Independent Study: Online Courses

Students may pursue Independent Study using online courses from a variety of educational sources, including Udemy, edX, and Coursera, subject to those courses being approved as relevant to the student's study and of sufficient educational merit and content.  The online courses must include assessment and evidence of completion, such as generating a certificate.  Upon successful completion of such a course, and after submission of the completion certificate, these external credits may be transferred to the OIST PhD degree for 1 credit per course.

Your online course proposal must be approved by the Curriculum and Examinations Committee before you enroll in the online course, and the course fee can only be reimbursed AFTER successful completion with evidence (such as a completion certificate). Please contact the Curriculum and Programs Section for assistance with online course payment.

Students need to have an OIST faculty member appointed as the Faculty of Record, who is responsible for confirming that the academic content of the course is sufficient for award of a transfer credit.  Please include an endorsement notice from the Faculty of Record when making your application. 

Note: The total of external course credits permitted (transfer credits at degree entry, online courses, international workshops, and any other external credited courses) must be less than 50% of your degree elective credit requirements.  This ensures that OIST teaches more than half of the credits you will take.