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I'm curious about what classes I'm required to take in college. I know that it depends on your major, but are there any general education requirements or specific classes that most students have to take? Thanks for any help you can provide!

In college, the classes you need to take will depend on three main factors: your major, general education requirements, and electives. As you mentioned, your major plays a significant role in determining which courses you need to complete for your degree. Each major has a set of required core courses, and some majors may also have concentration or specialization options that dictate additional courses.

General education requirements vary by college, but they typically aim to provide students with a well-rounded education across different disciplines. These requirements often cover a diverse range of subjects, including humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics. Some colleges have broader general education requirements, while others have more specific categories or allow students to choose from a list of approved courses to fulfill these requirements. The purpose of general education requirements is to expose students to various disciplines and cultivate critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Electives are courses you choose based on your personal interests or to fulfill prerequisites for advanced classes in your major. They provide an opportunity for you to explore different subjects, learn new skills, or dive deeper into your major. Adding a minor or double major is also another way to make use of elective credits.

In summary, the classes you need to take in college will be specific to your major, the general education requirements of the institution, and any electives you choose. It's essential to plan your course schedule in collaboration with your academic adviser to ensure you meet all requirements for graduation. Additionally, don't be afraid to explore courses outside your major, as college often provides a fantastic opportunity to learn about new and exciting subjects.

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Your Guide to Conquering College Coursework

Getting good grades in college can be a lot tougher than in high school. For many students, it requires building new skills and establishing new habits. Learning those skills now—before starting college—will help make your transition as easy and as successful as possible.

Mary Sharp Emerson

The transition from high school to college is a big one. Meeting new friends, living on your own, and creating your own schedule are just some of the new, exciting challenges that await you.   

In the excitement of starting a new life on campus, college coursework can sometimes become a second priority.

However, adjusting to college coursework is often the biggest challenge of all. Even the best students may be surprised at how difficult college courses are. The subject matter is more complex. The workload is larger. And instructors’ standards are higher.

Mastering college-level courses requires a new level of independence, advocacy, engagement, and time management.

You can prepare yourself to succeed before you even get to campus. Identifying the skills you need, and building those skills into established habits, will help make your transition to college academics, and college life, easier, less stressful, and more successful.

Be engaged in your college coursework

College courses require your full attention and active participation.

And the more you engage with your teachers, teaching assistants, and classmates both in and out of the classroom, the easier it will be for you to succeed in that class.

The importance of active listening

Active listening is one of the most critical parts of engaging in a course, according to Gina Neugebauer, assistant director of Harvard Summer School’s Secondary School Program.

“Professors and teaching assistants can tell if you’re actively listening. They notice if you’re taking notes and making eye contact. They also notice if you’re distracted by your phone or computer,” notes Neugebauer.

Active listening means not checking your social media accounts or texting friends during class.

It also means really giving the instructor and your classmates your full attention.

It sounds easy in theory but it takes practice. It can be tough to not think about all the work you have or your next party. But the more you work on actively listening, the easier it will be to not get distracted and miss important information in class.

Different ways to actively participate

Beyond active listening, there are many ways to participate in a course. And you can tailor your level of engagement to your personality and comfort level.

“It’s all about gauging what you’re comfortable with,” says Neugebauer.

“You may not be the person who raises their hand all the time but you actively respond to online discussion posts, for example. You may not feel comfortable talking in front of hundreds of students in a large lecture hall but you take advantage of TA office hours and email the instructor with questions.”

But don’t be afraid to push yourself if you aren’t someone who usually speaks up in class.

It’s ok to start small. Work on raising your hand in small seminars or discussion sections. As you gain confidence, you’ll find it gets easier to answer questions and share your opinions.

Build independence and advocate for yourself

In college, you are responsible for your own success. You will need to advocate for yourself and know when—and how—to ask for help. That requires a level of independence that you may not have needed in high school.

The good news is that instructors and teaching assistants want to help you.

“Instructors, on the whole, enjoy hearing from you. And they’d rather hear from you right from the start, rather than have you struggle on your own for three weeks,” says Neugebauer.

If you have a question about an assignment, send your instructor an email. Are you upset about a grade you got on a recent test? Visit your instructor or TA during office hours to discuss what went wrong and how you can improve.

But remember, says Neugebauer, professors are busy and you are only one of many students.

“Your email should include your full name, what course you’re taking, and a brief description of your question or concern. And you cannot expect an answer at 2 a.m. because that’s when you’re studying. When you reach out to an instructor, give them 24-48 hours to respond.”

And remember, always be respectful and non-confrontational.

Challenge yourself in a college course. Get a sneak peak at college life.

Explore summer programs for high school students.

Don’t be afraid to seek help

If you have excelled in high school without extra help, you might be tempted to persevere on your own.

In college, Neugebauer points out, asking for help is the norm.

“Once you get into your undergraduate program, you’ll find that almost everyone has, at some point, asked a TA for extra tutoring, gone to a tutoring center, or a writing or math center for extra help. It’s part of the learning process of an undergraduate program,” Neugebauer says.

Colleges have a variety of support systems in place to help you succeed.

TA office hours are a great place to start if you find yourself struggling with a specific concept or assignment. Peer tutoring programs enable you to learn from students who have been through the course themselves. Academic coaches can help with more general study tips or exam-related stress.

The key is seeking out help proactively, before you get too far behind. As the courses become more difficult, catching up becomes increasingly difficult.

Build time management techniques

Balancing everything that comes with life on a college campus can be difficult for many incoming college students.

“The biggest challenge we see facing high school students who are trying to adapt to college life is overcommitment. Students want to engage in every activity, a full course load, and even sometimes a part-time job. They don’t schedule enough time for self-care, quiet time, doing laundry, and plenty of study time. All those things take time,” Neugebauer says.

Good study habits and time management are key to avoiding the stress that comes from getting overcommitted.

Neugebauer recommends getting into the habit of keeping an accurate and up-to-date calendar.

“The best thing I can recommend is a calendar, such as Google Calendar. Use it to schedule everything: your class, your lunch time, time at the gym. It may seem counterintuitive, but work on scheduling literally everything, even sleep.”

Be sure to include assignments, tests, and other deadlines, as well as office hours for your instructors, TAs, and academic coaches.

Use your calendar to block off dedicated study time. And once you schedule it, stick to it! Avoid the temptation to procrastinate or use that time to hang out, play video games, or scroll on your phone.

Your calendar should also include dedicated time for self-care.

Regular mealtimes, good exercise habits, and a full night’s sleep are not only critical for your physical and mental health. You’ll also be surprised at how much they contribute to your academic success.

Challenge yourself as you engage in college coursework

Getting outside your comfort zone is a critical part of preparing yourself for the exciting challenges that await you in college.

“Being uncomfortable allows for growth. It means saying to yourself, ‘this is new. I want to try it. I want to see how it feels.’ This is all about adapting to a new environment but also examining yourself as a person,” says Neugebauer.

Taking on a new challenge—regardless of the ultimate outcome—builds resilience, mental toughness, and confidence, all of which you will need to succeed in your college courses.

But, warns Neugebauer, it’s also important to know your limitations.

“That uncomfortable feeling should be manageable. It should be a challenge but not so challenging that you feel panicked and wake up in cold sweats every night. It should be something that gets you a little nervous but also excited about what you’re involved in every day.”

However you decide to challenge yourself, it’s never too early to start if college is in your future. The sooner you start identifying and mastering the skills you need in college, the better prepared you’ll be to succeed right from day one.

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About the Author

Digital Content Producer

Emerson is a Digital Content Producer at Harvard DCE. She is a graduate of Brandeis University and Yale University and started her career as an international affairs analyst. She is an avid triathlete and has completed three Ironman triathlons, as well as the Boston Marathon.

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• Resume and Cover Letter
• How to Include Relevant...

How to Include Relevant Coursework on a Resume (with Examples)

13 min read · Updated on September 11, 2023

If you are a recent graduate struggling with a lack of work experience, knowing how to include relevant coursework on a resume can be one of the best ways to create a more compelling resume narrative.

One thing that many recent college graduates have in common with one another is a general lack of work experience. That lack of experience can sometimes make it difficult for them to construct a resume that sells their potential to be the best candidate for a job. Fortunately, there are ways to still create a strong and compelling resume, even without experience. For example, did you take classes that might be relevant to the position? If so, including relevant coursework on your resume may be the perfect solution to your resume challenges.

In this post, we will explain how you can identify relevant coursework and where it should be listed in your resume. We will also include several examples of relevant coursework on a resume so that you can see the best options for using these details to strengthen your job search efforts.

What is relevant coursework?

Of course, when we talk about relevant coursework, we are talking about those classes and educational activities that have direct relevance to the position you are seeking. The first thing you need to recognize is that many of the classes you took during your college career will not need to be included in your resume. After all, most degrees require that students complete any number of basic foundational courses that will have little if any relation to their chosen job — at least from a resume standpoint. 

So, what types of classes, achievements, and activities should you focus on as you identify suitable courses to add to your resume? While this sounds like a simple question, it actually requires some serious thought and evaluation. Fortunately, there are some basic rules that you can follow as you make that determination. Below are just some of the potentially relevant things that you might want to include in your resume: 

Coursework that demonstrates that you have a foundation of knowledge in a required aspect of the job you are seeking. For example, if communication skills are needed for the position, you should include courses that focused on business communications, writing, etc.

Projects that are related to particular job skills. For a marketing position, you should include any marketing-related projects you completed during your studies. Or you could include research projects you engaged in if you are seeking a job where research skills are essential.

Academic achievements can also be included, including notably high GPA scores or awards you received. Also, be sure to include any related extracurricular activities. That could include everything from clubs to sporting activities if they helped you develop skills that would be useful for the job.

Again, do not include coursework that has no bearing on the job at hand. This will require you to carefully consider each course to determine its relevance. One way to do that is to read the job posting and select keywords and phrases of import that seem to be describing the skills or educational qualifications needed for the job. Then go through your coursework and try to match courses to those skills. As you do so, remember that some basic courses like those involving communication—both written and verbal—may be included, since communication is one of those soft skills that every company values .

You can learn more about the difference between hard and soft skills by reading our excellent article, Key Differences Between Hard Skills and Soft Skills . A better understanding of those critical soft skills can help to ensure that you don't underestimate the value of any of your classes. There's a great chance that you have more marketable soft skills than you realize! 

When should you include relevant courses on your resume?

Before you add your job-related classes to your resume, you should decide whether it is necessary. For example, you can almost certainly benefit from including your relevant coursework on your resume if: 

You recently graduated from school or are beginning the process of looking for a job because you are close to graduation. Students and recent graduates typically have little or no real job experience to highlight skills. Fortunately, their studies and project assignments will likely have helped them to develop important skills that they can highlight in their resumes.

Your educational achievements are necessary to qualify for the position you are seeking. In those instances, your prospective employer will be interested in knowing that you have fulfilled those requirements and have the basic knowledge needed for the position.

There may also be times when you need to include coursework even after you have been in the workforce for some time. For example, if you are switching careers and your current work experience does not include the skills needed for your new job, that may not matter as much if you can show that your studies prepared you for the role. 

Including coursework related to your minor

As you select relevant coursework for your resume, don't forget to consider courses of study related to your minor too. Hopefully, you will have selected a minor that is at least tangentially related to your desired career path. If so, then chances are that some of the courses you completed may have some relevance that can translate to a useful resume listing. For more information about minors and when they can be added to your resume, read How to Include a Minor on Your Resume .

When should I take coursework off my resume?

Obviously, there will be times when you should forgo any mention of your courses in your resume. Some examples of situations where you might not need to list your specific coursework include:

When your coursework is not really relevant to the position you seek. Including irrelevant coursework could actually distract from your important skills and experiences.

Situations in which coursework was completed so long ago that the information is no longer useful. For instance, many technology-related courses can lose their value over time. Other examples include old marketing courses and other educational achievements that involve skills that have evolved rapidly in recent years.

If your resume is already filled with enough work experience and skills that there is no need or room for specific course details. Remember, you want to add your courses to enhance your value as an employee. If adding a particular course does nothing more than add length to the resume, skip it. 

Where should relevant coursework be listed in your resume?

