Harvard University certifications

CS50x is the online edition of Harvard's introductory computer science course. The lectures, problem sets and tools are free to anyone, and the work is submitted and scored online, automatically, through CS50's own gradebook. There is no exam. Reach 70 per cent on each problem set and on a self-directed capstone, and the gradebook offers a CS50 Certificate at no charge. A paid verified seat on edX turns the same result into a HarvardX certificate backed by identity verification.

The Harvard name on the certificate carries real weight, though less than it might seem, and three facts set its limits.

• It is not a Harvard qualification. CS50 is explicit that neither certificate is an accredited academic offering; the accredited versions run through Harvard's campus and Extension School.
• It can lead to credit. The edX verified certificate for CS50x carries an American Council on Education credit recommendation, which some institutions honour. The free certificate does not.
• It is widely known. edX lists more than seven million learners enrolled in CS50x, so interviewers are likely to have heard of it. Recognition is not rigour, though: the assessment is automated scoring of your submitted code, not a supervised test.

CS50 publishes a family of follow-on courses, among them Python, web programming, artificial intelligence, SQL, R and cybersecurity, several of which also lead to verified certificates on edX; CS50x, the flagship, is the one with a page below. CS50's course map helps choose among them, and for a general grounding in how programs work the flagship remains the one to begin with.