Are Udemy Courses Accredited & Its Certificates Recognized?

Are Udemy courses accredited? Are Certificates from Udemy recognized? Should you buy a course from Udemy?

You might be thinking of investing in Udem’y online programs but you are not sure if you should invest in them. You might be contemplating if their courses are recognized by a University or an Institute.

Short answer is that most of Udemy courses are not accredited or recognized by any educational institute or a governing body.

However, there is more to this online learning platform then just the recognition. There is a reason why so many people opt for this platform over others. Its main benefit is that it provides lifetime access to all its courses at a huge discount.

You can click here to find out the current discount on Udemy.

Let’s look at Udem’y value in detail.

Are Udemy Courses Accredited?

Most of the Udemy online training programs are not accredited but you may find a few of them that have some accreditation. These courses are approved by non-profit organizations or smaller institutions and not by a recognized university. Generally these courses are non-career oriented.

Even though most of the Udemy certificates are not licensed or approved, Udemy courses hold an immense value. Let us understand how Udemy could be useful for you.

Brief Review of Udemy

Udemy is an all-purpose learning platform. The range of courses available on Udemy is vast. You can find courses on technical, management, hobbies, academic and various other subjects.

At the time of writing, Udemy had 100,000+ courses on its platform. The courses are offered by a huge no. of independent instructors.

Some of the courses are created by industry experts but you will also find many programs that have been created by lesser known instructors. Some of the courses are amateurish and not worthy. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to assess which course is best for your needs.

To balance this out, Udemy has a rating & review system using which students can write review comments and give a rating to their courses. You can read these comments and look at students’ rating to determine if a course is worthy or not.

I have written an article to find the top courses on Udemy. You can read it to determine which course(s) are suitable for your needs.

There are many positive features of Udemy. These include lifetime access, low price, direct support from the instructor etc. However, on the flip side there are some disadvantages also. You can read my full review article on Udemy to look at all its advantages and disadvantages.

Top 5 Benefits of Udemy

Udemy should be your first preference if you are on a budget. Udemy is a cost-effective online learning platform. Here are the main benefits of Udemy:

1. Low cost – You can buy Udemy courses at a very reasonable price. Even though price of some courses is $200, you can buy them at a deep discount. There are always some kind of discounts offer running on Udemy. You can buy a course for as little as $10. You can click here to check the current discount offer.
2. Review and rating system – Udemy has an excellent review and rating system using which student can provide feedback and leave review comments. They can also give a rating for the courses that they have taken. You can look at ratings of a course and read feedback comments before investing money.
3. Hundreds of courses on a single topic – There are hundreds of courses on a single topic on Udemy, which will help you find a course that is most suitable for you. e.g. if you want to learn Python, you will find a number of courses to get you started.
4. 30- day Money Back Guarantee – Udemy offers 30 days money back guarantee. If you don’t like the course that you bought, you can ask for refund of your money.
5. Lifetime Access – Udemy gives lifetime access to all its courses. It is like buying a book. After you buy a courses, it remains with you forever.

Are Udemy Certificates Recognized By Employers?

Udemy certificates are generally not recognized by employers but they provide indirect benefit to the certificate holders. Some of these benefits are:

1. Upgrading your knowledge – In today’s businesses technology changes very fast. You can use Udemy to upgrade your knowledge to remain technically competent in the fast changing business world. e.g. if you work in Data Science projects, then you can take courses on Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence.
2. Open new opportunities – Nowadays, skills is more appreciated than certifications. You can use Udemy to enhance your knowledge and skills to gain mastery in a particular subject. A Udemy certificate may not get you a new employment or promotions but it can enrich your resume. Essentially, Udemy can help you in getting a job interview.
3. Developing Hobbies – If you want to learn something just as a hobby then this is one of the best platform. You could choose anything like yoga, dancing, playing guitar, etc. You will get professional guidance to improve your knwoledge and skills.
4. Learning on a low budget – Udemy can give you a lot of bang for your buck if you are on a budget. Udemy runs multiple promotions in a month. you can get courses for as low as $10.
5. Learn at your own pace – You should go for Udemy if you would like to learn on your own and at your own pace. Unlike many other eLearning platforms, you will get unlimited lifetime access to the Udemy courses.

The only drawback is that, sometimes, finding a good course on Udemy becomes a headache as it offers thousands of courses. You can read my article on how to find good courses on Udemy to determine which courses are best for you.

Alternatives of Udemy

1. Pluralsight – This is one of the interesting platforms to choose from. It has lots of unique features like Learning Paths. You will get projects, test, quizzes, etc. on this platform.
2. Coursera– This is also a wonderful platform to learn accredited courses from top Universities of the world. Coursera was founded by Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller in 2012. Since then they have added hundreds of Institutes on their platform.
3. edX– This is one of the premier MOOCs when comes to learning. There are many top-ranking institutes under this platform. This platform was founded in 2012 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
4. Team Treehouse – This platform has been made especially for Programmers. You can learn to code from scratch. They have a team of full-time and part-time members. These members help in developing the courses on this platform.
5. Udacity – This is best for Job-Seekers. They will provide job calls for you. You can get hired through this platform. You will also get personalized feedback on your quizzes & projects.If you don’t want to go for Udemy there are plenty of options available. You can choose any of them listed above.

Final Thoughts

Udemy has evolved as a market leader in the online learning world. You can find hundreds of courses on practically any subject on Udemy. These courses can be bought at a very low cost for lifetime.

I would suggest that you buy a course of your choice as there is no harm even you find it below par. It will cost you about $10 and in some countries even less than $10. You can always ask for a refund if you don’t like it.

Over To You

Do you think Udemy’s non-accreditation is an important factor is rejecting it courses? How useful are recognized certificates in jobs today?

Did you choose another eLearning platform over Udemy? If yes, which one did you find more suitable?

I would love to hear from you in the comments section below.