In most resumes, the coursework should be placed in the education section, with a subheading titled “Relevant Coursework.” When creating this part of the education section, you should insert the subheading under the name of your degree, with a list of the courses you studied. For example:

Bachelor's in [Name of Degree]

[College Name, City, Graduation Date]

Relevant Coursework: [Course 1], [Course 2], [Course 3], [Course 4], [Course 5]

Alternatively, you can also opt to show your courses in a bullet-point list if your resume is short and you need to fill more space. You can even elaborate on each course with a few words to describe the skills you learned in class. For example:

Relevant Coursework:

If you have no actual work experience, you may even want to consider using your education section as a substitute for that experience section. If you choose that option, you may want to place the education section closer to the top of your resume and flesh out each course in the same way you would detail a job listing in your work experience section. That means using detailed descriptions that include quantifiable results highlighting your achievements.

Key tips to remember when listing relevant coursework

Before we show you some examples of how to list relevant coursework on your resume, there are a few tips that can help to ensure that your final product is as compelling as possible. By incorporating these ideas into your resume creation process, you can more effectively make that all-important great first impression on any hiring manager.

Only list relevant coursework if you lack sufficient work experience to meet the job requirements.

Always make sure that the courses you list highlight skills and knowledge needed for the position. If a course has nothing to do with your chosen line of work, it has no place in your resume.

Relevant courses may be related to hard and soft skills.

If you choose to use descriptions for each course, use that as an opportunity to insert relevant keywords from the job description. This can be a great way to ensure that your resume can get past any applicant tracking system .

Always proofread your entire resume to eliminate spelling mistakes, punctuation and grammar errors, and style or formatting discrepancies.

Make sure that you tailor your resume to fit the job you want. Since you will likely be applying for different jobs during your job search, you may need to modify your educational coursework details to align with the needs of each position.

Do not forget to include important skill information in your coursework descriptions. Again, try to use those job description keywords.

If you are maintaining an updated resume throughout your educational career, be sure to continually edit your resume as your coursework evolves over time. This can make it easier to keep it updated and can save you some time when your job search begins.

3 Examples of relevant coursework on a resume

In this final section, we will explore some different examples to show you how you can successfully incorporate relevant coursework into your resume. We have included a couple of examples of the most basic listing options, as well as an expanded sample that enables you to provide more details and skills. You can refer to these samples and use them as guides as you create your own relevant coursework section.

Example #1: The Basics

Bachelor's in Information Technology

My College, Anytown 2022

Relevant Coursework: Cyber Security 101, Business Intelligence, Application Development, Networking and Telecom, Artificial Intelligence

This simple listing would be a good option for anyone who has at least some relevant work experience but who still needs an additional boost to meet the job requirements. In this case, the job seeker's coursework listing is presented in a minimalist format, documenting the specific courses and areas of focus—but without any other information about those studies.

Example #2: Bulletpoint List of Courses

Cyber Security 101

Business Intelligence

Application Development

Networking and Telecom

Artificial Intelligence

This option is similar to the first example but presents the classes and areas of focus as separate bullet points. This provides additional emphasis for each area of study, while also taking up a bit more space in the resume. This can be a great option if your resume is a little short and you need to expand the content.

Example #3: Detailed Format

My College, Anytown

Completed in 2022

Certified Cyber Security Expert, skilled in protecting data, information, and infrastructure.

Coursework included training on risk analysis, threat mitigation, compliance assurance, and cloud security.

Completed multiple projects and research assignments designed to test knowledge and adaptability to various types of cyber threats.

 Business Intelligence

Business analytics certificate, training focused on data interpretation and communication to resolve business problems with a data mindset.

Course included 3 projects testing analytical skills using hypothetical business challenges based on real-world business scenarios.

 Application Development

Courses focused on the development of software coding skills used for web application creation, troubleshooting, and debugging.

Final course project involved the creation of an independent web app to streamline online sales processes for a test company.

Training focused on routing, packet switching, and cybersecurity needs.

Spent eight weeks as a volunteer networking intern for a local ISP, receiving hands-on training from experienced networking professionals.

AI and machine learning studies, emphasizing tech integration into business processes, impact on sales and marketing, and ethical concerns.

Conducted study for the course final, evaluating potential AI benefits for enhanced marketing in the digital age and impact on online sales.

This more detailed example is a superior option for those who have no work experience and need their educational credentials to highlight their skills. In this sample, each area of interest is accompanied by bullet point details describing the types of courses studied and the lessons or skills developed during those classes. In addition, bullet points are added to highlight specific achievements, describe studies and real-world application of skills, and demonstrate competency in the subject matter.

This type of format can enable your coursework section to serve as a replacement for work experience if you have never been employed. When used for that purpose, you can expand on each course listing to include additional skills and keywords from the job post. Simply add new bullet points where needed to flesh out each area of emphasis.

Again, if you choose to replace your work experience section with this relevant coursework section, make sure that you move this section closer to the top of your resume so that it receives more prominence. Basically, if your strongest selling point is your education, then make sure that your important courses are one of the first things that a prospective employer sees. Also, you may want to highlight your educational qualifications in your resume summary so that the reader expects to see those coursework details.

Don't underestimate the power of a well-crafted and compelling resume

Finally, it is important to reiterate just how vital it is that your resume makes the best possible impression. When you approach the labor market with little or no work experience, you are usually already at a competitive disadvantage. There will almost always be someone else who has a similar level of skill and educational background, as well as real-world experience. To compete against a qualified rival, you need a resume that can effectively sell you as the best candidate for the job.

For recent graduates and job seekers moving to entirely new careers, a lack of relevant work experience can be a major impediment to landing job interviews and employment offers. One way to overcome this obstacle is to learn how to use relevant educational coursework on your resume to highlight your qualifications and skills. Hopefully, this post and its resume examples can provide you with the inspiration and help you need to translate your educational experience into a compelling resume narrative. Fortunately, there are ways to ensure that your resume effectively positions you to have the best chance at landing any interview and job. To make sure that your resume is up to par, get a  free resume review  today. And if you really want to be sure that your resume is ready for prime time, take a few moments to discover just how easy it is to get professional resume assistance from our team of experts!

Recommended Reading:

What Should I Say About My Education On My Resume?

Ask Amanda: What's the Best Way to List Education on a Resume?

14 Reasons This is a Perfect Recent College Grad Resume Example

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10 Classes You Will Take as a Psychology Major

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 115,000 students majored in psychology in the graduating class of 2018. That made it the sixth most popular major in the country.

With so many people picking psychology as their major these days, psychology classes in college are absolutely packed. But a lot of those bright-eyed freshmen don’t even really know what the classes required for a psychology major even are.

What courses are required for a psychology major aren’t set in stone, of course. Psychology course requirements will vary from college to college and from concentration to concentration. The psychology courses required for a specialization in forensics will be pretty different from those you find in an industrial-organizational track, for example.

And, you might be wondering, what are all those track options; what are the majors in psychology? Well, the fact is there are so many possible specializations within the field of psychology, that you almost can’t list them all. Some of the most popular include:

• Forensic psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Social psychology
• Industrial-organizational psychology
• Counseling psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Child psychology
• Neuropsychology
• School psychology
• Sports psychology

Still, you will find some psychology courses in common everywhere, whether through campus-based programs in clinical psychology or online schools for psychology offering programs in forensic psychology. That’s exactly what we’ll be covering here in this guide.

And psychology classes aren’t the only subjects you will study as a psychology major. You will have to take the required general education courses for your university as well. Many of those will be in subjects that are also relevant to psychological practice, including everything from math and biology to communications.

Your psychology major classes are where you will spend most of your junior and senior years, however. In the best undergraduate psychology schools , you’ll have plenty of choices for those upper division classes.

So, you arrived here because you’re wondering what courses to take to become a psychologist, or what courses are required for a psychology major? The classes we list here are some of the most common that are required for psychology majors. But you’ll find that each school, concentration, and even type (bachelor of science versus bachelor of arts) of psychology degree has its own unique requirements. You’ll need to consult your department advisor for specifics.

This about the point where you’re wondering, is psychology a hard major? Any serious student of psychology will tell you that they are challenged in their studies, but with so much fascinating stuff to explore, even the hard parts are fun. At the college level, there’s a big difference from that basic psychology class you took in high school. But 115,000 students can’t be wrong! Psychology is a challenging major, but it is challenging in a fun way. As long as you enjoy studying mental processes and people, you’ll be fine.

So, should you major in psychology? A quick review of these 10 courses can help you decide.

1. Introductory Psychology

This is the venerable Psych 101, packed with thousands of freshmen, both those majoring in the field and those filling their general education requirements. This is a broad overview of the topic, which will touch on all the other types of courses and subjects.

2. Fundamentals of Research

Psychology is a science, and science is fueled through research. Even if your ultimate goal isn’t to become an academic, psychology major classes include at least one course that exposes you to the kind of observational and statistical analysis that forms the foundation of the theories that you will put into practice as a psychologist.

3. Social Psychology

It’s tough enough to figure out the knots and snarls of the average human being’s mental processes. Throw that person into a crowd, influenced by and influencing the knots and snarls of everyone around them, and it’s a whole new ballgame. Social psychology courses bring you into this world of crowd psychology, matters of perception and reputation, and how communities are shaped.

4. Behavioral Psychology

Behaviorism is a prominent school of psychology that is important enough to make it onto the core curriculum of psychology major classes. It puts all psychological processes into the context of measurable behaviors, and teaches students how to identify and manipulate the environmental antecedents and consequences of those behaviors in order to change them.

5. Abnormal Psychology

6. Developmental Psychology

These survey-style courses give you an overview of mental development at every stage of the human lifespan, from prenatal to child to teen to adult to elderly. You’ll learn both theories of intellectual development and study some of the research that has been done into aging and cognition, in both individual and social contexts.

7. History of Psychology

Understanding psychology today involves understanding how it got that way. You’re still working off of theories laid down by heavyweights like Freud and Jung, so it’s a good idea to learn who Freud and Jung were and what they really thought. This psychology class lays out the development of the field and the establishment of different theories and schools of thought and how they relate to one another.

8. Biopsychology/Neuropsychology

Everything that you study in psychology rests on the expressions and calculations processed on the incomparable software of the human brain. To become a good psychologist, you have to understand at least a bit of the fascinating physical processes that underlie the mental issues that you will diagnose and treat. Neuropsych is the course that connects the synapse firing to the depression, anger management, or worse issues that you will confront as a psychologist.

9. Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior

The cognition and affect of humans is wrapped up in how we learn. This class is a little bit meta, since you’re going to spend your time learning about how you learn. The introductory level coursework will hit all the major learning theories and study how we learn to regulate our behaviors and organize our emotional experiences for reference.

At least one lab course will be on your agenda of psychology classes as an undergrad. These could include animal behavior, human performance studies, social psychology, or experimental studies. What they have in common is a hands-on approach to research and learning the science of measuring and evaluating mental processes.

So, if you’re wondering, how do you know what courses to take to become a psychologist, you’ll find the answer isn’t that complicated: You talk to your department advisor! Consulting school catalogs is also a great way to see what the course requirements are at your school.But if your syllabus includes a good dose of social, behavioral, abnormal, neuro, cognitive and developmental psychology, along with lab work and a research component, then you can be sure you’re in a solid program.

Quick Guide: Your College Degree Options

Find the right college for you.

There are generally four categories of college degrees: associate degree, bachelor’s degree, graduate degree, and doctorate or professional degree. Each category comes with its own particular subcategories, and there are some subtle differences between a doctorate and a professional degree.

If you ever find yourself lost in the sea of abbreviations for degrees, you're not alone. This quick guide is here to clear the air regarding the types of degrees available to you and what each one means.

Guide to College Degrees, Professional Studies & Certifications

Associate degree.

An associate degree is a two-year degree typically offered at community colleges, technical colleges, and career colleges. However, some four-year universities offer them as well. Examples of some associate degrees include Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS).

AS degrees are generally more narrowly focused and prepare students for science and math-related careers. AA degrees are broader and focus on fields outside of math and science such as liberal arts, business administration, criminal justice, and culinary arts.

Some students who earn an associate degree transfer to a four-year program to earn a bachelor’s degree. Others complete associate degrees and then go straight to work.

Bachelor's or Baccalaureate Degree

Bachelor’s degrees require students to complete four- or five-year programs in a specific academic discipline. The two most common types of bachelor’s degrees are bachelor of arts (BA) and bachelor of science (BS). Other types of bachelor’s degrees include the bachelor of fine arts (BFA), and bachelor of architecture (BArch).

