career advancement, learners who successfully complete all coursework as part of a MicroMasters® program will receive a MicroMasters® certificate and may receive credit for the coursework from the affiliated university toward the pursuit of master's degree. Learners may pursue a master's degree by applying to a participating on-campus program that recognizes the MicroMasters® credential. If the learner is accepted to the on-campus program of the participating university, the university will recognize the coursework completed in the MicroMasters® program as credits earned toward the pursuit of the higher degree.

EdX offered the first MicroMasters® program in 2015 with a series of courses on supply chain management developed via its partnership with MIT. Other participating universities that recognize MicroMasters® credentials earned by edX learners include University of Queensland, Rochester Institute of Technology, Curtin University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Thunderbird School of Global Management, University of British Columbia, and the University of Michigan, with the scope of participating universities and relevant coursework growing annually.

Video MicroMasters Program

History

On October 7, 2015, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced a new academic credential for the digital age: the MicroMasters. The MicroMasters began as a pilot program, allowing learners worldwide to take a semester's worth of courses in MIT's top-ranked, one-year Supply Chain Management (SCM) master's program completely online, then complete an MIT master's degree by spending a single semester on campus. The MicroMasters credential, first offered in Supply Chain Management, could be earned through online courses on MITx on edX by students who passed a comprehensive examination upon the successful completion of the online series of SCM courses. The first MicroMasters program was designed by Professor Sanjay Sarma, MIT's then dean of digital learning and now vice president for open learning; and by Dr. Yossi Sheffi, Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering at MIT, and Dr. Chris Caplice, who run the SCM program and its online offerings at MIT. MIT's inaugural MicroMasters program in supply chain management drew more than 180,000 learners of all ages, from around the world. In June of 2017, more than 1,100 learners finished all five of the courses required to earn the MicroMasters credential.

In September 2016, edX partnered with several other universities to bring the MicroMasters model to even more learners across the globe, announcing 18 new MicroMasters programs from 13 universities in rapidly growing fields, ranging from artificial intelligence to project management to supply chain management.

On December 5, 2016, MIT announced its second MicroMasters, a new master's degree in data, economics, and development policy (DEDP) offered by MIT's Department of Economics, representing a new path to earning an MIT master's degree. The Masters program is MIT's first to be available solely to online learners who have earned the MITx MicroMasters credential in DEDP.