As a MOOC or massive open online course platform, Udacity offers a ton of valuable courses on different topics, mostly related to tech and business. This platform became known for its Nanodegrees – a fancy term they use for their programs, which consist of several different courses about a single topic.
If you’re wondering whether Udacity is a good platform to invest in for online courses and e-learning opportunities, we’ve got the answers for you. In this Udacity review we’ve done all the research on what the platforms offers and what are the pros and cons of choosing this platform instead of its competitors (and there are many of them out there). With that said, let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
What is Udacity?
As we’ve mentioned above, Udacity is a MOOC e-learning platform that offers hundreds of courses around the topics of technology and business. Although its pool of topics is quite limited, Udacity offers great quality content for tech and business professionals with similar interests.
Thus, if you’re looking for a variety of courses on different topics, Udacity may not be the best place to look. On the other hand, those focused on tech and business skills will love the wide range of programs this platform has to offer.
The best thing about Udacity is that its courses are very practical and offer real insights into how things are done in the tech and business world. Don’t be surprised if you see big names partnered up with Udacity, such as Amazon or Google. Companies like this often participate in Udacity’s educational programs, which is a big plus for its reputation.
However, the certificates you can earn on Udacity, even if they can be used for the sake of social proof only; they are not accredited by any major institution and will not give you much power or advantage in job selection processes. Still, completing these courses will allow you to increase your skills and knowledge to the point where you will inevitably improve your career.
With that said, we also have to mention that courses or the so-called Nanodegrees on Udacity don’t come at a cheap price. Their prices range between $600 to $2 000 at most. So, if you don’t have a big budget for education and e-learning, Udacity might not be the best place for you. With that said, let’s look at the details of what the platform has to offer.
How Does it Work?
Just like most e-learning platforms out there, Udacity has a simple-to-navigate dashboard where you can search through thousands of available courses and filter results based on your preferences. However, before you start learning things on Udacity, you have to set up an account, which is easy to do.
Head over to Udacity.com and click on the Get Started button – usually located in the top left corner but, even if they decide to switch things up on their landing page, we’re sure you’ll easily spot this big, bolded button.
You will then be taken to a registration page where you can follow the usual signup procedure that includes entering your email and creating a password. You will also be asked to confirm your email before being able to use all of the platform’s features.
Once you get those formalities out of the way, you can start exploring the niches and topics available on Udacity. Use their filtering system to find the course that fits your needs best and follow the steps on the course’s landing page to make a purchase and start your e-learning journey.
Udacity Features
Free Courses on Udacity
If you’re still not sure whether online learning is your thing, you can always give Udacity a try completely for free. Luckily, the platform offers over 200 courses that you can access without paying a penny. Although these free courses carry a lot of useful information, do keep in mind that they come with certain limitations such as lack of certification or higher-level learning.
Payments and Price Plans
If you’re an individual looking for e-learning opportunities, Udacity offers 2 options for you: their Nanodegree programs and individual courses. We’ll talk about both a bit further down the road. For now, we’d like to emphasize that the platform offers more than just one-off learning opportunities or so-called Nanodegrees, which are programs that consist of several courses.
One of their more interesting price plans is called Udacity of Enterprise and it features customized programs for companies that want to take their workforce to the next level. They offer full customization services to tailor the program to the company’s needs with access to 24/7 support from qualified mentors.
They also offer a Government plan which helps government employees increase their skills and help take economic growth to the next level. Overall, the platform is constantly evolving, and its ability to customize its services and educational packages to the needs of a single company or organization is what makes them stand out in the market.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
Another feature that makes Udacity different is the fact that they offer scholarships and financial aid to individuals/groups that qualify for it. Keep in mind that there are no federal or local aid programs associated with this platform. All of their scholarships are sponsored by third parties such as Accenture, Google, AT&T, Lyft, and others.
The good news is that the platform offers multiple scholarship programs that have helped over 20 000 students finance their courses and Nanodegrees. They allow students to break down the expenses with either PayPal Credit or Monthly Loans.
The PayPal Credit includes purchasing the program via PayPal with the ability to split the cost into several months (with interest charged every month). The other option is to create a monthly plan for 3, 6, or 12 months to finance the courses in installments. Keep in mind that these options involve interest rates that can be as high as 30%.
Refunds and Cancellation
Much like any other e-learning platform, Udacity offers refund and cancellation options. Their policy allows you to cancel a program within two days of enrollment to get a full refund on your first subscription.