Because bachelor’s degrees train students to enter a specific field, many professional careers require them. Earning a bachelor’s degree can open the door to many job opportunities and increase your potential income.

Some institutions offer a liberal arts and career combination program, also called a 3-2 program. This is a type of dual degree in which a student completes three years of liberal arts study followed by two years of professional or technical study. In the end, students earn two bachelor’s degrees, usually a BA and a BS.

An example of this is Columbia University’s 3-2 Combined Plan program in which students can earn a BA and a BS in five years.

Some colleges also let you earn a teacher certification by combining bachelor's degree study with state certification requirements. State requirements vary, but these programs usually feature professional education courses, including student teaching.

Graduate Degree

Graduate degrees are advanced degrees that some students pursue after earning a bachelor’s degree. The two most common are master of arts (MA) and master of science (MS). Other examples include master of fine arts (MFA) and master of business administration (MBA). A graduate degree is like an extension of a bachelor’s degree whereby a student further enriches their knowledge of their field and narrows their f ocus of study .

Graduate degrees usually take around two years to attain, but this can vary based on the degree. Many institutions allow students to enroll in a graduate program in a field unrelated to their bachelor’s degree. This may require some extra credit hours, though.

Professional Degree

Students earn professional degrees to become licensed to work in professions like medicine or law. The M.D. degree is an example. Professional programs generally require a college degree before you start them and then at least three years of study to complete.

Doctoral Degree and Professional Degree

The doctorate and professional degrees are the highest levels of education one can attain. They signify mastery of a subject and often come with the coveted title “doctor.” Although the two are similar, there are some important differences.

A doctorate or doctoral degree is a research-oriented degree focused on scholarly development. The most common doctorate is the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Despite the name, a PhD covers many disciplines, not just philosophy.

A professional degree is an application-oriented degree, meaning it prepares students for a specific working position. There are many types of professional degrees. Some examples are: doctor of medicine (MD), doctor of pharmacy (PharmD), and doctor of medicine in dentistry (DMD) in the field of medicine, and juris doctor (JD) and doctor of juridical science (SJD) in the field of law.

A graduate degree does not need to precede a doctorate or professional degree. Often, students will go straight into a doctorate or professional program following their bachelor’s, however some programs will require a master’s degree to gain entry. Completion can take anywhere from four to eight years, depending on the field of study.

Many doctoral students work either full-time or part-time while they study in the program. This, along with the field they are studying, will significantly affect the time it takes to complete their degree.

Joint Degrees

Some students may choose to pursue a joint degree, also known as a dual degree, which means they simultaneously study for a bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree. Joint degrees can be pursued in the same college or can be split between two different colleges. For example, Berklee College of Music and Harvard University offer a dual bachelor’s/master’s program in which a student receives a bachelor of arts (BA) at Harvard and a master of music (MM) or master of arts (MA) at Berklee.

Depending on the program, it may be possible to study at the same time for a master's degree and a doctorate. For example, the University of Southern California offers a program leading to doctor of pharmacy and master of public health degrees.

How do academic degrees go in order?

There are four types of degrees. In order of level of education, they rank as associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s or graduate degrees, and doctorate or professional degrees.

How many degrees are there in college?

Most community colleges offer only two-year associate degrees, while most four-year colleges offer bachelor’s, graduate, and doctorate or professional degrees. Some four-year colleges may also have associate degree programs.

How many years do you have to be in college to achieve certain degrees?

Though it will vary between academic disciplines, associate degrees usually take two years to achieve, bachelor’s degrees take four years, master’s degrees take two years, and doctorate or professional degrees can take anywhere from four to eight years.

What is an eight-year degree?

An “eight-year degree” typically refers to a doctorate degree or PhD. Although some doctorates can be completed in as little as three years, these degrees typically require more time studying highly specialized subjects. Students in these programs often must defend a dissertation while already working a professional job.

What are the four years of college called?

The first four years of college are the undergraduate years, and a student studying for a bachelor’s degree is called an undergraduate. The four years refer to the total accumulated credit hours; a student may take fewer or more than four years to attain their undergraduate degree.

What does a graduate degree mean?

A graduate degree or master’s degree is an advanced degree that some students pursue after earning a bachelor’s degree. Earning a graduate degree signifies mastery of a particular field of study and focuses more intensely on a subject than a bachelor’s degree does. Graduate degrees usually take two years to attain.

What do you call a master's student?

A master's student is called a graduate student or “grad student” for short. A student still studying for a bachelor’s degree is called an undergraduate student or “undergrad student.”

How many years is a master's degree?

Graduate degrees usually take around two years to attain, but this can vary based on the degree. Many institutions allow students to enroll in a graduate program in a field unrelated to their bachelor’s degree, although it may require some extra credit hours.

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How to List Relevant Coursework On Resume [Tips & Examples!]

If you’re a college student, recent graduate, or entry-level professional, chances are you don’t have a lot of professional experience to list on your resume. 

This, in turn, might make you feel insecure about your application, especially considering that the work experience section is among the most important section of a resume. 

Well, listing your relevant coursework might just be the answer!

By listing the courses that are relevant to the job position or internship you’re applying for, you can show recruiters that while you don’t have much work experience, you have the right skills and knowledge for the job.

But what is the right way to list relevant coursework on your resume and is there a time when you shouldn’t list it all? And what exactly is relevant, to begin with?

In this article, we’re going to answer all those questions and more. Read on to learn:

When Is Relevant Coursework Necessary on a Resume?

• How to List Relevant Coursework on Your Resume in 3 Steps

7 Tips on Listing Relevant Coursework on Your Resume

Resume example with relevant coursework.

And more! Let’s dive right in. 

What Makes Coursework Relevant?

Professional experience is one of the most important sections of a successful resume, but you first need to land a job to start building it. 

Which begs the question, how can a recent graduate or entry-level professional prove they’ve got what it takes for an entry-level position with no, or minimal, professional experience ? 

Well, this is where coursework comes in. 

Together with academic projects and achievements, as well as extracurricular activities, listing relevant coursework can help students and entry-level professionals show they’ve got the necessary skills for the job despite not having the relevant professional experience.

The coursework you list on your resume should actually be related to the position you’re applying for.

For example, if you’re applying for a job as a graphic designer, listing your achievements in your World History class won’t really impress recruiters. If, on the other hand, you mention that you were top of your class in Design and Layout , you’ll be effectively showing recruiters that you have great potential as an up-and-coming graphic designer. 

To sum things up, here are the top cases when relevant coursework is necessary on a resume:

• When you’re still a student
• When you’re applying with an entry-level resume
• When you’re applying for an internship
• When the coursework is directly related to the job position 

If, on the other hand, you have 2+ years of work experience in the field, as well as the needed skill-set, coursework on your resume will only take up space and can be skipped entirely.

Checking the job description is another way of determining whether you should add relevant coursework to your resume. If, for example, the job description requires that you list your majors, GPA, diploma, or portfolio, chances are they’ll also be interested in your coursework, especially if it’s relevant to the position. 

How to List Relevant Coursework on Your Resume in 3 Steps 

So you’ve established that you should include relevant coursework on your resume. Now, you may be wondering where exactly to include it. 

As a rule of thumb, coursework is listed under an applicant’s education history. Depending on whether you have any professional experience to list, the education section may come before or after the work experience section. 

Here are the four best ways to add relevant coursework to your resume: 

#1. Add a New Line in Your Education Section

Instead of creating a fresh section called “Relevant Coursework,” you’re better off just adding the courses to your education section.

As a student resume can be one-page max , this helps you to save up the space needed for other essential resume sections.

Here’s a practical example of what this looks like on the resume of a recent graduate applying for a high-school teaching position: 

BA in World Literature 

UC Berkeley

2012 - 2016

Relevant coursework: British Literature, American Literature, Medieval Literature, William Shakespeare, Language and Cognitive Development 

#2. List Your Relevant Coursework in Bullet Points

To make your relevant coursework more visible and reader-friendly, list them in bullet points underneath your diploma title. 

Here’s how the above Literature graduate’s resume would look like following this formatting: 

Relevant Coursework: 

• British Literature
• American Literature 
• Medieval Literature 
• William Shakespeare 
• Language and Cognitive Development

#3. Explain How The Coursework is Relevant to the Position 

Finally, if you want to take your relevant coursework resume section to the next level, add detailed explanations to your courses to support how they’re relevant to the position you’re applying for or how they helped develop your skill-set. 

A recent study found that companies are suspending the use of degree completion as a proxy and instead now favor hiring on the basis of demonstrated skills and competencies . This means that your relevant coursework should aim to show exactly how it has helped you acquire the skills required for the position. 

Here’s an example of how that would play out for a journalism student applying for an entry-level reporting job at a newspaper:

B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication

Northwestern University, IL

2015 - 2018

• Writing and Reporting: Learned the ins and outs of news reporting through several practical assignments and exams.
• Media Ethics: Got introduced to the most essential ethical theories and decision-making strategies in journalism and wrote a paper on Ethical Journalism and Human Rights that got published in the Political Communication Journal.
• Gathering and Developing the News: Gained first-hand experience in interviewing, researching, newsgathering, and communicating with sources.

To make sure your coursework is as relevant as possible, check out the required skills in the job description. If you have taken classes that have helped you master those skills, then make sure to mention how by adding all the necessary details, as shown above. 

Here are seven tips you should always keep in mind when listing coursework on your resume: 

• Take advantage of keywords . When evaluating your resume, recruiters scan it to look for the keywords that were mentioned in the job description (e.g. skills, experiences, etc.). You can re-read the job ad and, where relevant, include these keywords in your coursework section.
• Tailor your resume to the job offer.  In order for your coursework to add value to your resume, it really needs to be relevant. So, if you’re applying for a job that doesn’t take academic background into consideration or that’s completely unrelated to your major, you’re better off omitting coursework altogether and focusing on other important sections, such as your hard and soft skills. 
• List online courses. If you’ve completed some online courses that are relevant to the position you’re applying for, feel free to also include them under relevant coursework. 
• Add value through other academic achievements. Relevant coursework can say a lot about your potential, but recruiters will be even more easily convinced if you support it with other academic achievements, including your GPA, extracurricular activities, etc. 
• Show how you’ve grown. When you’re explaining your relevant coursework in detail, you can include how you’ve grown by listing all the skills you acquired in the process. Those can be both soft skills, like communication and interpersonal skills, and hard skills like programming or doing extensive research. 
• Change the relevant coursework as you progress. Many college students start working in their freshman year. If that’s the case with you, make sure to update your resume from year to year to reflect your academic journey and most recently acquired skills. 
• Check for errors. A well-written, error-free resume shows that you’re attentive to detail and that you care to make a good impression. 

Key Takeaways 

And that’s a wrap! You now have all the necessary information to add relevant coursework to your resume effectively. 

Before you start working on your resume, though, here’s a brief summary of the key points covered in this article:

• Listing relevant coursework on your resume is not mandatory but can be very helpful if you’re a student or an entry-level professional.
• If you have at least a year of professional experience, drop your relevant coursework and focus on tailoring your work experience and skills sections to the position. 
• Relevant coursework typically goes under the education section. You can either give a general or a detailed summary of your coursework. 
• You can make a separate relevant coursework section only if the job you’re applying for requires a strong academic record. 
• Your coursework needs to be relevant to the position. This means you should leave them out of your resume if they have nothing to do with the role.

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• How to Make Your Coursework as Good as It Can Possibly Be

Many GCSE and A-level subjects are assessed in part by coursework in addition to exams, meaning that the mark you receive for coursework contributes to your overall grade. Many students prefer coursework, because it’s a chance to showcase your academic abilities away from the high-pressured environment of the exam room, making it ideal for those who don’t perform to the best of their abilities in exams. However, the time you have available for coursework, in contrast with the time constraints of the exam room, can lull some students into a false sense of security. Coursework is arguably just as challenging as exams, just in different ways – and, given the fact that you have more time, much higher standards are expected of you in coursework than in exams. Careful planning and research are needed for successful coursework, as well as strong data-gathering and essay-writing skills. In this article, we look at how to produce excellent coursework, from planning to proofreading. This information might also be useful to you if you’re planning on attending an Oxford Summer School this summer.

