The first-ever class of MIT and edX’s MicroMasters program –enrolled on the supply chain management program– received its certificates this June and was honored at an online ceremony.
Over 180,000 participated in this program, and more than 1,100 learners finished all five required online courses. Of those students who opted to take the proctored comprehensive final exam, 622 achieved passing grades, automatically earning a chance to apply for a full master’s degree.
It is worth to note that those who passed can now qualify for a master’s program even if they lack many of the traditional application requirements, including GRE scores or even an undergraduate degree. Their progress through the classes was monitored and recorded. “We don’t have to rely on a letter from a professor we don’t know,” said a MIT official.
Combining credit for the completed online coursework plus one semester of on-campus classes, this “hybrid” master’s is available at MIT or any of several partner institutions: University of Queensland, in Australia; Curtin University, in Australia; Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester, New York; and the Zaragoza Logistics Center, in Spain.
“Given that the MicroMasters’ testing process and course standards are designed to be as demanding as those of on-campus MIT classes, the MicroMasters credential itself is also expected to provide those who earn it with opportunities for career advancement,” explained MIT News. “It would take roughly 350-580 years of teaching traditional MIT classes in supply chain management to teach a comparable number of students as were reached through the MicroMasters program.”
This initial program was the first such MicroMasters created through MITx. There are currently more than 5,000 additional learners in the supply chain management MicroMasters pipeline who have successfully completed at least one of the five required courses.
Last December, MITx launched a second MicroMasters program in data, economics, and development policy, and others are under consideration. Additionally, more than 10 other universities now offer MicroMasters certificates through the edX online platform, which was co-developed five years ago by MIT and Harvard University.
