How It Works
Start your courses right away and work at your own pace. Then, enroll for credit toward program admission and your degree. No transcripts or applications are required.
Start now with the open version!
Kickstart your learning with the open version and dive into the course content without any application requirements. When you feel ready to take the next step, just click the button below to see how easily you can upgrade to the for-credit experience and work towards your CU Boulder degree.
Getting started with the For-credit experience is simple
New Students will need to create their CU Boulder student account with the CU Boulder Student Account Creation Form.
This form collects your student information and your program goals.
IMPORTANT: Fill out the CU Boulder on Coursera Account Creation form carefully.
- Carefully read the Program Declaration and Learning Goals section.
- This section decides which degree program you will join.
- We highly encourage students to select a program, Computer Science or Artificial Intelligence.
- You can always change your program later, if you decide to change paths.
- If you select "undeclared" you will not have program support, you will have course support.
After creating your account, you will receive an email from the Office of Information Technology (OIT) with your Student Identification Number (SID) and instructions on how to activate your IdentiKey (which will be your CU login name) and password. You will use your Identikey to access online services and applications at CU Boulder.
Didn't get the email from OIT? Contact them directly at oithelp@colorado.edu to locate your Student Identification Number (SID).
After activating your IdentiKey, you will need to set-up your CU Boulder email account. All official forms of communication will be sent through this account.
Important! Link your CU email to your Coursera account to:
- Gain access to the Student Onboarding Course (you must complete this before accessing for-credit content and to earn a grade)
- Allow CU Boulder to grant credit for the work you do in Coursera
To get started, open the linking invitation email from Coursera with the subject line “ACTION NEEDED: Link your Coursera account…”.
Prior to accessing for-credit content for the first time, you must complete and pass the non-credit "CU Boulder Student Onboarding Course" and the MS-CS and MS-AI materials in the course. Please keep the following in mind:
- You only need to complete this course once.
- We recommend bookmarking this course so you can refer back to it when you have questions about the program.
- If you have completed the onboarding course and still do not have access to the for-credit content, the class may not have started yet. See the session calendar.
Go to your Buff Portal and login with your CU Boulder IdentiKey to enroll in a course and pay tuition ($525 per credit hour). Tuition is due at the time of enrollment. You will receive a confirmation message after your enrollment has been processed, typically within 24 hours.
It is helpful to have your curriculum page up while you are enrolling.
MS-AI Curriculum page (the MS-AI degree has 3 different course codes; APPA, CSCA and INFA)
In Buff Portal Enrollment:
- Click Course Registration
- Under Any Subject, select CSCA (or the subject you need)
- Add the course to your cart
In your Cart:
- Click Continue to Enrollment
- Pay tuition
- Click Submit Registration
🔎 How to Confirm You’re Enrolled
You should see black check marks next to your courses. If you only see a blue cart icon, the course is still in your cart and you are not registered. Double-check your enrollment in the Buff Portal or your Degree Audit.
Visit the Bursar's Degrees on Coursera for more information about payment, account statements, and refund policies.
Your for-credit courses will be in your degree learner area in Coursera when you login with your CU credentials.
After you have completed the onboarding course, please keep the following in mind:
- The courses you enrolled in will be added to your Coursera account once the session begins. If the session you enrolled in is already in progress, your courses should appear in your account within 24–48 hours. See the session calendar.
- Schedule all proctored exams and submit peer-graded assignments at least 72 hours prior to the class end date. See the session calendar. Not all exams are proctored.
- Tuition cannot be carried over to future sessions. All for-credit coursework must be submitted by the last day of the 8-week session you enroll in.
- Final grades are typically posted about 1–2 weeks after the end of each 8-week session.
Complete the Community Accountability Course (After completion of a pathway course and admission to the program)
All CU Boulder students must complete the mandatory Community Accountability training online in Canvas. This non-credit online course covers university policy and resources addressing discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct. Students also learn skills for helping bystanders and supporting friends to prevent and respond effectively to harm.
The Community Accountability course is only required after you are admitted as a degree seeking student. You will only be able to access the course in the beginning of the semester after you are admitted (for example – if you are admitted after the Spring 1 session, you may not see this course appear until Summer 1). The course will be automatically added to your Canvas dashboard when you are due to complete it. Failure to complete the course by the deadline will result in a registration hold being placed on your account.
Journey to Admissions
Complete a Pathway & Earn Program Admission
Our unique performance-based admissions process means you earn program admission simply by performing well in a three-course pathway. There is no application form, and we never ask for application documents like transcripts, test scores (GRE, TOEFL, etc.), application essays, or letters of recommendation. You do not have to be admitted to take any course for-credit.
Students are automatically admitted to the degree program* after meeting all of the following admission requirements in the for-credit experience:
Earn a B or better in all three pathway courses within your chosen pathway
Achieve a pathway GPA of 3.00 or higher in your chosen pathway
Earn an overall cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher
Declare your degree program on the Account Creation Form (new students) or later in your Buff Portal
*Admissions are processed about 2 weeks after grades post at the end of every session.
Pathway Specializations:
Pathway specialization courses must be taken for credit to earn program admission
Each pathway is a series of three 1-credit breadth courses from the required degree curriculum - called a specialization
You make direct progress toward your degree as you complete your pathway
Questions?
Check out our FAQ.