Top Universities are seen as Ivory Towers, held high and aloof, completely arcane and inaccessible to the general public. Historically, this was very much the case for higher education, but in recent decades this has reversed. Universities are increasingly interested in sharing knowledge more broadly, and in inviting greater numbers of people to benefit from the educational opportunities they offer.
The internet has expanded this again, and led to the rise of certification programs open to the general public. These are generally (though not always) free online courses in any number of subjects which you may take. While these are not specifically aimed at high school students, you are members of the general public, and can benefit from these courses both through exposure to concepts you may not see in high school, and a chance to see what university level instruction is like.
In this article, we’re going to go through which certification programs are offered by top universities for the general public, and which high school students may gain something by taking advantage of. Let’s get started!
Brown University Certificate Programs
Brown offers a number of non-degree programs, meant to share knowledge with the public at large. First are certificates; these are intended for current working professionals, and are paid multi-week online courses which grant a certificate at the end.
Next are the executive education open enrollment programs. These are intended for people currently working in various industries to hone their skills, much like Brown’s certificates. These may have some interest for high school students, but neither is quite intended for you, and you may be out of your depth with some concepts; these are not introductory courses, but assume a high level of base knowledge. These courses are also all focused on business, though some intersect with computer science.
Finally, Brown has partnered with edX to offer online courses, which may also grant a certificate at the end. These are more accessible and offer more options, but are also less exclusive than the above options. Many high school students do take advantage of these courses however.
Caltech Certificate Programs
Caltech offers a large number of certificates through their Center for Technology and Management Education. These courses are intended for working professionals to brush up on their skills, but you don’t have to be one to take advantage of these courses. These are online courses, some of which are live, and some of which are asynchronous and self-paced. We recommend high school students stick to self-paced courses, as so much of your schedule is dictated by the school day.
These programs feature a range of business and technology options, and some overlap of the two. These are a good choice for students interested in either field. Note that these are often not introductory, and may expect you to have some knowledge going in to get the most out of these courses.
Columbia Certificate Programs
Columbia’s School of Professional Studies offers a significant number of certificate programs, meant for learners of all ages. Note that some of these are offered virtually, while others are only offered in-person on Columbia’s campus; depending on your location, you may not be able to take advantage of all of their course offerings. These are a good option for high school students, though some may assume or require prior knowledge of the subjects in question.
Cornell University Certificate Programs
Cornell has an extensive certificate program through eCornell. This offers more than 240 programs for professional development, in the form of online courses. These courses are primarily aimed at current working professionals looking to improve their skills, but anyone is able to take part in these courses.
They group these courses into the following broad categories:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Business and Finance
- Data Science and Analytics
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Engineering
- Environmental, Social, and Governance
- Food and Plant Science
- Healthcare
- Hospitality
- Human Resources
- Law
- Leadership
- Marketing and Communications
- Nutrition
- Project Management
- Real Estate
- Technology
- Beekeeping
As you can see, this covers a significant number of fields, though not every possible topic of interest is covered. These courses range from introductory to advanced; some assume significant prior knowledge, while others are far more accessible to beginners. These courses are all available online, and all paid.
Dartmouth Certificate Programs
Dartmouth offers a number of online courses through DartmouthX, a partnership program with edX. This is designed to give free and open access to Dartmouth courses, at both an introductory and advanced level. These are a popular option among high school students, and can provide a good taste of some majors and courses of study.
Georgetown University Certificate Programs
Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies offers a significant number of professional certificates. These are intended for current industry professionals to further hone and develop their skills, but are offered online and available for anyone to take advantage of. These are of varying length; some can take as little as a week to complete, while others may take months. We recommend starting with a shorter one, to get a feel for the structure and the demands of the course. Georgetown offers certificates in the following general areas:
- Business & Management
- Education, Health, & Policy
- Executive Leadership
- Organizational Mastery
- Marketing & Communications
- Social Impact
- Technology & Security
Harvard University Certificate Programs
Harvard first offers the Harvard Extension, which allows anyone to take one or more courses from Harvard, either individually or in pursuit of a degree. These courses range from introductory to advanced, and can be taken either online or offline, asynchronous or on schedule. These courses are offered during the regular Harvard terms, and are the exact same as what Harvard students take. You must pay per credit to take these courses, but they do offer college credit if you complete them.
Johns Hopkins University Certificate Programs
Johns Hopkins offers a number of courses through their online program. Some of these are full graduate degrees, and thus inaccessible to high school students, but others cover more introductory subjects, and are available to a wider set of the population. In addition, they have partnered with Coursera to offer courses on a variety of subjects and at a variety of levels. These are quite popular with high school students due to their broad availability.
MIT Certificate Programs
MIT offers professional certificate programs; these are online courses meant for current members of various fields looking to learn new skills and advance their careers, mostly in business and technology, though with some other options as well. These last from nine to twelve months, and are a serious commitment. Note that these programs do require an application, and they may be hesitant about allowing a high school student to join unless you can demonstrate the breadth of your prior knowledge in the field.
Northwestern University Certificate Programs
Northwestern’s Continuing and Professional Programs offer a number of certificates. Note that these are mostly designed for working professionals, others are designated as post-bacc programs (meant to be taken only after you have a bachelor’s degree) or as graduate programs (meant to complement your course of studies while in graduate school). These are online programs which must be applied to; applications are competitive, and they may be hesitant to admit a high school student.
Northwestern also offers a number of professional development options. These are meant for current working professionals to give them new skills and advance their careers, so not all will be of interest to high school students. Learning to administer AP exams may sound like a good time, but is unlikely to be directly relevant to you. SOme of these courses are online, and some are only offered in-person, on Northwestern’s campus.