The bad news is that 2 days might not be enough for you to truly experience what it’s like learning on this platform. On the other hand, the residents of the EU will get full two weeks to claim a full refund so it depends on your location. If you want to cancel a program, you can do so at any time to avoid being charged for the upcoming month’s subscription.
Great Teachers and Instructors
What we like about this platform is its high standards when it comes to accepting teachers and instructors into their circle. Udacity requires its teachers to have at least 5 years of demonstrated experience in their field, meaning they have to be experts in their subject area before teaching a course on this platform.
This goes to show that the quality of content on Udacity is top-notch because they wouldn’t have it any other way. Moreover, their teacher requirements include having the ability to build engaging and relevant course content, as well as the right skills needed to pass the knowledge onto students.
Topics and Filter Systems
Unlike most other e-learning platforms that offer a plethora of subjects, Udacity focuses on 9 main subject areas including AI, Autonomous Systems, Cloud Computing, Business, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Product Management, Programming & Development, and career.
While the fact that there are only 9 major topics might make it seem easy to navigate the platform, you’re going to need their filtration system to find the right course for you. After all, each of these topics branches out into dozens of subtopics that are covered in detail on Udacity.
Unique Program Structure
Perhaps one of the most unique things about Udacity is the way their courses are structured in programs called Nanodegrees. A Nanodegree is essentially a series of single-paid courses that all revolve around a similar topic. To give you a bit more perspective on what this means, think about a single course that can be completed in one month (if you put in 5 to 10 hours of work per week).
Now consider that a Nanodegree consists of 3 or 4 such courses, which makes it significantly longer, meaning it will take you 3 to 4 months to complete it. Naturally, the amount of time it will take you to complete a course or a Nanodegree depends on your involvement with the content. As of now, you will find over 60 great Nanodegree programs on Udacity.
Amazing Support
Another big plus when it comes to Udacity and its service is the amazing support you get from qualified mentors at all times. On top of having access to industry professional instructors, you can also benefit from the student discussion forum and a wide variety of content types aimed at helping you get the most out of your course.
Certificates
Although Nanodegrees do come with certificates, this is not by any means official or accredited certification. In other words, Udacity is not associated with educational institutions or organizations that offer accredited certification. On top of that, keep in mind that Udacity certificates are available for paid courses only.
Career Services
Last but not least, one of Udacity’s most unique features is the Career Services. This includes services such as resume and cover letter reviews as well as LinkedIn and GitHub reviews. Services like these can help you take your career and networking skills to the next level, which is far more valuable than just taking a course on your own. Keep in mind that Career Services is only available to students who take part in Nanodegree programs.
What Type of Courses are Offered on Udacity?
As we’ve already mentioned, Udacity offers courses centered around 9 main topics, including the following:
Programming & Development – The two most popular courses in this category are the Front End Web Developer course and the Java Web Developer course, both of which can prepare students for very high-paying careers in the future.
Artificial Intelligence – AI Programming with Python and Artificial Intelligence are the two most popular courses in this category. With these courses, you are going to learn the foundations of AI, along with the way this technology works in combination with programming tools such as Python, PyTorch, and others.
Cloud Computing – The two most popular courses in this category are the Cloud Developer course and the Hybrid Cloud Engineer course, both of which rely heavily on transformational technologies and skills that are highly needed in our modern age. This category will equip you with the foundational knowledge of cloud development and cloud infrastructures.
Data Science – Courses such as the Data Scientist course and Data Science for Business Leaders are part of the data science category designed to help you achieve a successful career in this field. These courses revolve around the topics of data manipulation, predictive analytics, and machine learning.
Business – This is one of the most popular course categories on Udacity, featuring courses such as Product Manager course and the Business Leadership course, all of which will help you grow both in terms of professional and personal development. The business category also includes courses related to user research, design, analysis, and business strategy.
Autonomous Systems – As one of the most interesting categories on Udacity, Autonomous Systems includes courses such as Self-Driving Car Engineer and Robotics Software Engineer. Sounds cool, right? With the demand for autonomous vehicles growing rapidly year after year, we can expect an increase in job opportunities in this field.
Career – Last but not least, the career category on Udacity offers various courses designed to help you advance in the field of your choice. The most popular courses in this category are the Data Science Interview Prep and the Refresh Your Resume course. As you can tell by the course titles, this type of content will help you polish your resume and improve your approach when speaking with recruiters and hiring managers.
