edX, a non-profit founded by Harvard and MIT, provides online courses from Ivy League schools for free or cheap — here's how it works

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• edX is a massive open online course (MOOC) provider and non-profit founded by Harvard and MIT to remove barriers to education.
• The site offers an impressive array of courses from top universities and institutions for those seeking to change industries, grow in their careers, or explore new interests and hobbies.
• Courses are free to audit, while verified certificates cost $50-$100. Multi-course programs and MicroBachelors, MicroMasters, and Master's programs are also available but cost more.

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edX is a massive open online course (MOOC) provider founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012 to improve access to education.

The non-profit has since partnered with more than 90 of the world's top universities, non-profits, NGOs, and corporations to bring education and valuable skill-building to online learners for a fraction of the cost associated with enrolling on campuses. Currently, edX reportedly hosts about 3,000 courses and 25 million learners from every country in the world.

What courses and programs are offered on edX?

edX topics range from the art of persuasive speaking to entrepreneurship in emerging economies, and game development, and are catered to all types of students, including those looking to enter the job market, change fields, earn promotions, or explore new hobbies and interests. You may find the complete encyclopedia of the site's most popular courses here.

edX includes thousands of courses from universities and institutions such as Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, Microsoft, Tsinghua University, IBM, and The Smithsonian. It also offers programs with multiple related courses, workforce-applicable professional certificates that students may add to their resumes and CV or share directly on LinkedIn, and full Master's degree programs.

They also offer MicroBachelors and MicroMasters, which are bite-sized versions of on-campus programs at a substantial discount. These programs cover 25% to 50% of a university's degree curriculum and sometimes offer credits towards the full degree. You can find FAQs for edX MicroBachelors here, and edX MicroMasters here. Students can also enroll in a few courses with transferable credit from ASU and only pay if they earn the grade they need.

How does an edX class work?

edX courses are generally made up of weekly modules with pre-recorded videos that you can watch on a schedule or at your own pace.

There are supplemental readings and student discussion forums, as well as homework assignments and assessments like short quizzes or exams.

You can check out a demo course edX created to give you a peek into the standard learning experience here.

What is the difference between auditing an edX course and paying for a certificate?

The audit option is free and gives you access to review course materials and discussion forums. However, it will not include graded assignments or unlimited course access. For those, you must enroll in the certificate program, which comes with a fee.

How much does edX cost?

edX courses are technically free, but students will have to pay a low fee ranging from $50-$100 to take a "verified certificate" version of the class, which includes a verified certificate as well as graded homework during the course and unlimited course access.

For example, Harvard's famous CS50 Introductory Computer Science course is the most popular course on edX and on campus. On edX, it's free to take but a verified certificate will cost students $90.

Browse all of edX's educational offerings here