Princeton University Certificate Programs
Princeton offers course opportunities online through several partners, primarily Coursera and edX. These courses are on a variety of subjects and taught at a number of levels, from introductory to advanced. These are quite popular amongst high school students, due to their accessibility. Princeton does have a number of in person certificate options, but these are not open to current high school students.
Rice University Certificate Programs
Rice offers a number of programs specifically for K-12 students through their School of Continuing Studies. These are primarily not certificate programs, but do still give you the option to provide college level coursework. Their other programs, such as lifelong learners and professionals are explicitly only for those who are over 18, and thus are not a viable option for high school students. Their precollege and related programs are quite interesting opportunities, but are not quite certificate programs; we are including them here for the sake of completeness.
Stanford University Certificate Programs
Stanford offers certificate programs through their Professional Education Program. These are (as the name suggests) aimed primarily at current industry professionals who are looking to hone or expand their skillsets. They offer a mix of remote and in-person options, though many of their programs are fully online. They offer course options in the following areas:
- Innovation and Design Thinking
- Cybersecurity
- Artificial Intelligence
- Digital Transformation
- Product Management
- Business & Management
- Medicine & Health
- Energy & Sustainability
Not all of these will be open to high school students, but you can avail yourself of many of these options.
UC Berkeley Certificate Programs
UC Berkeley’s Extensions program offers professionals programs to gain new skills or to learn what they need to be able to change careers. This offers courses and programs across a significant number of disciplines, most of which are available online and asynchronously. These are not intended for high school students, and some may be too advanced in terms of the material covered. That said, they are open programs, and if you have experience in these areas already, they could be a good resource for you to explore in more depth.
UCLA Certificate Programs
UCLA’s Extension program is meant for working professionals who want to gain practical skills to advance or change their career, or who are looking to master a new technology disrupting their industry. Most of these are offered both online and in-person. You do not need a college degree to enroll in these courses, but they are offered at a post-baccalaureate level, that is the teachers assume you have experienced a collegiate level of education already, and pace the course accordingly. This means you may need an extensive background in the subject being taught to be comfortable with the pace and amount of material.
UChicago Certificate Programs
UChicago offers a significant number of non-credit certification courses across a significant number of disciplines. These are aimed at professionals, but many of them are open enrollment. They are offered at a high level however, and assume you already have a significant amount of experience in these fields. Some of these programs do require you to have a bachelor’s degree in order to enroll, while others do not. There is no specific start date, but these courses are offered each quarter, or once to twice per year in the case of some electives.
University of Pennsylvania Certificate Programs
Penn LPS Certificates are offered from their School of Arts and Sciences, and are intended for students who want an alternative to earning a bachelor’s degree. These courses are generally offered on a weekly synchronous schedule, meaning you must be able to make it to their times. For this reason, they can be difficult for high schoolers to take advantage of, except during the summer. These courses are offered on an accelerated eight week schedule.
Wharton offers its own suite of online programs, most of which are certificates aimed at current working professionals. These courses are primarily self paced, and taught at a high level. While you generally do not need a college degree to enroll, they are taught at a collegiate level, and expect you to already be familiar with many of the concepts discussed.
Washington University in St. Louis Certificate Programs
WashU’s Continuing and Professional Studies (CAPS) program offers students who don’t want to commit to a full degree program the chance to take collegiate courses and earn credit. While these courses are designed for working professionals, they can be taken by anyone interested. These courses are all offered online, though the availability of certain courses can vary by semester. The undergraduate programs are the best option for high school students; the graduate level programs presuppose a higher level of knowledge already.
Yale University Certificate Programs
Yale offers online learning courses in partnership with Coursera. These are offered for free, and are quite popular, due to the broad range of topics covered and their flexibility as offerings.
In addition, they have a limited number of certificate programs aimed at current working professionals. These are, unfortunately, not open to high school students, as they require you to have completed a bachelor’s degree in order to enroll.
Are Certificate Programs a Good Option for You?
This depends on a number of factors. For the most part, however, these programs are not designed for or intended for high school students. You may be able to enroll in them under Air Bud rules (“There’s nothing in here that says a dog can’t play basketball.”), but that doesn’t mean the course will be well suited to your needs. These courses are a way, generally, for universities to make a bit of extra money, and for working professionals to gain extra accreditation.
If you already have an advanced understanding of a subject, and want to take that to the next level along with receiving a third-party acknowledgement of the work you completed, then one of these certificate programs may be a good use of time. They are akin to the courses you see on Coursera and edX, save that they also have an official acknowledgement of the work you put in at the end.
Some of these programs, especially the longer ones, grant or offer college credit., This can be quite appealing, but we recommend being careful with this, especially for programs meant to act as replacements for degrees. You don’t want to accidentally earn enough credits that you have to apply as a transfer student.
It is also worth noting that certificate programs are not available across all fields; they are most common in business and technology spheres, with an occasional venture into something medicine related. Students interested in other areas of study are unlikely to find anything for them here. If you are interested in other subjects, then online courses are a good way to explore them at a higher level, though they don’t have the structure of these certificate programs.
Final Thoughts
There are a great many ways you can explore your interests in high school, and certificates are one that most students never consider. They are not always the right choice, and certainly aren’t the best option for every student, but they are an option, and they can offer things that many other programs do not. We hope that this article has given you new insight into something you may not have considered before, and given you enough context to know whether or not a certificate program is the right choice for you.
There are many options available to high school students, and only so much time for you to budget out. Choosing the best option for you can feel overwhelming, and trying to evaluate your choices in light of what colleges are looking for often feels disheartening. That’s where Ivy Scholars come in. We have an extensive database of programs for high school students, and an in-depth knowledge of what college admissions officers are looking for. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you make the most of your time, we’re always happy to hear from you.