9 Key Decision-Making Factors in our Udacity Review
If you’re wondering what kind of criteria we follow when grading e-learning platforms, here is a list of the 9 key decision-making factors that play a big role:
User-friendliness & learning interface – Score 5/5
The first thing we always look at when reviewing an online learning platform is the ease of use and the structure of the learning interface. These components need to meet a certain standard of quality – we’re looking for a simple and user-friendly interface that’s easy to understand and follow.
In this case, Udacity meets the criteria – its interface is simple and informative, which makes it easy to navigate without having prior experience with e-learning platforms. Besides, Udacity offers multiple search filters, making it even easier to find your way through thousands of courses and identify the ones that fit your needs best.
Convenience – Score 3.5/5
We also look at how convenient the platform is in terms of learning at your own pace and having the flexibility to pick up and put down courses depending on your schedule. To be completely transparent, Udacity does not deserve the highest score for convenience purely because some of its Nanodegree programs start at a fixed date and time.
In other words, you might not be able to take your courses whenever you want, as you might have to follow their already established schedule. Another downside that takes away from the convenience score is the fact that there is no option to learn offline, although you can download lessons and transcripts off the platform.
Quality of content – Score 5/5
The good news is that Udacity offers impeccable content quality given that their courses are taught by leading experts in their respective fields. Although the end results and outcomes of the course depend on your level of interest and involvement with the content, it’s safe to say that Udacity offers high-quality courses.
Let’s not forget that the platform is partnered with major industry leaders such as Amazon and Nvidia. These two alone are enough to convince us that Udacity’s tutors know what they’re doing. If you’re still not convinced that the quality of content on this platform is up to your standards, give it a shot and take a couple of their free courses to test things out.
Available platforms – Score 2.5/5
Unfortunately, Udacity does not have a functional mobile platform, meaning you can only use it on a laptop or desktop device. Naturally, you will need a browser such as Chrome to follow your course. Although there is no mobile app at the moment, you can still access Udacity on your phone via your online browser.
However, we recommend taking your courses on a laptop or desktop device, simply because they will be laid out more nicely, which will make it easier to follow the content and access resources and attachments. Still, it’s up to you to decide whether the browser version on mobile is good enough to get some work done.
Official certifications – Score 4/5
When it comes to certifications, Udacity offers certificates of completion once you go through their single paid courses or Nanodegrees. There are over 40 Nanodegree programs (which consist of multiple courses) that offer certificates of completion. However, their certificates are not accredited and thus not recognized by any universities or official educational institutions.
Keep in mind that Udacity is partnered with major companies including Google and Mercedes. Hence, their certificates are usually recognized by the employers involved with the platform’s content. Besides, today’s modern hiring procedures allow for non-accredited certification since it’s the skill and knowledge that matter. Hence, there is no doubt that Udacity certificates can help you advance in your career.
Types of courses – Score 3.5/5
As always, we like to look at the variety of courses available on each platform when determining the score and comparing the competitors. In this case, Udacity gets a score of 3.5 out of 5 because their courses are limited to only 9 different subject areas. These include AI, Autonomous Systems, Cloud Computing, Business, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Product Management, Programming & Development, and career.
Although Udacity offers a great variety of courses within those 9 categories, you won’t find any other subjects on the platform. Hence, if you’re more of a creative person looking for simpler niches and content revolving around creative tasks, you might want to look at Udacity’s competitors such as SkillShare and Udemy.
Instructors – Score 5/5
The quality of instructors plays a huge role in determining the overall quality of an e-learning platform. In this case, we gave Udacity the highest score for the quality of instructors because their courses are made by actual experts in technical fields such as data science, business, and autonomous systems.
It is important to address that Udacity develops its content in collaboration with industry experts in all 9 fields of interest. Besides, they also partner with big names such as Google, BMW, Mercedes, and Nvidia, all of which provide access to their experts and excellent instructors.
Payment methods
When it comes to paying for courses on Udacity, you’ve got several options. You can purchase their courses individually or invest in a Nanodegree program, which essentially combines the top courses in one field or area of interest to provide a more well-rounded learning experience. You also have the option to pay for full access to a Nanodegree program or pay monthly as you go.
Which option pays off more depends on the length and the pricing of the program you choose. You can pay for Udacity programs using PayPal or any credit card. You can also use PayPal Credit to finance these programs. As far as the refunds go, there is a 7-day refund policy during which you can return the course and get your money back.
Customer support – Score 3/5
Last but not least, Udacity gets a score of 3 out of 5 when it comes to customer support. Their support team is available via email and chatbot, meaning you won’t have the option to give them a call if urgent assistance is needed.
