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We encourage you to start with a non-credit course so you can preview course content and determine whether you a ready to complete the course within an 8-week for-credit session. 

To enroll in the non-credit versions of the MS-DS curriculum, sign up for an account on , find the course you are interested in, and click the Enroll button to audit the course.

Our non-credit courses offer a different experience than our for-credit courses, including: 

• Flexible dates: Dates for non-credit courses are flexible, and these courses are available on-demand.
• Coursera subscription fee: Non-credit courses carry a monthly subscription fee, which you pay directly to Coursera.
• Independent work: Non-credit courses are not supported by faculty or course facilitators.
• Coursera certificates: Students can earn from Coursera for non-credit courses and specializations. This non-credit certificate of completion does not confer transcripted credit from the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ, nor can these classes be applied to the degree.
• Saving work off-platform: If you decide to upgrade later, any assignments you complete in the non-credit experience will be automatically applied to your for-credit experience. Due to their interactive nature, discussion board posts and peer-graded assignments may not transfer from session to session when you upgrade. Be sure to save your work outside of the Coursera platform.
• Occasional updates: We occasionally update courses to stay relevant with industry trends and student feedback. Those updates can include adding new elements or changing/removing existing elements that students may have already completed in the non-credit version of the course. We recommend upgrading to the for-credit version of a course soon after completing your non-credit work. This can help avoid extra work due to these types of course updates.

Start directly in a for-credit course or enroll in the non-credit version first to preview course content. You may upgrade from non-credit to for-credit at any time during the enrollment window. See the calendar for exact dates. 

Our for-credit courses offer a different experience than our non-credit courses, including:

• Set dates:  For-credit courses have session start and end dates. Each session is 8 weeks long. See the calendar for exact dates. All for-credit coursework must be submitted by the last day of the 8-week session, and tuition cannot be carried over to future terms.
• CU tuition: For-credit tuition is paid to the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ and Includes access to additional CU services. (e.g. online library and alumni/career services, CU on Coursera membership, and an @colorado.edu email address).
• Academic support: For-credit courses are supported by course facilitators through weekly office hours, discussion forums, and email.
• CU credit: Students receive academic credit for their for-credit courses on a transcript from the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ.
• Mandatory onboarding: Prior to accessing for-credit content for the first time, you must pass a short (4–5 hours) non-credit onboarding course. You only need to complete this course once. 
• Additional materials: Additional material and assessments must be completed to earn credit; these materials are only available to students who pay tuition. 
• Saving work off-platform: Due to their interactive nature, discussion board posts and peer-graded assignments may not transfer from session to session if you drop/withdraw and later re-enroll in a particular class. Be sure to save your work outside of the Coursera platform.
• Recommended course load: We recommend new student take 1 course in their first session. And we encourage continuing students to take no more than 3 courses per session, which is equivalent to a full-time graduate-level course load. For every one credit hour, you will spend approximately 5–8 hours total each week. This includes videos, discussions, readings and assignments. Students who take 3 courses per session complete the degree in about 2 years. You must complete all courses within 8 years.