Masters degrees move into “stackable” online courses
Coursera, in conjunction with the University of Illinois will soon offer a Master’s degree in data science, helping the university open its curriculum to students who might otherwise not have access to such a course. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports the “stackable” nature of the degree, in which students can take a few courses, earn a certificate, and later apply those courses toward a full master’s program, is expected to become increasingly popular among institutions hoping to create flexible and affordable programmes for students. Furthermore, MIT is reportedly investigating its own “stackable” credential in supply chain management by offering the first half of a Master’s programme through edX. CEO of edX, Anant Agarwal, says more institutions are planning to introduce similar stackable models through the edX MOOC platform in the coming year.

MOOC MASTERS: More than three years ago the Harvard Business Review named data scientist “the sexiest job of the 21st century.” And the market for such roles remains white hot: Glassdoor ranked it as the best job in America for 2016.

Today Coursera announced it’s getting into the data science game. The online education provider is partnering with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to offer a MOOC-based Master of Computer Science in Data Science (MCS-DS) degree. "In a world where taking time off of work for a master's degree is increasingly difficult, this degree offers people a unique opportunity to choose exactly how much learning they need at different stages in their careers,” Coursera President and Co-founder Daphne Koeller said in a press release.

Students will have the option to take individual courses or the full curriculum. The complete 32-hour degree will cost $19,200—well below the price tag for other online data science master’s degrees (UC Berkeley’s runs at roughly $60,000). The program is open for admissions as of today, and the deadline to apply is June 15, 2016.