Moreover, their support is not always the fastest, which explains the mediocre score. Still, this isn’t a reason not to look into the platform since, in most cases, you likely won’t run into issues that require urgent assistance.
Pros & Cons Udacity
Like any other platform out there, Udacity has its pros and cons. It’s a good idea to weigh these two before deciding whether or not you’re going to invest in the platform:
The Pros of Udacity:
- Great content available
- Partnered with industry leaders such as Google, Amazon, Mercedes…
- They offer Career Services
- Free courses available
- Certificates available
- User-friendly interface
- Finanical aid available
The Cons of Udacity:
- Quite pricey
- Limited topics
- No mobile application
- The content is available in English only
Who is Udacity For?
Given that Udacity only focuses on 9 major subject areas, it’s safe to say that the platform is made for individuals looking to learn new skills in the realm of programming, business, and data science. The courses are designed for people who are in search of knowledge and self-improvement without a need for accredited certification.
Although the platform provides valuable content that can result in earning employable skills, it’s not going to help you land a better job because of official accreditation or similar social proof. Still, the Udacity certificates can serve as proof of attendance which some might take into consideration during job interviews.
How Much Does Udacity Cost?
Now, if you’re curious about how much it costs to take one of Udacity’s programs, we must address that this platform is a bit more expensive compared to some of the other platforms on the market.
In a nutshell, Udacity’s Nanodegree Programs start at $399 per month and take around 6 months to complete, depending on the topic and complexity. Interestingly, there are two ways you can pay for your Nanodegree program.
The first one is the Pay As You Go system where you will be charged the monthly fee of $399 for as many months as it takes you to complete the program. The other option is to pay the full-access fee of $1995 and you’ll get access to the program for its entire duration of 6 months (or whatever the length of the specific program you chose).
Both payment options have their pros and cons. If you feel like you can complete the program quicker, then the Pay As You Go option will be cheaper for you. However, if you cannot dedicate more hours to the program than the estimated amount, then you’re better off with the full access payment plan as you won’t have to pay extra.
Similar Platforms to Consider
As always, we like to look into multiple options before opting for one online learning platform. In this case, Udacity is a great fit for anyone interested in one of its 9 subject areas. However, some of its features – such as the Nanodegree price plans – might not be the best fit for your needs. If you’re looking for a more diverse range of topics or less expensive courses, there are several other options to consider.
For example, if you prefer the creative side of business instead of the data/analytical one, then an online learning platform such as SkillShare might be a better option for you. Compared to Udacity, SkillShare offers way more topic ranges and subject areas, as well as courses that are a lot cheaper. Besides, the creative courses available on SkillShare such as courses about photography, graphic design, or even painting, are not available on Udacity.
On the other hand, if you don’t mind paying a premium for high-quality online education but you’re concerned about certification, you might want to look into Coursera. As one of the most popular e-learning platforms, Coursera offers high-end content and courses taught by reputable experts in their respective fields. Most importantly, Coursera is partnered with official educational institutions, meaning their courses include accredited certification upon completion.
Last but not least, if all you’re looking for is diversity of content and access to thousands of courses in a wide range of subject areas, then look into Udemy. Although its courses are not accredited, this platform is packed with valuable content on a wide range of topics. All courses come with a 30-day refund policy, meaning you can easily get your money back if you’re not happy with the content or the structure of the course.
Is Udacity Worth It? Final Thoughts
After researching everything there is to know about Udacity, we can safely conclude that the platform is worth investing in if you’re looking to adopt skills in one of its 9 major topic areas. What’s great about Udacity is that it offers a very intuitive and user-friendly interface so you don’t have to be tech savvy to understand how e-learning works.
The platform also offers engaging and nicely broken down course content with a mix of video tutorials and graphic visuals. From a learner’s perspective, Udacity ticks all the boxes, including great support and plenty of downloadable resources. As long as your interests fall into one of Udacity’s 9 categories, you should easily find a course that fits your needs.
If you’re not yet sure whether investing in a Nanodegree program is a good decision for you, you can give it a test run by taking one of the platform’s 200 free courses. This commodity will give you plenty of room to decide before committing to a full program that costs several hundreds of dollars.
Besides, don’t forget that Udacity offers several payment plans and financial aid programs that can help you afford the course without breaking your budget. These benefits make e-learning more approachable to all levels of society, which is why we consider Udacity a platform worth taking a look at (even if you’re only window shopping for potential online courses).