University of California, Riverside Partners with edX to Launch its First Free and Open Courses

New courses will feature content in mental health, well-being and world languages

RIVERSIDE, Calif. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of California, Riverside Extension (UCRX) and edX, a leading global online learning platform from 2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU), today announced a partnership to develop UCRX's first Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the edX platform. The courses, featuring content in mental health, well-being and world languages, will be free-to-audit for edX learners.

The five courses UCRX will be offering include a mental health and well-being course focused on the dynamic power of the brain, Arabic language for business, and English-Spanish language interpretation and translation. The three interpretation and translation courses will include concentrations in medical, legal and education settings.

"The launch of our first MOOC courses on edX introduces UCR University Extension's mission of preparing a new generation of innovative thinkers to become lifelong learners around the globe," said Dr. Kevin J. Vaughn, Dean of University Extension and Professor of Anthropology at UCR. "We look forward to collaborating with the edX team to provide these affordable, accessible education opportunities."

In addition to the new MOOCs, UCRX will continue to offer its boot camp programs in coding and cybersecurity in partnership with edX. Since launching in 2018, over 300 learners have graduated from UCRX's boot camp programs. Graduates have been hired by nearly 40 companies, including JP Morgan and Infosys.

"With this expansion of our partnership, UCR Extension is furthering its commitment to provide accessible and affordable education opportunities from a world-renowned university system," said Andrew Hermalyn, President of Partnerships at 2U. "MOOCs establish an accessible entry point for people to begin their learning journeys and discover complementary programs, from additional MOOCs to MicroMasters® programs, on the edX platform." 

For more information on UCRX programs, visit https://www.edx.org/school/ucr.

The University of California (UC) is the world's leading public research university system. UCR is one of ten UC campuses. Nine of the ten UC campuses have University Extensions, which are designated as the professional, continuing and online education division for the campuses. For more than 65 years, the mission of UCR Extension has been to provide professional development, academic advancement and personal achievement programs for international and domestic learners. Many of these programs ground their practical components in evidence-based research. UCR Extension offers a welcoming and diverse environment in which learners can advance their existing careers or embark on new ones, to continue in lifelong learning, or set and achieve new scholastic goals. UCR Extension provides academic programming for a variety of industries, including the fields of Education, Health and Wellness, Business and Management, Law and Criminal Justice, Engineering and Technology, and others. The organization currently offers 75+ certificates and academic pathway programs to 4,000 students and 7,000+ enrollments per year including international students from 45+ countries.

edX is the education movement for restless learners and a leading global online learning platform from 2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU). Together with the majority of the world's top-ranked universities and industry-leading companies, we bring our community of over 45 million learners world-class education to support them at every stage of their lives and careers, from free courses to full degrees. And we're not stopping there — we're relentlessly pursuing our vision of a world where every learner can access education to unlock their potential, without the barriers of cost or location. Learn more at edX.org.

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CONTACT: Alice Randall, [email protected]

SOURCE 2U, Inc.