Upskill yourself with our new range of microcredentials. They’re sector-endorsed courses, designed to help you build professional skills and pursue further, specialised study.
They take just 10–12 weeks of online study and, at the end, you’ll gain academic credit. That’s credit you could later use towards another qualification, such as a degree.
View microcredentials
What are microcredentials?
Relevant to rapidly growing industries, microcredentials allow you to gain specialist knowledge to help advance your career.
In just 10–12 weeks you can gain:
- cutting-edge knowledge in a specialised subject, informed by our world-class academics
- practical skills that you can use at work straight away
- undergraduate or postgraduate credit you could use towards further study.
Upskilling with a microcredential can help ensure that your professional growth continues, and you keep up-to-date with relevant and emerging practices.
Each microcredential includes a formal online assessment and meets the quality standards set by the Common Microcredential Framework (CMF).
Upskilling with a microcredential can help ensure that your professional growth continues, and you keep up-to-date with relevant and emerging practices.
Each microcredential includes a formal online assessment and meets the quality standards set by the Common Microcredential Framework (CMF).
How do microcredentials work?
With microcredentials, all your study is entirely online. You’ll use a combination of learning materials, live online events and assessments to develop your specialist professional knowledge.
Learn online with expert study advisors
Complete online courses over 10–12 weeks with tuition from a dedicated group of study advisors.
Complete project-based assessments
Test your understanding with online tutor-marked assessments and weekly exercises.
Earn a professional
credential
Finish your studies and pass your assessments to gain a certificate of completion.
Advance your career
Use your microcredential as evidence of your specialised skills and progress further in your career.
Microcredentials
Business Management: Marketing Principles and Practice
Learn how to apply key marketing techniques to enhance your performance and make better business decisions.
Duration
10 weeks
Level
Undergraduate
View course details 
Cyber Security Operations
(Cisco)
Upskill in cyber security operations and enhance your working knowledge of cyber security with this Cisco-endorsed course.
Duration
12 weeks
Level
Postgraduate
View course details
Digital Photography: Creating a Professional Portfolio
Follow the fast-moving technological developments in digital photography and build a professional portfolio you're proud of.
Duration
10 weeks
Level
Undergraduate
View course details
Global Development in Practice: Designing an Intervention
Use development management tools and frameworks to plan, implement and evaluate development interventions.
Duration
12 weeks
Level
Postgraduate
View course details
Online Teaching: Creating Courses for Adult Learners
Learn the practical skills you need to build and deliver online courses successfully, and develop your ability to teach adults online.
Duration
12 weeks
Level
Postgraduate
View course details
Online Teaching: Evaluating and Improving Courses
Develop the skills you need to evaluate the success of your online teaching and enhance your students’ remote learning experience.
Duration
12 weeks
Level
Postgraduate
View course details
Teacher Development: Embedding Mental Health in the Curriculum
Develop skills to design inclusive teaching, learning and assessment activities that enhance student mental health and wellbeing.
Duration
12 weeks
Level
Postgraduate
View course details
Request your microcredentials prospectus
Our prospectus can help you choose your course and understand what it’s like to study a microcredential.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may have some questions about Open University microcredentials. We’ve listed some common questions below, but if you can’t see what you were looking for, please get in touch.
A microcredential course is studied entirely online. You’ll interact with your peers through collaborative forums, moderated by the course tutors. Each week you’ll have new learning materials, videos and quizzes to help inform your learning. And course tutors may also run live, online tutorial events, which are recorded, if you’re unable to take part.
As microcredentials are offered by our partner, FutureLearn, you’ll register directly with them. You’ll first need a FutureLearn account, which you can create through their website. Once you’ve created your account, you’ll be able to register for your chosen microcredential.
Payments can be made by credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard and American Express) or via PayPal.
After you have registered on the course with FutureLearn, you will have 14 days from the day the course starts to request a refund.
Microcredentials are designed to fit around your life and time zone. There may be live events as part of your studies, but these will be recorded and can be watched afterwards, if you aren’t able to participate in the live broadcast.
Everything else can be studied at your own pace, as long as you complete the final assessment by the specified date.
Microcredentials are designed to be studied from almost anywhere in the world.
About FutureLearn
FutureLearn is a leading social learning platform formed in 2012 by The Open University with the objective to offer a diverse selection of online courses from leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world. It’s now jointly owned by The Open University and The SEEK Group and has 10 million learners signed up worldwide. It partners with over a quarter of the world’s top universities as well as organisations such as Accenture, the British Council, CIPD, Raspberry Pi and Health Education England (HEE). It’s also involved in government-backed initiatives to address skills gaps such as The Institute of Coding and the National Centre for Computing Education.