What is coursework?

GCSE and A-level coursework typically takes the form of an extended essay or project. Its objectives vary from one subject to another, but there’s usually an emphasis on the student conducting independent research into a topic of their own choice. Thus coursework often takes the form of some sort of investigation; it may, therefore, help to have your ‘detective’ hat on as you explore, investigate and analyse your topic. You can usually work on your coursework at home, though it’s sometimes completed under controlled conditions through sessions at school. To give you a better idea of how coursework varies from one subject to another, here are some examples:

• English – English coursework usually takes the form of an extended essay with a title of your choice. You’re usually given a choice of themes and/or texts to explore, and you could choose a format such as a comparison between a set text and another one.
• Geography – Geography coursework usually focuses on the gathering, reporting and interpretation of data designed to answer a particular geographical question. You could investigate usage of a shopping centre, for example, or look at erosion on a particular beach.
• Sciences – coursework for science subjects often takes the form of a scientific project or experiment that you conduct and report on yourself.

Before you start work on your coursework, it’s essential that you have a thorough understanding of the rules. Failing to conform to the rules – inadvertently or not – may result in your coursework (or possibly even your entire qualification) being disqualified, so it’s a serious matter.

• No plagiarism – this is particularly dangerous given the ready availability of relevant information on the internet these days. Make sure everything is in your own words; you’ll need to sign a declaration stating that it’s your own original work.
• There’s only so much help your teacher can give you . They can provide guidance on what you need to include, and on what the examiners will be looking for. You can ask them questions, but they’ll usually only be able to check through your first draft once and offer broad hints on updating it.
• Check the word count , and stick to it. Find out whether footnotes, appendices and bibliographies are included in the word count.
• Check what topics you’re allowed to do your coursework on; if there’s an exam on this topic, you’ll almost certainly have to choose a different one for your coursework.

Choose your topic wisely

Ideally, choose something you’re genuinely interested in, as your enthusiasm will come across and you’ll find it more enjoyable to write. If there’s something you’ve been working on for the course so far that you’ve particularly enjoyed, you may be able to focus more on this as part of your coursework. For science coursework, you’ll need to choose something to investigate that you can measure, change and control; it should be what’s called a ‘fair test’, meaning that you have to acknowledge all the controls you use in the experiment and why. Try not to pick a topic for which the scope is too vast, as you’ll struggle to research it properly and you’re unlikely to do it justice, and it’ll be hard to keep within the word limit. Ask your teachers for some guidance on choosing your topic if you’re not sure what to write about; they might even tell you a bit about what previous students have done to give you some inspiration.

Plan how long it’s going to take

Never leave your coursework until the last minute, even if this is your normal approach to essays and it usually works for you. Make sure you understand when the deadlines are, including time for submitting a first draft for comments from your teacher. Then schedule blocks of time for working on it, allowing plenty of time before the deadline to cater for any unexpected delays. Allow ample time for making corrections based on teacher feedback on your first draft, and keep some time aside before the deadline for final editing and proofreading. Because actual deadlines are few and far between, you’ll need to take responsibility for the writing process and impose some deadlines on yourself to ensure it’s finished in time. Write down your deadlines on a calendar, with the coursework broken into stages and dates assigned to each, by which time each task should be complete. You can base your stages on the next few points in this article – research and data gathering, a structure plan for the piece of work, writing up, and so on.

Conducting your research and gathering data

As coursework is primarily a research exercise, the research phase is crucial, so don’t be tempted to skimp on it and go straight to writing up. Use as many different resources as you can to gather data: books, journals, newspapers, television, radio, the internet and anything else you think might be relevant. For science and Geography coursework, you’ll need to base your work on a hypothesis, so the research stage should start by coming up with at least one hypothesis, otherwise your research will lack direction. The research phase for some subjects may involve site visits for gathering data, so allow plenty of time for this, particularly if you need your parents to drive you somewhere to do so. If it’s a scientific experiment you’re conducting for your coursework, you’ll need to pay careful attention to planning the experiment using rigorous scientific methods (also noting what Health and Safety precautions you are taking), as well as reading up on the background and theory so that you have an idea of what to expect from the outcome of your experiment. In the research stage, make notes about what you expect to happen, so that you can later compare your expectations with what actually did happen. The experiment itself also forms part of the research and data-gathering stage for your science coursework; in the write-up stage, which we come onto shortly, you analyse and write up the results.

Plan your structure

Once you’ve completed your research, the process of writing up begins. Before you get down to the actual writing, however, it’s advisable to write a plan for how you’re going to structure it – essentially an essay plan for English coursework and other subjects for which the coursework is based on an extended essay. It’ll look slightly different from an essay plan for science subjects and others that revolve around project work, but the principle is the same: plan out what order you’re going to present your information in. For big projects, this is particularly important, because with a lot of information to convey, you risk being disorganised and waffling.

Writing up your project

For any coursework, but particularly coursework based around an extended essay, you’ll need to perfect your essay-writing abilities. For science coursework, writing up your project also involves data analysis, as you interpret the results of your experiment and work your notes into formal scientific language. Follow the links below to find lots more useful advice on writing great essays.

• How to write dazzlingly brilliant essays
• How to write more original essays
• Techniques from creative writing that can improve your essays

When you’re writing up, it’s important to find a place where you can work quietly, without distractions that could cause you to make careless errors. You wouldn’t want noise or distractions when you were in an exam room, so treat your coursework with the same reverence.

Supporting materials and images

For some subjects, namely the sciences and Geography, it would be appropriate to include images, graphs, charts, tables and so on in your coursework. For example, for Geography coursework, your extra material could include annotated images and maps of the site you’re talking about, plus tables, graphs and charts. An appendix could then detail your raw data; if, for example, your coursework focused on the results of a survey, you could put the raw survey responses in an appendix and provide summaries and analysis in the main body of the coursework.

Footnotes and bibliography

As we said earlier, it’s important that you always use your own words in your coursework to avoid the possibility of falling foul of plagiarism rules. However, it’s acceptable to quote from another source, as you would in any piece of academic writing, but you must make sure that you state where it is from and use quotation marks to show that it’s a quote from somewhere else. The best way of citing another work is to use a footnote; word processors will allow you to insert one, and it just puts a little number at the end of the sentence and another in the footer of the document, into which you put the name of the author and work, and the page within that work that the quote can be found. At the end of your piece of work, include a bibliography that includes a list of every external source you’ve used in the creation of your coursework. Stick to a set formula when including books. A common format is: Author Surname, Initial. (Date) – Title of Book , page number For example: Lewis, C.S. (1960) – Studies in Words , p. 45 When you get to university, you’ll be expected to include footnotes and bibliographies in all your essays, so it’s a good habit to get into and coursework gives you good practice at it.

The final pre-submission check

Having completed a first draft, received feedback from your teacher, and honed your work into a finished piece of coursework, have a final check through it before you send off your coursework for submission.

• Sense check : have a read through your completed piece of work and check that it all makes sense. Make sure you haven’t contradicted yourself anywhere, or repeated yourself, or laboured the point. If there are any facts that you may have meant to look up to double check their accuracy, do so now.
• Word count : ensure that the completed work falls within the word count, and double check whether the bibliography should be included in the word count. If you’ve exceeded it, you’ll need to work through the piece and tighten up your writing, omitting unnecessary information, reordering sentences so that they use fewer words, and so on.
• Proofread : check your spelling and grammar, and ensure that there are no typos. Don’t just use the spellcheck – go through it with a fine toothcomb, manually, and if you can, ask someone to read through it for you to see if they spot anything you haven’t.
• Formatting : check that you’ve included page numbers, and that the font and line spacing is consistent throughout the work. Ensure that the font is plain and easy to read, such as Arial or Times New Roman.
• Bibliography : check that you’ve included everything, that the format is the same for all sources mentioned, and that the right information is included for each.

Once this stage is complete, you’re ready to submit your coursework along with your declaration that it’s entirely your own work. Get ready for a feeling of immense satisfaction when you finally send off your hard work!

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What Classes Will I Have to Take for a Degree in Engineering?

Krystle Dodge

Managing Editor

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Engineering is the field that applies the concepts of science and mathematics to real-life problems. To earn a degree in this subject, students will take coursework in the theory and application of science and math as well as the tools and technologies used to develop solutions through engineering. Coursework includes traditional lectures in the classroom as well as laboratory science and research and fieldwork outside the classroom. Most engineering degrees are specialized, and the coursework required to graduate often varies from one engineering discipline to another.

Science and Math

You can’t be an engineer without taking quite a few classes in math and the life and physical sciences. Regardless of which engineering discipline you choose to pursue, you will need at least some foundational knowledge of math and science. Students majoring in engineering should be prepared to take courses in calculus, linear algebra and statistics. At least one semester of physics is typically required, if not more, as is a semester of chemistry. Because so many branches of engineering use computers for design and modeling, engineering students should consider taking computer science classes, even if their school or program does not require studies in computer science.

Engineering students must also meet any institutional course requirements, such as communication, foreign language, art and mandatory general education courses.

Core Engineering Courses

Students entering an engineering degree program likely have some sense of what an engineer does and the link between the field of engineering and science and mathematics. However, many students have never actually taken an engineering course before, since high schools typically don’t offer studies in engineering. Most engineering degree programs have at least one core introductory course that all students will take, regardless of which discipline they plan to study. Some such courses are simply lecture classes that cover the foundations of engineering. Others, like The Art of Engineering and Engineering 100 Design Projects , are hands-on design courses that introduce students to the challenges of solving real problems using engineering techniques.

Some colleges also offer science, math and communication courses that are tailored to meet the needs of engineering majors.

Specialized Engineering Coursework

A lot of your coursework will depend on what branch of engineering you are pursuing. For example, a student majoring in civil engineering will study fluid dynamics and engineering mechanics and systems, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Aspiring aerospace engineers , who design aircraft and spacecraft, study mechanics, propulsion, structures, aerodynamics and stability and control. Petroleum engineers need to learn about thermodynamics and geology. Students majoring in electrical engineering must study electromagnets and electric circuits, according to U.S. News & World Report . In a computer engineering program, courses in digital system design and microprocessor architecture are important. Mechanical engineering, the broad discipline of engineering that includes just about any item with moving parts, requires studies in materials science, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics.

If it seems like there is a good deal of overlap between engineering disciplines, that’s because there is. Even within an engineering discipline, some engineers use certain areas of knowledge more often than their colleagues. It’s not uncommon for an engineer to start out in one discipline, such as civil engineering, only to end up working in and going to graduate school for a different discipline, like mechanical engineering, according to the BLS .

While all branches of engineering include both theory and practical application, some disciplines, like mechanical engineering, may focus more on practice than others.

Internships and Cooperative Programs

Your engineering school might not require you to complete an internship or a co-op program, but there is a good chance you will be encouraged to do so. Hands-on experience is crucial to success in an engineering career. While you will have some opportunity to gain that experience through your work in the classroom, in laboratory science courses and through fieldwork components of your courses, you will need more experience to impress a future employer and develop your skills for your career. Work experiences designed to train students, like internships and co-op programs, are excellent ways to gain this experience.

There’s some overlap between the terms, but generally, internships and cooperative programs are different. An internship is typically a shorter period of training, usually lasting for just one term. While an internship may be full-time, it can also be part-time. Cooperative engineering programs, on the other hand, are full-time paid positions that typically occur over three terms, alternating with school terms. When you take part in a co-op program, you will take five years to graduate, but you will also gain valuable experience and a full-time salary during the time you are working.

There are many benefits to completing internships and co-op programs, including building out your network of professional connections, boosting your resumé, and developing new engineering skills.

Related Resources:

Top 10 Highest Paying Engineering Careers

What Civil Engineering Courses Will I Have to Take for a Degree in Civil Engineering?

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MBA Coursework Explained: Your Guide to Program Requirements

Featured Expert: Hassan Awan, MBA

MBA coursework is the reason why you want to get into an MBA program. Within these programs, you’ll learn about business fundamentals and how to be a more effective manager and business leader. To cover these areas, MBA coursework is split up between core or required courses and electives or specializations. All the best MBA programs in the US, and all the best MBA programs in Canada have different core courses, credit requirements, and unique specializations that you can take to customize your MBA education. This article will look at what makes up typical MBA coursework, what kind of electives and specializations are available and how you can excel in any type of MBA coursework. 

