In a partnership with Google, the University of Virginia will offer any current or former students with a Google Career Certificate a $5,000 scholarship to continue their education.
Students with a Google Career Certificate in one of its five programs may receive a one-time $5,000 scholarship to UVA’s Continuing Schools of Professionals and Continuing Studies to complete their Bachelor’s degree. The offer is only available for the University’s online, part-time completion programs for its Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies or Bachelor of Professional Studies in Health Sciences.
The scholarship will be available for students accepted for the fall 2022 semester.
While 50,000 people across the United States currently have Google certificates, 60% do not have a Bachelor’s degree, said Alex Hernandez, dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at UVA and UVA’s Vice Provost of Online Learning.
Google created its Google Career Certificates in 2018 to aid individuals in getting skills pertinent to what they deemed in-demand jobs, like Project Management and User Experience Design. No prior experience or education is required to enroll, and students can finish their program within three to six months.
Students with a certificate will have the same amount of time as other students to complete their degree. All students within the UVA’s SCPS will have seven years to finish their programs.
“UVA is committed to helping working adults complete their bachelor’s degrees so, in partnering with Google, we can create opportunity for people trying to navigate this digital economy,” Hernandez said.
Google Career Certificate students are notified through email about the opportunity. UVA doesn’t have a specific goal in mind for the scholarship, but expects the amount of applicants to rise in coming years.
Lisa Gevelber, founder of Grow with Google, said students with the certificate will be matched with a number of jobs. More than 150 companies, including Verizon and Walmart, consider Google certificate graduates for their roles.
Gevelber also claims that students’ earning potential increases with a Google certificate.
“We’re proud that the program connects people to jobs — we’re not just providing training,” Gevelber said.
UVA joins other universities, such as Arizona State University and Northeastern, in the Google Career Certificate program.
“The bachelor’s is still the mightiest of all the degrees when it comes to job opportunities and earnings potential. This partnership is another path for people to build a better life,” Hernandez said.
For more information on the program, those interested can visit scps.virginia.edu.
