How to take the Google UX design certificate program for free on Coursera
Some time ago, Tech behemoth, Google, introduced their Google Career certificate courses, a group of programs designed to take newbies from beginner to professional levels. Essentially making you career-ready in about 6 months.
These programs usually involve working on projects that are later added to a portfolio.
Some programs in the Google career courses include:
- Project Management
- IT support
- Data Analytics
- Digital Marketing
- Android development
- And of course, the reason you are here — the UX design course.
Except for the android development program which is usually offered through partnerships with Pluralsight, Andela, etc, the rest of the programs are available through what seems to be Google’s official partner for the career programs — Coursera.
On Coursera, these programs are called Specializations. And they usually consist of 5 - 7 courses divided into modules to be completed in weeks. Though they are entirely self-paced, Coursera expects you to complete the entire specialization in six months.
To quote a popular TV character, "Therein lies the problem." If you are familiar with the Coursera platform, you can already begin to understand why there is a problem.
The online learning platform charges 49 USD per month as a subscription fee to access its courses.
For a specialization spanning six months that becomes: 49 x 6 = 294 USD.
$300 could be a paltry sum to many. Also, we are not going to deny the fact that there is a psychological benefit to paying for courses. But if you are reading this article, I'm assuming you are a lot like me and are looking to cut down costs to possibly zero.
Besides, beginners in a career path are most times unemployed or working part-time at jobs which aren't so great. So you need to save money. And who doesn't like free things?
Fortunately for you, Google and Coursera are very much aware of this fact. And it’s important to note that all Google career programs can be taken free of charge.
So how does one bypass Coursera's monthly subscription fees?
Financial aid
The financial aid is an innovation from Coursera that lets learners like us apply for 'scholarships' to take programs (eligible for the aid) they are interested in.
Fun fact: Most courses on the platform are in fact, eligible for this aid. And all you have to do is apply through a link and wait for a response from support in exactly two weeks.
Applying for financial aid.
On clicking the link, you will be directed to the application portal. Here, you're to answer two questions —don't worry, it's not an aptitude test. First, you will be asked why you want financial aid, and second, what impact taking the program will have on your career. Each question is an essay of 250 words. Pretty straightforward.
These questions might seem like a deliberate design to discourage people who aren't skilled in writing from applying for the aid. But it isn't. No one is at the other end strictly observing your punctuation nor would they decline your request because it doesn't sound like Pulitzer prize material.
It is mostly just formalities from my observation.
And while a lot of people are already walking out the door at the mere thought of conjuring 250 words, I think anyone really interested in the course wouldn't see it as a deterrent. And it's a way of proving that you're committed to taking the courses.
However, Specializations aren’t courses. They are a group of courses, and Coursera only lets you apply for single courses. Therefore, you cannot apply for the full UX design specialization at once. Instead, you are to apply for each course in that specialization individually. This can become quite tedious if you ask me.
Not to mention that you will be answering the same two questions for each of your applications. Making a total of twelve 250-word essays is by no means an easy feat.
The truth is, Coursera expects you to apply for one course and finish it. Then apply for the next, wait for approval after two weeks, finish it, and so on till the sixth course. This could take serious time… and words.
Luckily for you, there are a few workarounds. I have personally used the second technique to complete different specializations including the UX design program in discussion.
How to get all courses in the UX design specialization
- The gradual progression technique: this involves a little tweak to the normal process. You can apply for a course, let’s say course 1: foundations of user experience design. In 2 weeks when it’s approved, you begin and finish the course content in the expected duration. But instead of applying for the next course at the end of course 1, you can apply while you are still on it —preferably a few weeks before its end. So that in 2 weeks when course 2 is approved, you are only just finishing course 1 and you move on without having to wait. A lot of momentum can be lost in 2 weeks.
- The copy and paste technique: this approach is even much better. Notice how the first method still does not address the problem of 12x 250-word essays? This will eliminate that hurdle. I mentioned earlier that Coursera doesn’t care much about what you write (As long as it makes sense of course). Well, this technique fully exploits that fact. In this technique, you write once, apply for all six courses at once, and get access to all of them at once — using the same essays. Yes, all you need to do is write your essay, open each course in a different tab, and in the application section, paste the same essays across all six courses! Then submit each of them. They will all get approved in two weeks.
The advantages of this include:
- Saves you a lot of time
- Saves you a lot of mental and physical effort
- Apply once, and get all
- You can begin the courses in whatever order you prefer (though it is recommended to progress sequentially.)
So, except you find pleasure in writing and you absolutely cannot do without it, I don't see why this isn't good news.
Conclusion
The Google UX design course is a free program (And a majority of courses on Coursera) but some people do not know this, or do but are discouraged by the whole idea of applying for financial aid. Using the techniques here I hope this becomes a thing of the past. Success in your learning journey!
Hey! Thanks for reading and I hope you found this article useful. For more tips on UX design, Web 3.0, and freelancing, connect with me on Twitter.