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Mba coursework: what is mba coursework.

MBA coursework incorporates a diverse range of subjects designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of business principles and prepare you for leadership roles in current business environments. Similar to the way curricula are structured in other professional schools (medicine, law, nursing), MBA coursework is usually divided between core and elective courses that let you build foundational knowledge in various business disciplines. Some core courses include:

• Human Resources
• Business Analytics and Data Science
• Operations Management

These initial core courses are intended to give you the knowledge and skills to be able to design and create your own educational program in the later years of your MBA. They are similar to preparatory courses aimed at recent undergraduates or people who only have a few years of professional experience. During your core MBA coursework, you’ll learn more about financial statements, market dynamics, leadership theories, and strategic management principles (to name only a few, as every MBA curriculum is different), which are all key to developing a broad understanding of a business landscape.

Want to learn exactly how to approach the MBA interview question "Tell me about yourself"? Watch this video:

As you progress through your MBA coursework, you’ll then get to choose elective courses, which you can choose based on your career goals and interests. All of the best MBA programs in the world, and even online MBA programs or the easiest MBA programs to get into let you specialize in a particular area of business or business-related fields, such as:

• Entrepreneurship
• Healthcare management
• International business
• Technology management

Another essential aspect of MBA coursework involves case studies, group projects, and real-world applications that give you the opportunity to apply the theory and knowledge you learned in the first year to practical scenarios. Case studies, in particular, challenge you to analyze business problems, make decisions, and understand the consequences of business-decisions; examining case studies was the original teaching method of many of the first MBA programs.

But now, many business schools have embraced problem-based learning that tries to anticipate problems associated with business decisions or developing solutions around a particular business problem, such as inflation or economic downturn, supply chain problems and compliance issues. MBA coursework exists outside the classroom too.

Some MBA programs incorporate experiential learning components such as MBA internships , consulting projects, or global immersions programs into MBA coursework. These experiences offer hands-on exposure to the business world, further allowing you to apply classroom theories in real-world settings. A lot of MBA coursework also encompasses extracurricular activities that are not required, but can, nevertheless, expand your knowledge or understanding via on-campus or online seminars, workshops, and guest lectures featuring industry professionals.

A typical MBA program lasts only two-years, but there are some variations between an Executive MBA or MBA , the former being an MBA program geared toward established business leaders and professionals, and the latter for people who’ve only begun their careers. For this article, we’ll look at the regular MBA that is geared toward undergraduates with at least a few years of work experience, but we’ll also highlight elements of an Executive MBA that stand out.

As a majority of full-time MBA program last only two years, business schools have created their curriculum to cover two main areas:

• Business essentials – MBA coursework related to the essential aspects of large businesses (finance, accounting, human resources, budgeting, investment)
• Business non-essentials – MBA coursework related to non-essential aspects of a business, such as leadership best practices, business ethics, corporate responsibility and organizational behavior

But there are variations of these two pillars. You’ll find that some MBA programs emphasize leadership and social responsibility over traditional business fundamental courses or vice-versa; some programs emphasize the technical knowledge that comes from studying statistics or macroeconomics and make them core courses. Still others try to combine the two strands in their core curriculum, such as Harvard Business School .

But whatever values or concepts that your business school emphasizes, one objective way to determine how much freedom you have to choose your MBA coursework is the credit requirements that each MBA program requires.

Every MBA program has a set number of credits for how to get an MBA and those credits are divided, again, between core courses, major requirements, and electives. If you choose a full-time MBA schedule, you usually have to complete a certain number of credit hours to earn your degree in only two-years, which is the typical length of most MBA programs. The credit requirements of each school vary but they usually try to offer an equal balance of required courses and electives.

At the regular, full-time MBA program at HBS, you have six core, or required, courses to begin your studies, which are:

• Data Science for Managers
• Financial Reporting and Control
• Leadership & Organizational Behavior
• Technology & Operations Management

So here we see that the core courses cover both of the pillars we talked about – business essentials (Finance; Marketing) and business non-essentials (Leadership & Organizational Behavior). But other programs skew toward more technical aspects, such as the Chicago Booth MBA program that has only three science-based courses as its three required MBA courses:

• Financial Accounting
• Microeconomics

While these are the core courses, Chicago Booth also allows you to add up to seven more core courses spanning subjects such as:

• Leadership & Management
• Business Environment

Within each of these categories, you’ll find various sub-categories that also cover both the essential and non-essentials components of businesses, which span subjects such as Game Theory and Industry Analysis (Functions) or Money and Banking and Perspectives on Capitalism (Business Environment). This MBA coursework is not all universal; Chicago Booth is only one MBA program and you’ll find out when exploring MBA coursework before you apply that every business school creates its curriculum based around values and perspectives that it considered more important than others.

At Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania , you must complete 19 credits, divided among three areas, to earn your degree in only two years:

• Core Courses - 9.5 credits
• Major Requirements - 5.0 credits
• Electives - 4.5 credits

However, the Core Courses are divided between three fixed courses, and six flexible courses, meaning you have even more flexibility in choosing your degree interests at Wharton than at most other schools. The three fixed courses can be taken from any of the following subject areas:

• Foundations of Teamwork and Leadership
• Marketing Management
• Microeconomics for Managers
• Advanced Microeconomics for Managers
• Regression Analysis for Managers
• Management Communication: Speaking and Writing

These are the courses you can complete in your first year, but your second year can be made up entirely of electives, of which there are over 200 at Wharton. Since most MBA programs only last two years, you can also take advantage of summer undergraduate research experiences to earn credits faster or to simply enhance your education during the fall and winter semesters by undertaking non-credit experiences; this is the case at Wharton, where you can participate in internships, or research experiences for undergraduates that can help you develop a capstone project, or start-up idea that you want to bring to fruition.

Curious about the differences between MBA and Executive MBA?

MBA Coursework: MBA Electives

MBA electives are a central part of any MBA education; they let you organize your academic path to suit your career goals and specific interests similar to how you would use medical school electives to personalize your medical studies. Business schools know this, which is why many have adopted as wide variety of electives to attract various types of students with diverse and interdisciplinary interests.

Using the Chicago Booth business school as an example, you can choose up to ten different electives courses from the school’s over-100 different MBA electives from Health Economics and Global Health and Social Policy to the Political Economy of Climate Change and Strategies and Precision in Negotiation. Of course, Chicago Booth is only one example, but you’ll find that every business school tries to give you as much variety as possible when it comes to choosing your electives.

For example, if you’re drawn to corporate finance, Harvard Business School provides a course titled “Advanced Corporate Finance”, which gives you an in-depth look into complex financial strategies used by major corporations. But with such a wide variety of MBA electives, it is sometimes hard to choose, which is why we’ll explore a little more about what you should think about when thinking about this vital aspect of MBA coursework.

Your choice of MBA electives should be based on what you want to do with your MBA and what kind of areas of business you want to specialize in. However, you should remember that, while important, MBA electives only complement your main academic and professional interests; but MBA concentrations (which we’ll talk about in the upcoming section), or specializations, are where you can actually become certified in a specific field or discipline.

What this means is that an MBA concentration or specialization is where you should pursue your main academic interests, but MBA electives are a place for you to learn more about an area of business that you’re not familiar with. With that said, you can choose your MBA electives along two lines.

Depending on your program, and how many electives they let you choose, you can 1) opt to focus on your specific goals or interests, or, 2) choose MBA electives in areas outside of your particular field of focus, so you can build a more comprehensive business education rather than focusing only on your area of interest. Most MBA programs only last two years, so, unless you’re thinking about getting another degree or a doctorate from a DBA program , you should take advantage of this short amount of time to learn as much as you can about everything you can.

If, for example, you choose the first route and you have a keen interest in finance, you might opt for electives that examine advanced financial analysis, investment strategies, or corporate finance. On the other hand, if you choose the second route, and you know little about marketing, you might choose electives focusing on consumer behavior, digital marketing, or brand management.

MBA electives can also provide an avenue for staying updated on emerging trends and industry-specific knowledge, which falls outside of the purview of MBA core courses. Courses in areas like data analytics, sustainable business practices, or global strategy can equip you with the latest insights and skills needed to navigate the evolving business landscape. In fact, many business schools are mulling over whether to include more forward-thinking areas such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies within their core courses rather than as electives.

Again, depending on your program and which school you attend, you can also take advantage of the other professional schools and courses available at your program.

For example, Wharton makes available the eleven different professional schools within the university, such as the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law, School of Medicine, and the School of Design from which you can take up to four elective courses, if you’re interested in interdisciplinary exploration. You should also consult an MBA advisor at your program to find out what opportunities you can explore outside the business school to further enrich your educational experience.

MBA Coursework: MBA Concentrations

We talked about the subtle differences between MBA electives and MBA concentrations, as it involves MBA coursework, and here we’ll expand on those differences further. MBA electives are individual courses that you can take to satisfy your program’s credit requirements, but an MBA concentration represents a focused area of study within the broader spectrum of business education. These concentrations are designed to provide you with in-depth knowledge and expertise in specific domains, especially if they align with your academic path or your career aspirations.

The importance of MBA concentrations lies in their ability to offer a specialized skill set that is highly relevant to particular industries or functions. For example, the MBA program at the MIT Sloan School of Management offers eleven different certificate programs that are available not only to MBA students, but to all graduate students who want to earn certification in one of these specialized areas. At MIT , you can choose from any of the following MBA concentrations:

• Business Analytics Certificate
• Digital Product Management Certificate
• Enterprise Management Certificate
• Trust Center For MIT Entrepreneurship
• MIT Sloan Health Systems Initiative
• MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative

These certificate programs will add a unique element to your MBA resume , as MBA specializations are entirely optional. You do not have to complete a certificate program as part of your MBA coursework, but some schools have different rules regarding MBA specializations. At the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University , if you don’t choose a specialization from among the school’s six certificate programs, you can choose a General Management specialization that touches on several areas rather than focusing on one; but this is also optional.

But, regardless of the MBA concentration you choose (or not), the requirements of earning your certificate vary. As with any certificate program, there are different credit requirements that are split between required courses and electives, but all within the same subject matter. For example, if you choose the Finance certificate program at MIT, you must complete three required courses (Managerial Finance, Corporate Finance, Introduction to the Practice of Finance) while also completing two elective courses from a long list of potential electives that range from Entrepreneurial Finance & Venture Capital to Financial Data Science and Computing, for a total of 21 credit units.

But, as with every other type of MBA coursework, the importance of MBA concentrations extends beyond the classroom. Along with completing your core requirements in the Finance certificate program at MIT, you’ll also be able to join Action Learning courses, which pair you with an existing, mid-size business that affected by a particular problem that you must help solve. These Action Learning courses count toward your electives so you can choose this path, instead of taking a seminar or traditional class.

MBA concentrations are like mini-MBA programs that can also help you decide your electives, as you can begin taking a certificate program in your first year and then choose your electives for the summer or the following year. As you can see from the certificate programs at MIT, they’re also beneficial to make contacts within a specific community of professionals, faculty, and alumni who share similar interests and career paths.

The required courses in MBA coursework varies from school to school. We mentioned some of the core courses at schools such as Chicago Booth and Wharton, but the content and number of core courses is different at every school and tends to blend essential and non-essential business courses. 

Essential courses, as defined here, are courses that are based around traditional business subjects such as accounting, marketing, human resources, general management and leadership or any other essential part of running and operating a business. 

Non-essential courses are courses that are not essential to running a business, but are important to running a socially responsible and ethical business that many business schools try to impart to their students. These courses can range from courses in leadership to organizational behavior. 

You can choose from various types of MBA electives offered by your MBA program. Every business school has hundreds of different electives so you have to consult the list of electives at these schools as part of how to choose the right MBA program for you. 

Every MBA program has credit requirements unique to it, and the distribution of credits between core courses and electives is different for every program. 

Whether you choose an MBA concentration is up to you and your specific goals. An MBA concentration can help you if you want to enter a specific field, but you can also design your MBA according to your career goals without taking a concentration by taking a set of particular electives. 

Along with core courses, electives and concentrations, MBA coursework can involve several MBA extracurriculars , such as participating in internships, research labs, and real-world externships where you work directly with a company or outside organization. 

