Do Harvard's free online courses offer college credit?
I'm a high school junior and I've taken a couple of Harvard's free courses on edX because I wanted to learn more about psychology and computer science. I was wondering if completing these free classes can actually earn me college credit, like if I can report them to colleges or even transfer the credit later on?
I read all the info on the website and it looked like I can get a certificate if I pay, but I'm not sure if that means it counts as college credit or just counts as proof I finished the course. Has anyone here received any kind of academic credit from these courses, especially if you took them as a high school student? I’d really appreciate some insight, especially from anyone who’s applied to college with these courses on their transcript.
Also, if they don’t award credit, do colleges still like to see that you’ve done them? Or do they not really care unless it’s for actual credit?
I read all the info on the website and it looked like I can get a certificate if I pay, but I'm not sure if that means it counts as college credit or just counts as proof I finished the course. Has anyone here received any kind of academic credit from these courses, especially if you took them as a high school student? I’d really appreciate some insight, especially from anyone who’s applied to college with these courses on their transcript.
Also, if they don’t award credit, do colleges still like to see that you’ve done them? Or do they not really care unless it’s for actual credit?
2 weeks ago
•
23 views
Luis Nario-Malberg
• 2 weeks ago
Advisor
Harvard’s free online courses on edX are a great way to explore new subjects, but they typically do not offer traditional college credit. Even if you pay for a verified certificate, this certificate mainly serves as documentation that you completed the course—it’s not the same as a college transcript or transferable college credit.
Most US colleges and universities, including Harvard itself, generally do not accept edX or other MOOC certificates as transfer credit. There are exceptions with some specific programs, like MicroBachelors or MicroMasters, but these aren’t common for the free high school-level offerings and usually involve a formal process or partnership with specific institutions. Harvard’s regular free edX courses for high schoolers don’t fall into these categories.
That said, reporting these courses on your college applications can still be helpful. Completing Harvard’s edX courses shows initiative, intellectual curiosity, and a willingness to seek knowledge outside the classroom. While you can’t add them to your transcript for credit, you can include them in the activities or additional information sections of your application, especially if you took courses in areas related to your intended major. For example, mentioning that you completed the "CS50x: Introduction to Computer Science" course could back up your interest in computer science.
Some students choose to reflect on these online courses in their essays, particularly if a course influenced a project, inspired you to pursue research, or changed your perspective. For example, if you took a psychology course and then started a mental health club at your school based on ideas you learned, that would be a meaningful story to tell.
To sum it up: Harvard’s free edX classes won’t earn you transferable college credit, but they can still strengthen your application by showing what you care about and how you take initiative in your learning. Focus on highlighting what you learned from the courses and how you acted on that knowledge, rather than the credential itself.
Most US colleges and universities, including Harvard itself, generally do not accept edX or other MOOC certificates as transfer credit. There are exceptions with some specific programs, like MicroBachelors or MicroMasters, but these aren’t common for the free high school-level offerings and usually involve a formal process or partnership with specific institutions. Harvard’s regular free edX courses for high schoolers don’t fall into these categories.
That said, reporting these courses on your college applications can still be helpful. Completing Harvard’s edX courses shows initiative, intellectual curiosity, and a willingness to seek knowledge outside the classroom. While you can’t add them to your transcript for credit, you can include them in the activities or additional information sections of your application, especially if you took courses in areas related to your intended major. For example, mentioning that you completed the "CS50x: Introduction to Computer Science" course could back up your interest in computer science.
Some students choose to reflect on these online courses in their essays, particularly if a course influenced a project, inspired you to pursue research, or changed your perspective. For example, if you took a psychology course and then started a mental health club at your school based on ideas you learned, that would be a meaningful story to tell.
To sum it up: Harvard’s free edX classes won’t earn you transferable college credit, but they can still strengthen your application by showing what you care about and how you take initiative in your learning. Focus on highlighting what you learned from the courses and how you acted on that knowledge, rather than the credential itself.
Luis Nario-Malberg
Mooresville, North Carolina
Harvard College, Class of 2018, A.B. in Philosophy
Experience
5 years