UC Chile one step forward to offer online master's degrees with Coursera
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC Chile) is the first Chilean university to agree with the online learning platform featuring graduate courses. UC is planning to offer courses in data science, health, and business, all of which are high-demand areas in Latin America.
photo_camera UC Chile will offer three master's degrees at Coursera: data science, public health, and possibly finance or business analytics.
Our university is the first in Chile to sign an agreement with the online learning platform Coursera to offer graduate studies.
After two years of evaluating different alternatives and the status of online graduate programs worldwide, UC decided to move forward with Coursera. The massive open online course provider has more than 77 million students enrolled globally.
According to Patricio Donoso, Provost of Institutional Management, "This is a relevant milestone for the new UC Chile 2020-2025 Development Plan, and is related to several of its axes:
- The promotion of new online methodologies,
- Internationalization,
- Public role and commitment,
- and Institutional sustainability."
The Office of The Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Offices of the Provost of Institutional Management -through its Office of Continuing Education- led the initiative. Other units involved in the project are:
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Engineering
- Faculty of Mathematics
- Faculty of Economics & Administration
- Adjunct Office of the Vice President for International Affairs
Why has the university decided to offer graduate studies online?
Fernando Purcell, Vice President of Academic Affairs, explained: "Developing online master's degrees is important because they allow us to reach wider audiences. Not only in Chile but in Latin America."
"The future of higher education will be much more dynamic. Therefore, we need to offer a diversity of educational programs: both face-to-face and online options," added Purcell.
Luz Montero, Director of Continuing Education said, the agreement will help "democratize access to knowledge as the programs are 100% online. They will allow people worldwide to enroll without the barriers of time and space. And also at a more affordable price."
Another aspect highlighted by Gonzalo Pizarro, Director of the Teaching Academic Office, is that online learning implies innovation in teaching.
"Adopting this approach will allow our institution to learn new methodologies that can also impact aspects of face-to-face and undergraduate teaching."
He also believes that students will benefit from programs that have been redesigned and implemented with modern technologies. Online study programs will give students greater flexibility to manage their study time and combine it with work or other responsibilities.
The first programs are expected to be available in the second term of 2022.