There is no one single component of MBA coursework that stands out above all others. Every part of your MBA coursework is to help you not only meet your credit requirements, but also to give you the knowledge and learning that you want to accelerate your professional career. 

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How To Write Coursework: Step By Step Guide Including Types, Structure, & Tips!

Are you wondering, 'How to write coursework?’ Writing coursework, the most significant part of any academic program, demands much time and energy. To finish high-quality coursework before a deadline, students must submit numerous work pages, perform experiments, hone their public speaking abilities, seek teacher assistance, analyze and discuss data, present material, and much more. In this guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about coursework, from understanding its importance to mastering the writing process. Whether you're a student looking for tips or simply curious about coursework, this article by professional writers at our coursework writing service has got you covered. Let's dive in!

What is Coursework?

Wondering what is coursework ? Well, coursework is schoolwork that shows what the student knows and how well they understand what they have learned. It could be based on an experiment or a science project, and it could have as much information as needed.

The coursework can have a very different theme, thesis, work area, subject, and tasks. That's why students should know what they need to do, even if they've done and read a lot of work like this before. Most of the time, tools like the free plagiarism checker on the Internet are also used to check these papers for mistakes in language and plagiarism.

✅ Pro Tip: Take note! Each document has its structure and formatting. Before writing the main parts, students have to come up with a topic and thesis. They also have to plan out the main structure. Only then can they start writing the content for each area.

How to Write a Coursework Introduction?

In order to receive a good score on your coursework, you should adhere to its prescribed format. Choosing a solid topic is, of course, the starting point. It is not particularly complex, but it is significant enough to warrant investigation. Your chances of writing outstanding coursework improve if your topic is narrowly focused and appropriately selected. When does the coursework begin? Contrary to what most students expect, this is not an introduction-focused assignment. At the outset of your coursework, it is helpful to state the primary points you will be making throughout the paper, outline your goals for the coursework, and compose a thesis statement that will clarify the topic's importance.

Types of Coursework

First, you should know that there are different types of coursework. You need to know about each type of coursework to understand how to write coursework. You can quickly learn the basics and use them in your work by reading the full explanation below. Don't forget how different things are. Because of this, you should try to understand this part of the problem as best as you can.

Analytical essay

This choice is very popular, and it uses three sources that are linked together. The same idea runs through them all. You can really pay attention to the written, spoken, and video sources that are relevant to your subject. You should also write for a specific group if you want to be more detailed and correct.

Essay with supportive comments

You need to find one piece of the media part here. You can read or watch it from the source. Following that, you will include your own specifics and details that are closely linked to the English language.

A creative paper with some comments

To achieve this, you need to write a paper that shows how well you can communicate with a certain group of people. The style of your paper needs to be the same as the one you were assigned.

Analytical study

This is one of the most accessible choices here, but it looks great. Someone will have to choose, or they will be given work. His job is to look into it in great depth. The student should show that they fully understand the piece. Moreover, teachers will examine the words, phrases, and specifics used in writing.

Coursework Outline

Each kind of paper has its own structure. Even coursework isn't an exception. As usual, coursework has a

Introduction

• Bibliography page

Some professors have extra rules that you must follow in order to do well on the work.

All coursework parts should be written correctly and in line with the basic rules. Also, the thesis, opening, body, and conclusion should all have text that flows well with each other. Getting an A+ grade and making a good mark on your teacher makes sense.

How to Write a Coursework? Step-by-Step Guide

You will require a lot of time to complete these tasks because they are hard, and you need to know how to write each part perfectly. We're going to tell you about this below. Always remember that you have to perform good research, which requires more time than writing any other paper.

Understand the task requirements

It is crucial to fully understand the assignment summary before starting to write coursework. Take note of the word count, formatting requirements, and specific tasks that need to be done as you carefully review the document. If you are confused about anything in the research, you should not be shy about asking your professor or fellow students for clarification. Moreover, you will be well-prepared for success if you know what is required from the start.

Choose a topic

It is very important to be able to select a good topic for your coursework. Everything that is done will be related to the theme that was picked. If you let them pick, the subject should be something they want to write about. As a writer, you often have the opportunity to choose or create your topic, even though your teachers may provide you with precise instructions. For example, you may choose to focus on a topic from a course that you liked most or that you knew very well. But before you choose a topic, you must make sure that you can properly control, measure, and modify it. Moreover, it is best not to pick topics that are unclear or too broad. This could make it complex to come up with a good thesis because they make it hard to meet the word limit and don't fit the topic.  Additionally, students can ask for assistance and tips in picking the right subject to write about if they don't know what to write about. For instance, you can look at projects that other students have already turned in to get an idea of how they handled certain subjects.

Perform Research

Coursework that is both informative and interesting can be built upon the research. Use a variety of reliable resources, such as peer-reviewed publications, books, and, if relevant, primary sources. Write down all of the important points, arguments, and supporting evidence in an orderly fashion. Give academic works and peer-reviewed publications more weight when determining a source's credibility and usefulness.

Come up with an outline

You should only write your note after you have gathered all the information that is important to the subject. Before starting to scribble, a university student must jot down the paper's structure. Last but not least, the project is set up like a piece, and students have to copy what they do. An essay usually has an introduction, a body with important ideas, and a decision at the end. Structure planning is especially important for bigger projects because sending a lot of information that needs to be simplified can lead to a message that is disorganized and hard to understand. This changes how the paper is done and how the data is shown in a big way.   The message is regarded as the polite portion since these factors—such as grammar, text selection, punctuation, and text count limitations—are examined throughout the evaluation. In other words, you need to get better at writing if you want to do good work in the standard essay style. For tough science plans, you need to be more analytical and interpretive so that you can clearly see what the facts in your message mean. Apart from that, you want a calm, supporting space that is free of any unnecessary distractions so that you can focus better, which is important for thought and message. You can cut down on outside distractions by turning off the TV and logging out of all your social media accounts.

Write the Draft

These assignments are difficult, so you will need a lot of time to complete them. You have to manage your time wisely. You also need to know how to properly write each part. This is what we'll talk about next. Remember that you need to do good research, which takes more time than writing any other kind of paper.

How to write a coursework introduction? Start with a hook. People should pay attention to this one line. You can use anything—a joke, a fact, a number, or something else. Then you need to give a short outline of what you will talk about in the parts that follow. You can also look at examples of past work and find out more about this step. Is it really that important? Some students would rather do it at the end of the assignment.

There will be major parts to all of your coursework assignments where you need to present all of your facts and information. This section is the most important. Remember that each part needs to be well-written, free of mistakes, and follow the rules. Moreover, you need to explain one paragraph in detail. That last one means you will focus on making one point at a time. Move on to the next line when you're done. In related pieces, this is what is expected to be there. A common mistake is putting the facts you want to show in the wrong order.

How to write a conclusion for coursework? You will require powerful reasoning that is done right in this situation. Moreover, you should discuss about the aspects and what you found at the end of the piece. Do not insert anything new to this, and don't try to stay positive or negative about the topic. Furthermore, don't be vague, and try to end on a strong note that makes people think.

Change and edit

Put your coursework's first draft away for a while before modifying it. Take a break now to refocus on your work as well as make your mind clear. When you get back, carefully check over your coursework again, giving special attention to factors like spelling, language, punctuation, and how well it all makes sense.  Explore other ways to make your arguments stronger, build your writing flow better, and get rid of words that are repeated too much. You may wish to get feedback from peers, professors, or writing services to search for ways to improve your coursework and make it even better.

☑️Reading suggestion: What are Term Papers

Helpful Coursework Writing Tips

It is possible to complete a coursework assignment quickly and still get good grades. You can do minimum work and get more done if you apply these tips from the beginning.  They are used by experienced students in all of their projects as well as research:

• It is crucial to plan your coursework. If you require spending time on other classes and other activities, start planning your activities by writing the introduction to the main show. Moreover, make sure you have a few days to fix and revise your work, even if you think it's good enough to go.
• Arrange your workspace so that you can focus on studying. There are numerous places to study, like at home, the library, or even the park. Just ensure you choose a place where no one will bother you and where you will enjoy your work. Also, take a break to make your writing clearer and go over the lines you've made.
• Talk about your work with other students who don’t know how to write coursework. Talking about your own experiences can help you do better research and write pieces that are easier to understand and more interesting. You can also look at other students' work to learn how to present information and skills correctly.
• It's safe to view your files from different devices if you use services like Google Drive, cloud databases, and so on. Some services can store your texts, tables, images, and diagrams, and there is also a way to read texts and make comments.
• Students show what they've learned in class by writing coursework. Many hours of study and attention are needed for this process. It is important to make sure that your coursework is easy to read and understand, and free of grammatical mistakes and plagiarism.
• The students need to know the writing standards. Before writing the main parts, you should also think about how the work is structured and formatted. To find out more, students can read finished papers and look over coursework that has already been written by experts.

There are ways to make this process easier, even though it can be hard and time-consuming. Planning and scheduling, having a useful workspace, and getting can all help you get what you need faster and with less work.

Do’s and Don’ts Based on Our Nerdwriters Personal Experiences

You probably already know that our writers have seen a lot of examples of coursework. Their years of experience make it clear what they can do. When we asked them, they told us the three most common mistakes students made with their coursework and gave us three pieces of advice.

Not following instructions

Some students keep ignoring their teachers' instructions, even though it seems like such a simple thing to do. Many of them only looked into three or four of the five things their professors asked them to, and some wrote much less or much more than 3000 words. Finally, some students don't understand the question they were given, research the wrong subject, or don't do the type of study they were told to do.

Not logical

Some people are good at writing. Students often need to be more balanced because they jump around from idea to idea, missing links, or not going into enough detail on their point.

Technical problems

Typos, bad grammar or style, and casual language often sneak into students' writing without them even realizing it.

• Read your question again and again. Being safe is better than being sorry, even if you're sure you got everything right. Read the instructions again slowly, focusing on each part.
• If you need help, ask for it. It doesn't matter what's wrong: if you can't finish your coursework and want the best, most original papers, talk to professionals. They are going to help you.
• Don't worry about it looking like you're losing time. Some students don't see the point in making outlines or drafts. Though they may take some time, you'll save time because you'll spend less time writing. Build a strong foundation for your coursework.

Wrapping Up

If you have read the blog till this paragraph, you must know what coursework is and how to write coursework. When writing coursework, students demonstrate their course knowledge. This method needs careful study. Coursework should be proofread for grammar, plagiarism, and readability. Students must know what to make and the requirements. Before composing the main sections, evaluate the work's structure and layout. Students can read already-composed articles and examine expert researchers' work to learn more. Sometimes this procedure is hard, but there are ways to make it easier. If you need assistance with your coursework and are looking for a convenient service that can swiftly provide you with the best results, go no further than Nerdpapers . Effective coursework writing is difficult and time-consuming, but our specialists can guarantee that you will get a high-quality assignment if you ask them for assistance. 

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Persuasive essay topics – how to choose one for you, how to write a persuasive essay- expert tips.

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Need-to-Know for Summer 2024 Courses

Published May 17, 2024

As instructors prepare for the Summer 2024 semester, we have compiled a list of important steps for setting up courses in UB Learns.

Course Combinations

• Some instructors, or groups of instructors, combine multiple course sections into one site on UB Learns. By doing so, an instructor only needs to maintain and post content in one course, not multiple courses.
• Combinations need to be done manually by the UB Learns support team.
• Instructors are highly encouraged to submit the request form as early as possible.

Essential: Make Your Course Active

If you do not make your course active, your students cannot access the course on the Start Date!

• All credit-bearing courses are inactive when they are created in UB Learns.
• Instructors must make a course active before students can access the course on the Start Date.
• We recommend that instructors set any courses they plan to teach to Course is active when they begin working on the course to prevent students from being locked out of a course on the Start Date.
• When a course is active, students see a grayed-out course tile in the My Courses widget before the Start Date and after the End Date, so they know they are registered, but they cannot access the course until the Start Date.

Check Start and End Dates

• An instructor controls when a student can see a course in the My Courses widget, and when a student can access a course, by using both the Active status and the Start and End Dates.
• When you make your courses active, check the Start and End Dates. The default Start Date for each course is seven days before its official start date.
• The default End Date represents the day after the final grading date for the unit.
• If you change the End Date, ensure students have enough time to complete coursework.

