“Instead of admitting students at the beginning of the first term, we sort of invert it, and we make the first term open to everyone in the world pretty much,” says Sanjay Sarma, Vice President for Open Learning and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT in a video.
Currently, there is a program offered for Supply Chain Management as well as one in Data, Economics and Development Policy.
In June, the first class of MicroMasters students received their credentials, according to MIT News. Over 180,000 participated in the Supply Chain program, over 1,100 finished all five required online courses, and more than 600 earned a passing score on the final exam.
But don’t think the classes are easy. The five online courses and final exam are the same level of difficulty as classes taught on campus, and carry the same amount of work as a traditional semester, according to the program’s description.
The cost for each class (including exams) ranges from $100 to $1,000, depending on the student’s ability to pay.
The MicroMasters program is implemented through edX, a non-profit founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012. Harvard also has classes on edX, which anyone can take for free, or earn a verified certificate for a fee, but there is no comparable Master’s component.
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