"MIT MOOCs are changing the way that economics is taught around the world. My MITx course has been viewed more than 50,000 times and has helped students from all over the world better understand economics. I think that MOOCs at MIT are a big part of the future of our Institute."

Jonathan Gruber
Department Chair and Ford Professor of Economics
MIT Department of Economics

INNOVATION. This year, our portfolio of 174 active massive open online courses (MOOCs) included 20 new topics highlighting interdisciplinary approaches to climate change, economics, sustainability, and ethics. New courses included Good Economics for Hard Times, Bringing Worker Voices into Technology and Employment Strategies, Cities and Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation. We also launched an experiment in digital learning – an introductory graduate level course on Analysis of Transport Phenomena, which delves into mathematical modeling of heat and mass transfer, and requires solving problems through analytics, approximation, and pencil and paper. 

Our Digital Learning Lab, which develops and runs MOOCs with faculty, co-created digital educational tools to improve the learning process and the feedback loops between instructors and learners. For example, one of our teams helped create a simulation tool called the Phase Diagram Explorer that allows students to visualize the creation of binary phase diagrams – an essential exercise in thermodynamics and the field of materials science and engineering. Several of our teams have created and continue to refine learning assessments to better support learners in their coursework and inform instructors on where students may need additional support. The Digital Learning Lab scientists and fellows will be working on more innovations like these in the future.

"The certificates from MIT have changed my life. This level of education is building new skills and experience, knowledge and applying that in the real world is just an amazing feeling."

Jawadali, Enrolled college/university student, India

EXPANSION. As our portfolio of courses grew, so did the number of people who decided to learn with MITx courses. More than 770,000 learners from more than 200 countries enrolled in our offerings this year, with the vast majority learning for their own edification.

We’re also cheering on the 1,354 people who earned their MicroMasters Program credentials, which will save them time and money when they apply for their respective master’s programs in any of the 55 pathway schools, including MIT. After being admitted to a participating institution, they’ll receive a predetermined amount of credit towards the completion of their master's program.

We’ve also added a course to the Open Learning Library, which continues to be an excellent platform for self-directed learning of MITx and OpenCourseWarecourses. Of the 950,000 people from 228 countries accessing that site, more than 160,000 people have registered to learn.