Provision Your Course for Panopto

If you use Panopto in your course, you must provision the tool. Provisioning Panopto adds an External Learning Tool folder named Panopto Content in a module.

Add Content or Copy Content From an Existing Course

Instructors can build their Summer 2024 courses from scratch or copy content from previous courses, including migrated content.

About migrated content

• Blackboard content from Summer 2022 to Summer 2023 is available in UB Learns.
• Access migrated courses by selecting the My Courses widget tabs that begin with MIG.
• Instructors should review migrated content before copying it to a Summer 2024 course.

Check Assessments and Associated Grade Items

If you copied content from a previous course, now is the time to review assessment point values and associated grade items before students submit assessments. Some things to consider:

• Are assessments associated with grade items? If not, select Add to Grade Book from the assessment edit page.
• Do assessments and their associated grade items have different names? You can edit the names of the assessments and grade items so they match.
• Are assessments' maximum point values and associated grade items set correctly?
• Are question point values and total points set correctly?
• Are bonus questions in quizzes set up correctly?

The UB Learns support team can help you review your grade book before the start of the Summer 2024 semester.

More From Forbes

5 free online courses to learn high-income skills in 2024.

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To maintain your high-income skills, regularly undertake a skills refresh so you can ensure that ... [+] your expertise is relevant

Having high-income skills results in...well of course, high income. But to have a consistently lucrative career, it's important to concentrate on continuously adding to those skills. You can't expect consistently high pay without consistent effort and upskilling.

This is because, high-income skills, are by nature, highly volatile, and not only do they change frequently, but their demands can change pretty quickly too. They evolve rapidly and require you to always be on your toes and be "in the know" with latest developments so that you don't fall behind.

Whether you're seeking to upskill, reskill, or anything in between, here are five courses—free of cost to you—that you should check out so you can boost your earning potential at work and in business:

1. Content Marketing Certification, By HubSpot Academy

HubSpot Academy provides several free sales and marketing courses and certifications to help you improve your digital marketing skills and online presence, and boost your income. While there are tons of options to choose from, one course that stands out is HubSpot's content marketing certification.

And, like the name implies, not only will you build new high-income skills within the lucrative digital marketing industry, but you will also get a free certificate that you can proudly show off to employers and prospective clients on your resume and LinkedIn profile.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, 2. social media marketing professional certificate, by meta.

Meta offers a number of social media marketing courses delving into a range of specific topics, but this introductory course made available on Coursera is a great start if you are preparing for your first job (or freelance venture) as a social media marketing manager. This also comes with a free professional certificate.

3. Dropshipping 101: Build Your First Online Store, By Shopify Academy

If you're feeling at all hesitant about entering the fascinating multi-billion-dollar world of ecommerce, ecommerce platform Shopify has created this course with all the basics and fundamentals you need to build and launch your store, using dropshipping. This allows you to build passive income and can be a very profitable side hustle, with minimal costs involved.

4. Introduction To HTML And CSS, By Udacity

This foundational course is a great choice if you want to test the waters and see if working in tech is right for you. The course comes with no prerequisites—no experience required—so literally anyone can join, and of course, it's free. The course has four core lessons and you can enroll at any time.

5. Adobe Illustrator Basics for Beginners, By Skillshare

If you have purchased Adobe Illustrator and consider yourself to be a budding graphic designer but don't know where to start, Skillshare's platform has an entire host of courses and learning paths to help you learn Adobe Illustrator skills. This particular course teaches Illustrator fundamentals, however it is worth bearing in mind that your access is only free for one month, after which you will be charged if you decide not to cancel your free trial.

All you need to upskill and develop professionally is a device and good Wi-Fi

There is such a vast range of free options available for professionals desiring of improving their skills, that no one has any reason to be left behind in their career. If you have a device and a good internet connection, you have all you need to launch a successful career and develop high-income skills.

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ELECTROSTAL HISTORY AND ART MUSEUM: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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This course-mapping Apple Watch app is like a caddie for your wrist

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Updates to GolfLogix have made it compatible with the Apple Watch. 

getty/golflogix

As someone you might call “tech-allergic,” I have long looked to the golf course as a refuge from the chirps and beeps and screens that dominate the rhythms of our day-to-day. When I play the game, I prefer to unplug. So it struck me as ironic when I was asked to test a product designed for golfers who enjoy the whiz-bang extras of the modern age.

Founded in 1999 as a handheld GPS system, GolfLogix , which is owned by GOLF.com’s parent company, has evolved into one of the game’s most downloaded apps for golf statistics and analytics, offering not just personalized data but also detailed course maps to help you plot out every shot. Time was when its intel was accessible only through your cell phone. But no longer. Updates to GolfLogix have made it compatible with the Apple Watch . 

As the resident Luddite in the office, I was chosen as a guinea pig.

“Give us your first impressions,” my editor said.

My first impression was that I was not the right guy for the assignment, because, well, I don’t own an Apple Watch . My wife does, though, and borrowing hers was easy enough. So was downloading GolfLogix onto it . A few swipes and clicks and I was good to go. Contained in the app’s digital database are detailed 3D maps of more than 35,000 courses, including my hometown muni in Oakland, Calif. Off I went to take my new tech for a spin.

Standing on the 1st tee of a course I’ve played more times than I can count, I had a pretty good idea what I was in for: a 540-yard, dogleg right par-5, with a cluster of bunkers at the inside bend of its elbow. My watch confirmed that. It said other things as well, providing me with info that I’d never thought to gather. Those bunkers, for instance, started at 242 yards away. To carry them required another 31 yards to a mostly flat fairway whose edges sloped slightly toward the rough.

Like a lot of gizmos these days, GolfLogix gives you distances to every target and hazard, measured faithfully by GPS. But the app doesn’t work strictly by the numbers. It paints vivid pictures, too, showing every hole from various perspectives, including aerial images that capture slope and elevation across every inch of the course. These images are particularly impressive on the greens, where color-coded heat maps, marked arrows, tell you how much and which way the ground is moving. You can even rotate the image so the map of the green aligns with your perspective, and then draw a line that shows precisely how your putt will break.

As I see it, information of this kind is not critically important when you’re playing your home course. But it doesn’t hurt. And it sure comes in handy when you’re pegging it on unfamiliar grounds, where there’s almost no such thing as TMI.

More compelling to me still, though, was a different kind of data. For as much as it tells you about the course you’re playing, GolfLogix also educates you about yourself. In addition to allowing you to tally up your stats (fairways hit, greens in regulation, putts, etc.), the app has a “shot tracker” function, which does just what its name suggests. Activate it after any shot, and it shows precisely how far you hit it. Over time, this feedback gives you a faithful portrait of how you actually play the game, not how you think you play it.

Here’s what goes into the making of a GolfLogix green book

It leaves no room for self-delusion. Like a lot of golfers, I’m guilty of that. Somehow, I’ve convinced myself that I can fly my 7-iron 165 yards. I cannot; 155 yards is more like it. Nor do my best drives carry beyond 240, as I’ve led myself to believe. One round with GolfLogix on my wrist confronted me with these cold, hard truths. There was no ignoring them. From this point on, I plan to use those lessons to refine my club selection and course strategy. Who knows? I might even shoot lower scores.

In golf, as in other areas of life, technology can backfire. Innovations that promise to simplify the game for us can wind up complicating it instead. Time and again I’ve seen this from tech-happy playing partners as they fumble with their phones, searching for this or that piece of info on an app that may or may not pay dividends. The most common result I’ve noticed is slower pace of play.

With the app on an Apple Watch, I dealt with none of that. Gathering info was as quick and easy as checking the time. Navigating was straightforward, too. Switching from one hole to the next, or from one function to another, requires nothing more than the swipe of a finger.

My GolfLogix test run cost me nothing. When you download the app , you get two free trial rounds. After that, you can continue using the app for free, with access to basic features, such as 3D course maps, score and stat tracking, and the opportunity to compete with friends. The other option is an annual membership ($59.99), which provides unlimited access to all the upgraded features, including slope and elevation-adjusted distances, putting alignment and 3D approach views to pinpoint the best place to land your ball.

Old habits die hard, and I still value golf as a tech-free escape. But after playing a round with an all-knowing caddie on my wrist, I appreciate the value of having such a brainy sidekick. Now, if only I can convince my wife to give me her Apple Watch.

You can download GolfLogix for your Apple Watch in the App Store .

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A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLF’s platforms. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook.

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What are MRR courses and where did they even come from?

Are mrr courses pyramid schemes, so are mrr courses scams, beware of this new ‘get rich quick’ scheme on social media.

These digital courses are popular on TikTok and Instagram, but they’re often financially predatory.

Jannese Torres

Latina Money Expert & Entrepreneurship Coach

Jannese Torres is an award-winning Latina money expert. She also has a three-time award-winning personal finance podcast & platform, “Yo Quiero Dinero.” She is now a business expert who helps her clients monetize their skills and pursue financial independence. And her debut book Financially Lit! will be published on April 30, 2024.

Dashia Milden

Dashia is a staff editor for CNET Money who covers all angles of personal finance, including credit cards and banking. From reviews to news coverage, she aims to help readers make more informed decisions about their money. Dashia was previously a staff writer at NextAdvisor, where she covered credit cards, taxes, banking B2B payments. She has also written about safety, home automation, technology and fintech.

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Courtney Johnston is a senior editor leading the CNET Money team. Passionate about financial literacy and inclusion, she has a decade of experience as a freelance journalist covering policy, financial news, real estate and investing. A New Jersey native, she graduated with an M.A. in English Literature and Professional Writing from the University of Indianapolis, where she also worked as a graduate writing instructor.

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They’re all over TikTok and Instagram. A social media reel of someone claiming they’ve unlocked the keys to financial freedom, all thanks to a digital course they signed up for a few weeks ago. They say that if you just spend some money upfront to learn their affiliate marketing strategy, you, too, can start raking in thousands in passive income.

It’s easy. And it will change your life.

Hmm. Where have we heard this before? Oh, that’s right. It’s the pitch we get from every multi-level marketing “opportunity” that swears it isn’t a pyramid scheme.

Yes, affiliate marketing is real, and yes, you can earn money from it. But MLM scams are misleading. Instead of making money by selling products, you make money by pedaling the same course offering with your own branding to sell with 100% profit, thanks to master resell rights. If you were to diagram this money-making strategy out, it would cascade down into a triangle or “pyramid” shape.

Ringing any alarm bells, yet?

MRR courses are often advertised as a way to start your own online business or make money by selling digital offerings. But what many don’t realize until it’s too late is that a large portion of these “opportunities” work just like MLM schemes. As a personal finance expert who uses social media and a podcast to promote good money habits, I don’t want you to fall victim to a scam that promises financial windfalls it can’t actually offer.

Read more: Watch Out for These Student Loan Forgiveness Scams

The idea of reselling rights isn’t new. It actually comes from old ways of selling books and magazines. Just like stores could sell books they bought from publishers, in the digital world, creators started letting others sell their digital stuff too. As the internet grew, so did the market for digital things like e-books and software. MRR courses came about as a way for creators to sell their digital products along with the rights for others to resell them.

Today, MRR courses are popular on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, especially among folks who want to make money online. But there’s a problem: many of these courses aren’t as good as they claim to be. They promise big success, but a lot of times, people end up disappointed. So while the promises used to market MRR courses can be exciting (“earn $10k in one month!”) -- many of them overpromise and are borderline predatory.

MRR courses aren’t considered pyramid schemes, but they have some overlapping practices. Pyramid schemes are scams and are not legal. You’re required to buy products or inventory upfront or regularly, even if you’re unable to sell it.  

MLMs are often linked to pyramid schemes and the two can look very similar. An MLM isn’t a pyramid scheme as long as it pays you based on your sales of products or services. However, with an MLM, you may still earn a commission of your recruit’s profits, resulting in a similar downward pyramid shape. And while some MLM setups may help you earn money if they sell real products or services that people want to buy, it can be hard to tell the difference between real opportunities and scams.

MRR courses could be considered a type of MLM, depending on how you earn money. These courses focus heavily on getting you to recruit others to join in order to make money by selling the same course to them. They, in turn, are encouraged to rebrand the course and send it to their followers. And so on. It’s a setup similar to traditional MLMs, and it’s raising the same red flags.

