About

The goal of Self-Made Degrees is to provide an alternative route for self-driven, independent students who don’t fit into the four-year university model, but still want to receive an equivalent education.

In a world where information is readily available, college isn’t that important anymore. (Disclaimer: it depends on your major/career, of course. For example, if you want to be a doctor, you can’t really get out of going to college.) Combined with high tuition rates, fewer students are choosing to attend college every year.

Why you might choose to study on your own

• Your learning pace is a lot faster or slower than others your age. That’s fine! It’s important to be able to go at your own pace while not burning yourself out, an experience universities fail to provide students with.

• You want to learn something your college doesn’t offer. Maybe you’re interested in UX design, but you’re studying psychology because it’s the closest degree offered at your university. Use SMD to help supplement your education!

• You’re interested in a career like art, design, or programming, where (in general) your portfolio and what you can do matters a lot more than what kind of degree you have.

How does Self-Made Degrees work?

SMD takes real academic plans from different universities and creates an equivalent study plan based on free online resources. After that, everything is completely up to you.

Is this program really completely free?

Yes! We do list possible paid courses - no affiliation - that you can take (for example, if you want to take advantage of that free Coursera subscription your library offers). But there is always a free option.

If a resource is listed as free that actually isn’t, please contact us at [email tbd!] and we will fix it right away.

Is this an actual degree?

It is not. (Don’t we wish it could be, though?) It is true there are many employers who still value a degree, so you should only choose SMD as an option if you are willing to:

• work harder than others around you
• be comfortable with failure
• chart your own career path