UT Permian Basin students can now earn Google Certificates while working toward their undergraduate degree. The best part? The certificates come at no additional cost as students complete the certifications in class. The exciting news comes after Google announced its largest university partnership to date with The University of Texas System. Thanks to this collaboration, thousands of students across eight University of Texas academic institutions now have the opportunity to earn a Google certificate.
The partnership stems from the Grow with Google Career Certificates project. The project is an online training program that offers professional certificates to students. Students who complete the certificate program earn a credential that can lead to jobs in high-demand technology fields like data analytics, e-commerce, digital marketing, IT support, and more.
At UT Permian Basin there are two classes students can take to earn a Google Certification. Students who complete the Digital Marketing Analytics course (Marketing 4304) in the College of Business will earn a Data Analytics Google certification. Students who take Social Stratification course (Sociology 4320) in the College of Arts and Sciences will earn a User Experience (UX) Design Google certification.
Dr. Lili Gai, UTPB Associate Professor and chair of Marketing, was one of the faculty members who initially took the lead on implementing the Google Data Analytics course.
“This is something that I was very excited to see,” shares Gai. “But this is not one person’s efforts. Several people on campus worked hard for this to come together. College of Business Dean, Dr. Steve Beach also gave me a lot of support and encouragement.”
UTPB’s FalconOnline Instructional Designers, Melissa Brumley and Melissa Colter, were also instrumental in making this program come to life. The Data Analytics certificate course at UTPB officially started in Fall 2022. The 8–10-week course is completed online and is open to all undergraduate students, regardless of major. Online coaches, as well as Lili Gai, work with the students virtually each week to help students through this process.
UTPB student, Katelynn Winchell was one of the first to complete the course and receive a Google Certificate in Data Analytics. Winchell was invited to the Grow with Google event in Austin to share her experiences on how this program helped prepare her to enter the workforce.
“It was an incredible honor to be invited to Austin to share my experience not only with the Google creators but also UT System Chancellor James Milliken and Senator John Cornyn,” said Winchell. “The experience of taking the Google analytics course was challenging, but I paced myself well and chipped away at it a little at a time. In the end, it was so worth the outcome.”
“I hope that in the near future, the College of Business can offer at least two or more Google certificates and incorporate them into the course content,” added Gai.
Learn more about UT System’s partnership with Google and apply today to UTPB!