On Dec. 3, Interim Director for The Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts Lewis Brooks ’80 sent an email to the Brandeis community announcing the five pilot microcredentials that will be implemented in the spring semester. A link was also provided for FAQs on the new program. 

This change comes as a part of “The Brandeis Plan to Reinvent the Liberal Arts” as spearheaded by University President Arthur Levine ’70. The plan largely aims to bolster career readiness, with microcredentials being an additional way for Brandeis students to display relevant skills they acquire during their time in university. 

Many other universities have already implemented a microcredential program, including Tufts University, the State University of New York system and Purdue University. These programs are more advanced than the pilot program Brandeis is putting forward. SUNY offers upwards of 400 microcredentials in a variety of subjects, and Tufts offers digital badges, certificates of completion and professional certifications as three distinct credentials for further specification. 

The FAQs page points out that these five microcredentials are pilots, and tells students to “expect more in the 2026-27 academic year.” Students are urged to complete the microcredential inquiry form with any additional questions. 

According to the provided information page, microcredentials will be earned by taking two classes from a pool of choices that correlate to a specific, workplace-oriented skill. Anybody who has taken the requisite courses for a certain microcredential is able to sign up for them, and upon completion, microcredentials will appear on student transcripts. Students will also receive a “digital badge” that can be shared on platforms like LinkedIn when they complete a microcredential. 

The first announced microcredential is called Applied Statistical Analysis, which “reflects students’ ability to analyze and interpret data using statistical reasoning and applied methods.” The microcredential requires one basic statistics course that can be taken from a range of departments, with the list of acceptable courses including those from the biology, math, politics, psychology, economics and sociology departments. The other required course for the microcredential can be chosen from a selection of courses pertaining to data manipulation and analysis, and includes as well as those focusing on survey design, data analysis, research methods and more. 

The second announced microcredential is Foundation of Data Analytics, which “certifies that students have foundational quantitative and programming skills for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data.” The class list for the first required course for this microcredential is somewhat similar to that of Applied Statistical Analysis, containing a slightly more restricted pool of statistics courses. The second required course is focused more clearly on data analysis, with most available options coming from the computer science or business departments. 

The third announced microcredential is Person-Centered Research and Analysis, which “demonstrates students’ ability to design and conduct qualitative research focused on understanding living persons in their social contexts.” The course list options for this microcredential is shorter than the first two, requiring two classes from within the departments of anthropology, journalism and one from sociology. The two courses must be taken from different departments, and online Brandeis Human Subjects Research Training is required. 

The fourth microcredential, Policy Analysis and Implementation, will focus on “the skills needed to evaluate, design, and assess policies using evidence, analytical frameworks, and social values.” With the broadest range of relevant classes, this microcredential requires three courses rather than two. These three courses, which must be from three separate departments, can fall under the following subjects: economics, education, environment, health, law and politics and populations and disparities. 

The final announced microcredential is Sound and Video Media, which “reflects the student capacity to design, produce, and edit multimedia works that integrate sound, image, and narrative.” The relevant courses come from the anthropology, journalism, fine arts, film and music departments and all pertain to the creation or editing of digital media. 

It is currently unclear what impact microcredentials will have on the career readiness of Brandeis students. Sources such as the Associate to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business claim that microcredentials are transforming the landscape of higher education by allowing students to display their relevant skills, but many students remain skeptical of the new program. Common concerns include the lack of previous information on microcredentials, whether two courses is sufficient to claim competency in a skill and whether microcredentials will be accepted by employers. 

Sign ups for microcredentials will happen on Workday, and no sign up date for the program has been released as of press time. 

As Brandeis begins implementing these five new microcredentials, with more to be introduced, this novel system of liberal arts education will be tested. Dissimilar to most academic standards, students will have the chance to complete the microcredentials either independent of course work or alongside it. For Brandeis students, this change in denoting academic progress means students can gain perceived career advancements through the inclusion of the microcredential transcript. However, the pilot offerings are in effect experimental and will have to prove their practicality come this spring semester.