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- UCLA Extension's expertise in adult professional education combined with in-depth career services provides an exceptional value you won't find anywhere else.
- Continuing education can be key part of career development and is an important investment in your own future, but each person’s circumstances are different. You’ll receive real-world insights from expert practitioners who have advanced degrees, years of experience and current knowledge in the fields they teach.
- The Empowered UCLA Extension experience is a valuable, cost-effective alternative for many people. UCLA Extension is one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most comprehensive professional and continuing higher education providers. These UCLA Extension certificates are coupled with peer and mentor learning, career guidance, and job preparation.
- UCLA Extension is one of the nation's leading institutions for adult professional development education.
- Certificates are ideal if you want specific practical knowledge in a particular field. They offer a focused course of study balancing theory and practice with an emphasis on real world application.
- Some competitive certificate programs tout a minimal number of courses, so you won't receive the thorough career planning or professional preparation you get with us.
- All UCLA Extension certificate programs offer comprehensive, career-focused training and are designed for completion in 12 months (or less in some cases).
- Certificate programs are taught on a cutting-edge, mobile platform developed for the iPad, which transforms online education by allowing you to learn on the go.
- Each certificate is comprised of instructor-led, asynchronous weekly modules, which keeps you aligned with coursework while allowing you the flexibility to study and "attend class" anytime, anywhere.
- Consistent navigation and organization between courses makes it easier than ever for you to communicate with instructors and peers, and stay on task.
- The fully-mobile, online learning platform connects you with other students, instructors and graduates, to create a complete professional network at your fingertips.
- Your complete satisfaction is our goal, which is why all students receive a 14-day full tuition refund policy.
- Students who choose not to complete the certificate they have enrolled in may switch to a different certificate program once at no additional tuition cost. If you wish to do this, it must be done within 2 quarters of your initial enrollment.
- Upfront guidance matches your individual aspirations and abilities to ideal certificates and jobs, allowing you to explore possibilities and land that dream job.
- Expert practitioners in each field develop certificate programs based on real-world experience, so that what you learn in the course is directly applicable to your career.
- Built in career support – such as personalized career coaching – helps you achieve your unique goals, be it preparation for workplace advancement or a complete career change.
- Our iPad app leverages the power of the online classroom and your classmates to make learning a social activity.
- Students have the ability to learn from all of their peers, to ask questions of their peers, and draw support from their peers - no matter where they are geographically.
- In social learning, students consume learning material, like quizzes and videos, at their own pace, on their own time, whenever they can fit that in.
Transform Your Career
UCLA Extension certificate programs combined with personal career counseling and an innovative iPad learning environment. It's learning anytime, anywhere, and immerses students in a community of instructors, peers and career counselors. Students receive real world instruction from expert practitioners in the field, and graduate with a professional certificate from the UCLA Extension, along with the skills, knowledge and confidence to transform their career. Find out how your interests and background fit with our certificates by taking the Career Assessment.
Real World Instruction
"I’m able to bring my real world experience in digital marketing to my students and I can do that through numerous ways, but really one of the best ways I do that is through case studies and through anecdotal examples of what I experience in my own job outside of teaching at UCLA - working with Disney, with Nestle, with Lexus, Honda, all these great brands that are doing wonderful exciting innovative things in the world of digital marketing and I bring that directly to my students. And I do that every session we have."
- Patricia Galea, Marketing Instructor, UCLA Extension
Higher Education Choices
We are reinventing the way online education and career guidance can be delivered to adult students seeking to improve their careers. Higher education has witnessed dramatic change over the last few decades with many new for-profit universities offering online education to working adult professionals. At the same time, traditional higher education institutions continue to offer campus-based programs and an increasing number of online programs as well.
This diverse set of educational choices raise difficult questions for prospective students:
- Am I going to receive an education that is worth my investment of time and money?
- How do I choose between online education and traditional campus based education?
- How much debt am I willing to take on to pursue my education?
- Can I be confident that I’ll receive the career guidance and support to help me reach my career and employment goals?
- Do I feel confident about the academic quality of the university and their curriculum?
To address these questions and challenges, Empowered UCLA Extension provides an innovative educational solution that embraces the best of traditional and non-traditional higher education:
No Federal Loans. For those who need financial assistance, we will target offering scholarships to 15% of our students. The program costs were kept at a level so that students are not left tens of thousands of dollars in debt.
Academic Quality. Students are immersed in an established and recognized UCLA Extension educational experience. All classes are taught by UCLA Extension faculty with curriculum that has been shaped and improved over many years by industry leaders and practitioners. Programs are 12 months of focused training in the critical topics inside a specific field of study.
Career Development. Comprehensive career services and guidance offered through a unique Career Empowerment Program with a focus on career planning and management. Students will be assigned an experienced Career Counselor at the moment of enrollment to help define and achieve their specific career goals.
iPad Learning Center. Certificate programs are taught on a cutting-edge, mobile platform developed for the iPad, which transforms online education by allowing you to learn on the go.
