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Can I include in my academic CV that I have attended and completed the Coursera and Udacity classes I have been taking? I understand that these are not anything major, but the courses definitely gives a good overview and starting formal study on the subject becomes less cryptic. If I can include them without any negative impacts, then under what section should I include them?

ff524
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phoxis
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    Your question doesn't make sense to me: if you have a CV, then presumably you already have at least a bachelor's, and are working on some advanced degree. (Or you already have an advanced degree, and are working somewhere.) At any rate, what would the introductory-level courses offered by these sources do to help your CV and career status? Some more information would help clarify the situation. – aeismail Jul 08 '12 at 14:52
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    There are some courses which is not covered in the current course i am doing for example. – phoxis Jul 08 '12 at 15:07
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    Doing an introductory-level course probably won't matter much to someone hiring you in a different area. – aeismail Jul 08 '12 at 15:18
  • IMO, No. At best, it helps when explaining how you got interested in this field if someone asked (if that's not your primary field to begin with). –  Jul 08 '12 at 15:53
  • Related: What is the value of a Coursera certificate? – Stephan Kolassa Feb 22 '15 at 10:03

4 Answers4

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No. Specific coursework (whether formal or informal, online or in-person) does not belong in an academic CV.

JeffE
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    I agree in principle, but disagree that the answer is absolute. I think that there is room for some types coursework, for example to demonstrate study beyond the degree, or attendance at workshops in advanced topics where the students are grad students, post docs, and young faculty. Especially when the workshops are selective and/or well known in the field and/or taught by well known faculty. – David LeBauer Jul 09 '12 at 03:19
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    I know exactly the kind of workshops you're referring to, and I think they should be included only if there is some prestige in being invited. Really, nobody cares which famous people have talked at you. – JeffE Jul 09 '12 at 04:33
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    I agree for the most part, but disagree with this somewhat. Those applying for postdocs in fields unrelated to their current research may want to include a brief list of "relevant course work" near the bottom of the CV to demonstrate that they are capable of the job. No need to do this for applying to grad school because the transcript already does this. No need to do this for applying to faculty positions because no one cares. – WetlabStudent Feb 14 '14 at 15:41
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    "relevant course work" near the bottom of the CV to demonstrate that they are capable of the job — I'm shocked by the suggestion that coursework would imply any indication whatsoever that an applicant is capable of a research job. If they have relevant research experience, why would I care what classes they took? Conversely, if they don't have relevant research experience, why would I care what classes they took? – JeffE Feb 14 '14 at 22:48
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    I also disagree. There are some specialized research skills that might be worth noting. For example, languages (human or computer): coursework in them if it's not obvious from the degree history might be good, e.g., in a c.v. for relevant grant applications to indicate ability to do the work. – Paul Gowder Jun 24 '15 at 03:39
  • @PaulGowder I would think for both human and computer languages, the cv would rather include 'languages spoken' than 'took this language class'. As the style of JeffE has been replying, if you cant speak the language, why would someone care you took the class – user-2147482637 Jun 24 '15 at 07:15
  • That depends on what one's inherent credibility is for the bare claim, which depends a lot on things like rank, status. I think many readers of an academic cv from, e.g., a graduate student would like to see a little more detail. – Paul Gowder Jun 24 '15 at 11:58
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    At least, can you explain why it doesn't belong to an academic CV? – Ooker Sep 15 '15 at 13:05
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    @WetLabStudent You cannot say "the transcript already does this" because the question is about courses on Coursera and Udacity, which are not included in the academic transcript. – michau Aug 27 '16 at 08:30
  • Interesting to see how things changed after the online courses really got started from when Coursera started. Although personally, I won't have any of the courses in my CV, at the moment I think, if the course is certified, then it's worth having it in the CV for sure if that specifically targets the job/position one is seekinng for. – phoxis Jun 25 '21 at 16:54
  • @phoxis Nope. The proliferation of MOOCs on Coursera and other platforms does not change my answer. – JeffE Jun 26 '21 at 22:22
  • I agree with you completely @JeffE in the case of an academic CV. – phoxis Jun 26 '21 at 22:58
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If the online course is relevant to your current field of work/study it would help. For example, a graduate student of science could mention a course on scientific computing but a course taken on criminal law would be irrelevant. Also online courses taken can only be shown under professional development and not under academic qualifications since these are non-credit courses.

roland
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Yes. The certified courses that connect to skills that doesn't directly apply to your mainstream degree deserves to be in your academic CV. It will show, to an extent, an interdisciplinary qualification that you possess. There are many real life instances where this has helped a lot, especially in industrial placements, career change, and interdisciplinary research.

There are some courses from MOOC you ought not to add in your CV. These include those that overlaps the courses you've already completed as per your educational degrees, minor introductory courses, and those that wouldn't prove a significant impact in your career point of view.

Ébe Isaac
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Interesting to see how things have changed since 2012 when I asked this question. I started with some artificial intelligence and machine learning coursework in my masters, and afterward attended the first machine learning and probabilistic graphical model courses, which started Coursers (the first ones before Coursera was founded).

Although I did not need to list these courses in my CV, I think if it is certified, it is definitely worth having it in the CV depending on what position one is targeting to apply for. For example, if someone wants to apply for a position where statistical analysis and modeling skills with R are needed, then it is worth listing relevant courses (preferred certified) in the CV. I believe that it will show that the candidate has some skills with R and statistical analysis. It is good to have this is a CV for the industry that may add real value.

Although for an academic CV, I somewhat agree with @JeffE . It may be good to have this in an undergraduate or master's CV if the course is certified, and you want to showcase that specific knowledge that probably is not covered in the curriculum and you want to highlight it. Afterward, when things become more specific, these definitely become pointless.

phoxis
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