This initiative by edX consists of programs specifically designed to help learners develop the knowledge and critical skills that are relevant in today’s job market. These include data science, virtual reality, digital marketing and many more. Each program is made up of a series of relevant career courses created and approved by top universities and industry leaders. They provide learners with an affordable and flexible online learning experience that is critical for today’s career professionals.

A sample Professional Certificate as displayed on edX

Professional Certificate Programs are designed to run for a 2 to 6 month period which allows learners to get the right skills needed to position themselves for new job opportunities or advance their careers. While individual courses within the specific programs may be audited for free, learners wishing to earn a certificate are required to pay a certain fee. Some of the most popular professional certificate programs include:

Microsoft Professional program in artificial intelligence
Data science
Business writing
Introduction to computer science
Product design and health
Foundations of data science
Introduction to code solutions
Data analysis and visualization with excel
Food, nutrition and health

Data Science

Harvard University

Rafael Irizarry, Professor of Biostatistics
2-4 hours a week, 2-4 weeks long
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Business Writing

University of California, Berkeley

Margaret Steen, Tim Peters
3-5 hours a week, 4 weeks long
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Introduction to Computer Science

Microsoft via edx

Eric Camplin, Paul Pardi
2-3 hours a week, 4-5 weeks long
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Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Richard H.M. Goossens, Annemiek van Boeijen, Jaap J.J. Daalhuizen
3-7 hours a week, 5-7 weeks long

University of California, Berkeley

John DeNero, David Wagner, Ani Adhikari
4-6 hours a week, 5-6 weeks long

IT Fundamentals for Business Professionals

Universitat Politècnica de Valencia

Jaime Busquets, Vicent Botti Navarro, Carlos Turró, Tanja Vos, Miguel Rebollo, Ignacio Despujol
3-6 hours a week, 3-4 weeks long
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Business Metrics for Data-Driven Companies

Duke University

Daniel Egger, Jana Schaich Borg
3-5 hours a week, 4 weeks long
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Technische Universität München

Martin Grunow, Holly Ott
3-4 hours a week, 6-8 weeks long

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Gerry O’Brien, Marwa Hussein, Andrew Byrne, Gerry O’Brien, Anusha Muthiah, Dale A. Schouten, Kasey Champion, Michel Buffa, Chris Perkins, Adrian Leven
6-10 hours a week, 4-6 weeks long

University of California, Berkeley

Nadir Akhtar, Rustie Lin, Mengyi (Gloria) Wang
3-5 hours a week, 6 weeks long

Leadership and Management in Education

The University of Newcastle, Australia

Professor John Fischetti, Dr Scott Imig
8-10 hours a week, 4 weeks long
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University of Washington

Luke Panezich, Debra Hildebrand
2-5 hours a week, 4 weeks long

The University of Michigan

Larry Neal, Kristin Fontichiaro, Lionel P. Robert, Josie Barnes Parker
4 hours a week, 4 weeks long

Agile Development Using Ruby on Rails

University of California, Berkeley

Armando Fox, David Patterson, Sam Joseph
12-13 hours a week, 6 weeks long
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