Pepperdine U Joins EdX Partner Network, Plans to Launch First MicroMasters Program

  • By Kate Lucariello
  • 02/23/23

Through a new partnership with online learning platform edX, Pepperdine University plans to launch its first MicroMasters master's degree program, available later this year. The new program will offer a flexible pathway to completing a master's degree through career-relevant, skill-based introductory courses. Students can apply these credits to an existing master's degree program at Pepperdine once admitted and enrolled.

Pepperdine has had a partnership since 2017 with online education company 2U, which acquired edX in 2021. Under the existing partnership, 2U supports 10 online graduate programs at the university, with over 5,000 students enrolled. The MicroMasters program will build on that success, offering Pepperdine's graduate degree programs to edX students worldwide.

Various existing online master's degree programs are offered through three of Pepperdine's five colleges: the Caruso School of Law, the Graziadio Business School, and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology.

"Pepperdine's partnership with 2U has enabled us to offer best-in-class online degrees in psychology, law, and business that expand opportunity for thousands of additional students, regardless of geography. The reach and open access of the edX platform allows us to expand that impact," said Jay Brewster, provost and chief academic officer at Pepperdine, in a statement. "Our plans to offer a MicroMasters program will not only make a rigorous Pepperdine education accessible to edX's 48 million global learners, but also give students an affordable, stackable pathway to degree completion."

"Our partnership with Pepperdine is a strong example of how we work together with our university partners to deliver high-quality online programs at scale," said Andrew Hermalyn, president of partnerships at edX. "This expansion of our partnership underscores Pepperdine's approach to research-backed, student-first online education and its overall commitment to evolving its offerings to meet the demand of today's learners by offering flexible, stackable education pathways."

For more information on Pepperdine's existing online master's degree programs, bootcamps, and other courses, visit the Pepperdine online learning web page.

Pepperdine University is an independent Christian university in Malibu, founded in 1937. It enrolls over 10,000 students in five colleges. For more information, visit the university's main page.

EdX was founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012 and offers thousands of free and open courses, professional certificates, boot camps, credit-bearing microcredentials, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, business, healthcare, science, education, social work, sustainability, and more. Visit edX's home page to learn more.

About the Author

Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.

Featured

  • person signing a bill at a desk with a faint glow around the document. A tablet and laptop are subtly visible in the background, with soft colors and minimal digital elements

    California Governor Signs AI Content Safeguards into Law

    California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially signed off on a series of landmark artificial intelligence bills, signaling the state’s latest efforts to regulate the burgeoning technology, particularly in response to the misuse of sexually explicit deepfakes. The legislation is aimed at mitigating the risks posed by AI-generated content, as concerns grow over the technology's potential to manipulate images, videos, and voices in ways that could cause significant harm.

  • close-up illustration of a hand signing a legislative document

    California Passes AI Safety Legislation, Awaits Governor's Signature

    California lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved a bill that would impose new restrictions on AI technologies, potentially setting a national precedent for regulating the rapidly evolving field. The legislation, known as S.B. 1047, now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk. He has until the end of September to decide whether to sign it into law.

  • illustration of a VPN network with interconnected nodes and lines forming a minimalist network structure

    Report: Increasing Number of Vulnerabilities in OpenVPN

    OpenVPN, a popular open source virtual private network (VPN) system integrated into millions of routers, firmware, PCs, mobile devices and other smart devices, is leaving users open to a growing list of threats, according to a new report from Microsoft.

  • interconnected cubes and circles arranged in a grid-like structure

    Hugging Face Gradio 5 Offers AI-Powered App Creation and Enhanced Security

    Hugging Face has released version 5 of its Gradio open source platform for building machine learning (ML) applications. The update introduces a suite of features focused on expanding access to AI, including a novel AI-powered app creation tool, enhanced web development capabilities, and bolstered security measures.