Also, MRR courses often make big promises to attract those who are trying to make money fast. They show stories of people who supposedly got rich quickly and claim that anyone can do the same if they buy the course. But for most people who join, the reality is different. They often end up not making much money, and some even lose the money they invested in the first place.

Not always, but they can be. But if you’re interested in buying a course to learn more about a particular skill -- like affiliate marketing -- be thorough and research the course and the person selling it before buying. While social media may sing praises about how a specific course helped them earn $20,000 overnight, that doesn’t mean you’ll have the same results (and many people won’t). Here are a few factors to consider:

• Check if the person or company offering the course is known for doing good work by looking at reviews from other people who took the course. See if the person teaching the course knows what they’re talking about and if others who took the course got good results.
• Look at what the course teaches and make sure it covers what you want to learn, it’s well-explained and up-to-date. It’s also important to see if the course is interesting and keeps you engaged while learning. 
• Don’t forget to check if the course comes with any extra help or a community where you can ask questions. 
• Think about whether the cost of the course is fair for what you’ll learn, and if there’s any way to get your money back if you’re not happy with it.

Be careful when it comes to MRR courses -- especially if you’re buying one to start making money online. They might seem like a great way to earn cash fast, but if you’re not careful, you may find yourself ensnared in a messy MLM scheme that can cripple you financially.

Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

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CNET editors independently choose every product and service we cover. Though we can’t review every available financial company or offer, we strive to make comprehensive, rigorous comparisons in order to highlight the best of them. For many of these products and services, we earn a commission. The compensation we receive may impact how products and links appear on our site.

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June 4, 2024 - Modi declares victory in India election as BJP party faces shock setbacks

By Rhea Mogul, Jessie Yeung, Diksha Madhok, Antoinette Radford and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest India election news  or read through the updates below.

Photos: Scenes from India's general election

The votes were counted Tuesday after the world's largest election was held in India.

From April 19 to June 1, more than 640 million people cast their vote at polling stations from the high peaks of the Himalayas to the remote jungles of the west.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi  declared victory on Tuesday – but his goal of winning an unassailable majority lay in tatters with early results showing voters reduced the extent of his party’s grip on power.

Analysis: Modi, Ambani and Adani — the men shaping India’s economy 

Analysis from CNN’s Diksha Madhok 

In less than a decade, Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has upended India’s telecom sector and become a top player in sectors ranging from media to retail as chairman of India’s most valuable private company: Reliance Industries.  

His ambition and breathless pace of expansion is matched by Gautam Adani, founder of the Adani group, who helms businesses ranging from ports and power to defense and aerospace. 

Reliance Industries and the Adani Group are sprawling conglomerates worth over $200 billion each, with businesses in sectors ranging from fossil fuels and clean energy to media and technology. 

Investors have been cheering the duo’s ability to adroitly bet on sectors prioritized for development by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

As a result, these three men — Modi, Ambani and Adani — are playing a fundamental role in shaping the economic superpower India will become in the coming decades. 

The South Asian country is poised to become a 21st-century economic powerhouse, offering a real alternative to China for investors hunting for growth and manufacturers looking to reduce risks in their supply chains. 

Worth $3.7 trillion in 2023, India is the world’s fifth largest economy, jumping four spots in the rankings during Modi’s decade in office and leapfrogging the United Kingdom. 

Sustained expansion will push India higher up the ranks of the world’s biggest economies, with some observers forecasting the South Asian nation to become number three behind only the US and China by 2027. 

Despite these successes, soaring youth unemployment and inequality remain stubbornly persistent problems. In 2022, the country ranked a lowly 147 on gross domestic product (GDP) per person, a measure of living standards, according to the World Bank. 

To spur growth, the Modi government has begun a massive infrastructure transformation and heavily promoting digital connectivity — with Adani and Ambani becoming key allies. 

Both tycoons are considered vocal champions of Modi, and prominent politicians from opposition parties in India have often questioned Modi’s ties with India’s super-rich. 

Read the full analysis.  

CNN’s Jessie Yeung contributed to this report from Mumbai.  

Analysis: Is India's free press not so free after a decade of Modi?

Analysis from CNN’s Aishwarya S. Iyer 

India is one of the largest media markets in the world , according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), with more than 20,000 daily newspapers across the country and about 450 privately owned channels dedicated to news, which broadcast in dozens of languages. 

Yet despite its size and diversity, critics say the media industry is growing increasingly subservient to Modi’s government.  

“There was a blend of public service, public interest and corporate private media that served a burgeoning urban middle class, but also showed interest in issues of rural development. Journalists were respected… Regulatory mechanisms were weak but not completely absent,” said Shakuntala Banaji, media professor at the London School of Economics.  “They have been all but destroyed in the last 10 years.” 

India fell 25 places on the Press Freedom Index between 2015 and 2023, to 161st place — below neighboring Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. In the latest index for this year it rose slightly to 159th place but remains below all neighbors except Bangladesh (165th). 

“There has been a sharp deterioration in the status of media over the last 10 years,” Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) India representative Kunal Majumder told CNN, adding that this included imprisonment and invoking terror laws to criminalize journalists. 

There has also been an uptick, it said, in the use of anti-terror laws — which allow for detention without trial or charge for up to 180 days — against reporters. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not taken a single solo press conference in his decade-long rule. 

The government of the popular but divisive leader stands accused by opponents of suppressing media pluralism. 

Modi critics fear further erosion of the protections afforded to India’s free press if he is elected. 

Meet the winners of India's economic boom 

From CNN's Jessie Yeung, Priti Gupta and Esha Mitra 

More than 40% of India’s 1.4 billion people are under 25: a tech-savvy and mostly English-speaking labor force. Like millions of migrants, many of them are drawn to the country’s financial capital Mumbai, full of aspiration and ambition. And it’s stories like these that inspire them. 

The tech developer: Growing up in the slums of Mumbai, Javed Khatri never used a smartphone or computer.  

“In the region where I used to stay, one of the best things that one could think of was just to complete 10th grade, and then work at a call center or sell vegetables or work at a garage or do some kind of odd jobs,” says Khatri, now 30. “That was our topmost ambition.” 

But unlike many children in the slums, he completed 10th grade – the first person in four generations of his family to do so – then studied computer science at an engineering college.  

He is now building an online platform to connect tech firms with engineers. He moved his family out of the slum, and supports his parents. Both his siblings went to college and pursued their own careers. 

None of this would have been possible a generation ago, he says. 

The influencer: Apoorva Mukhija hadn’t planned to be a content creator, so after graduation she took a job with a tech firm in Bangalore, the southern city known as “India’s Silicon Valley.” 

“Then one day I just woke up, realized … (my job) just didn’t pay as well as content did, and I hated living in that city,” Mukhija, 22, tells CNN from a pastel-pink couch at her new apartment in Mumbai, which she says is her “dream city.” 

Her career has thrived, winning her recognition from local media and amassing 1.3 million Instagram followers. 

The internet holds a wealth of opportunities for young Indians. The country’s influencer marketing industry is expected to be worth more than $281 million in 2024, according to consultancy EY India. Smartphones and social media are fueling this growth.  

The shoemaker: At age 13, Jameel Shah ran away from his village in Bihar, India’s poorest state, where his father wasn’t earning enough from farming to send the kids to school.  

In Mumbai, he saw an opportunity in the expensive imported dance shoes required for dance classes. 

He took two samples back to the narrow alleys of Dharavi, a hub for leather and textile manufacturers. With their expertise, and his own experience working in bag and wallet factories, Shah began experimenting. 

The business grew, attracting stylists and choreographers who redistributed the shoes to dance studios. And they even made it onto the big screen. 

Almost two decades later, Shah Shoes has helped support his family. He’s bought a house for his parents and started an education center in his home village teaching literacy to those who can’t afford school. 

A key tool was the rise of social media, particularly Facebook, helping him find customers – which Shah credited to Prime Minister Modi’s push for a “digital India.” 

Read the full story.  

Analysis: Under Modi, India's military has grown stronger 

Analysis from CNN’s Brad Lendon 

India’s armed forces, the world’s second-largest in terms of personnel, have made big improvements in their abilities under Prime Minister Narendra Modi — but face challenges no matter who wins the election, an analyst said. 

Viraj Solanki, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the armed forces have centralized control under Modi while making improvements to joint operations based on the theater where forces are deployed, rather than what each service would like to do. 

Those include setting up integrated battle groups along the country’s borders with China and Pakistan, Solanki said. 

China, whose People’s Liberation Army is the world’s biggest military force, represents India’s biggest worry going forward, he said. 

“India’s ‘military clout’ remains clearly below China’s” and can be expected to remain so, especially since Beijing’s defense budget is three times as large as New Delhi’s, Solanki added.  

The Modi government has stepped up defense ties with the United States, Japan and Australia — members of the Quad partnership along with India — as a way to offset China’s advantages. 

But Solanki said improvements to the Indian military are hamstrung by two key factors. More than half of its defense budget is spent on personnel and pensions, and much of its hardware is of Russian or Soviet origin, meaning spare parts and upgrades may be in short supply as Moscow’s war in Ukraine soaks up those resources. 

Analysis: India has grown closer to US under Modi 

From CNN’s Rhea Mogul  

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was once shunned by the United States.  

Denied a visa for “severe violations of religious freedom,” he was effectively banned from entering the country for nearly a decade.  

But in the years since that ban was lifted, Modi has been progressively embraced by the White House. 

While the US has positioned itself as a democratic protector in an increasingly populist and polarized era, it has seemingly turned a blind eye to New Delhi’s alleged human rights abuses at home — where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has come under scrutiny from rights groups and opposition lawmakers for its increasingly strident brand of Hindu nationalist politics and an ongoing crackdown on dissent. 

Modi and India, the world’s largest democracy, are necessarily a lynchpin in Biden’s strategy in Asia. As the world’s most populous country, no major global challenge, from climate change to advances in technology, can be addressed without India’s buy-in, in Biden’s view.   

Both New Delhi and Washington are becoming increasingly uneasy about Beijing’s growing military might, aggressive territorial claims on land and at sea, and growing economic influence over its smaller neighbors. 

In an era of growing tensions between the US and China, there are few partners that Biden is more eager to cultivate. 

What's changed since India's first election? 

From Esha Mitra in New Delhi 

India’s first general elections began in October 1951, four years after it gained independence from British rule, and soon after it became a republic in 1950.  

The election lasted about four months and the Indian National Congress emerged victorious in February 1952.  

Population boom: India then had a population of about 361 million people with 173 million registered electors.  

Since then, the population has increased nearly four-fold to 1.429 billion , with more than five times the number of eligible voters, according to the Election Commission of India. 

From paper to voting machines: In the first elections, Indians used paper ballots to cast their votes.  

Electronic voting machines were first used in the state of Kerala in 1982. But because there was no law prescribing their use, the Supreme Court struck down that election. In 1989 laws were amended to allow the use of voting machines after consensus was reached.  

In recent years, the validity of voting machines has again been questioned — this time by opposition parties that say they are being misused to favor the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — an allegation the BJP denies. 

In an India divided by prosperity and poverty, whose dreams come true?

From CNN's Jessie Yeung, Priti Gupta and Esha Mitra

At 7 a.m., Rupali Rao Kilare starts getting ready for the day in the cramped home she shares with five family members.

Though the sun has long risen, some alleys remain pitch dark as she weaves through the slum where she lives in Mumbai’s Goregaon West neighborhood, its narrow walls wedged between tightly packed buildings that block the light.

Kilare, 22, must hurry to beat the crowds at the slum’s communal toilets, before taking a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw to her boss’ home for her cleaning shift.

Just 3 miles (about 5 kilometers) away in Goregaon East, Shreya Verma, 26, stirs awake in her air-conditioned bedroom, pulls back the curtains and takes in the view of greenery and high-rise buildings.

Throwing on a blazer and heels, she hops in an Uber to her marble-floored office at an international tech firm.

Though the two women are separated by only a few years in age and a 20-minute drive, their starkly different lives illustrate India’s deepening wealth divide – and the inequality that has empowered some to reach new heights alongside the country’s fast-growing economy, while others are left behind.

That inequality has come under particular scrutiny during India's election.

Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been credited with advancing India’s $3.7 trillion economy and bringing the country closer to becoming a global superpower, India remains a largely impoverished nation and its wealth gap is more unequal than it was during British rule.

Read the full story.

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