The UCSC Silicon Valley Extension Course Catalog was generated on June 15, 2026. The information is a snapshot of what was available in early summer 2026. It is not the most current information about our programs. The current information is still found on our website.
For a downloadable PDF version of the course catalog, double click on this page.
Please let us know if you have any questions: extension@ucsc.edu
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension provides professional development courses and certificates in the following areas:
Most of our professional certificates take 9–12 months to complete. Once students start taking classes in a program, they have up to four years to earn a certificate or up to three years to earn a specialization.
Artificial Intelligence Application Development
Clinical Trials Design and Management
Data Science and Data Analytics
Early Childhood Education: Advanced Teacher
Early Childhood Education: Associate Teacher
Early Childhood Education: Supervision and Administration
Medical Device Quality and Design
Project and Program Management
Silicon Chip Design & Semiconductor Engineering
Software Engineering and Quality
Special Education Teacher Assistant
User Experience and Web Design
To see the latest information on these programs, please visit our certificates page.
Most of our specializations offer a fast, focused look at a specific area of industry so professionals can take practical skills to work right away. Students usually complete our short specializations in 4–9 months.
Content Marketing and Campaigns
Digital and Customer Experience Marketing
Mobile Application Development
To see the latest information about our these programs, please visit our specializations page.
Traditional career paths are changing. To stay ahead, working professionals need targeted, highly relevant expertise without the multi-year commitment. UCSC Silicon Valley Extension's new 4-Course Concentrations provide a direct pathway to mastering in-demand skills on a schedule that adapts entirely to your life.
University of California, Santa Cruz invites motivated high school students to join a transformative academic journey through the Pre-College Summer Enrichment Program. Each session provides an immersive introduction to a specialized area of study, combining college-level instruction, hands-on projects, and guest lectures from leaders in academia and industry.
Students collaborate in small teams, guided by UC student mentors, as they build essential skills in research, communication, and critical thinking. Each session concludes with a final project presentation to peers, instructors, and advisors—preparing students for the academic rigor of college and the demands of future careers.
In this hands-on, project-based course, students will be guided by mentors and industry experts as they explore the essentials of launching a startup. They'll use the Lean Startup methodology—an agile, proven approach to innovation and business development. By the end of the program, students will have the mindset and toolkit to transform creative ideas into sustainable business ventures, powered by design thinking and regenerative innovation.
Step into real research—one phage at a time
Step into the world of real scientific discovery through the study of bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria. In this hands-on, project-based course, you’ll learn how to design and carry out hypothesis-driven research while exploring the structure and genome of your own unique phage.
Working in a lab, you’ll isolate and characterize bacteriophages that infect mycobacterium, a harmless soil bacterium related to the one that causes tuberculosis. Along the way, you’ll practice essential lab skills such as sterile technique, solution preparation, DNA manipulation, and bioinformatic genome analysis.
Phage hunting combines art, science, and adventure—you’ll collect samples from the environment, investigate how phages interact with their bacterial hosts, and uncover the secrets hidden in their genetic code. By the end of the course, your discoveries will contribute to a growing scientific database that helps researchers better understand phage diversity, bacterial genetics, and even tuberculosis biology.
Design games that inspire change
Video Game Design will focus on the art of game design, including critical elements such as storytelling, character development, plot construction, and the creation of engaging gameplay. Students will engage with lectures, in-class exercises, discussions, and hands-on projects focused on video game development fundamentals.
The course emphasizes problem-solving, teamwork, brainstorming, and storytelling. To build a practical understanding of game development, students will create small games throughout the course. Working in teams, they'll participate in all aspects of building a serious game. They will learn how to generate ideas, develop a narrative, and transform their story into a playable experience. Additionally, students will create small-scale games related to different topics to explore how video games can help us understand and address challenges such as mental health.
With a particular focus on large language models (LLMs), students will learn the core concepts and technologies underlying these systems, including their layered architectures, in-context learning, prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and fine-tuning. Through hands-on activities, students will build a simple language model, experiment with creating functional AI tools, and critically analyze them for ethical, alignment, and explainability challenges.
Key topics include AI alignment, interpretability, and explainability, with emphasis on methods that make AI decision-making transparent and its logic accessible to users. The course also explores human oversight techniques, incorporating mechanisms such as reinforcement learning (RL) and reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF).
Explore the foundations of artificial intelligence
Discover the power of artificial intelligence through AI Machine Learning —an introductory, three-week online course designed for high school students eager to explore machine learning, data science, and real-world problem solving. Led by UC Santa Cruz instructors and supported by graduate mentors, this program introduces students to core AI concepts through hands-on coding, research-based projects, and technical instruction.
Students will build predictive models using Python and scientific libraries like NumPy, Pandas, and Scikit-learn, while learning techniques such as clustering, classification, and dimensionality reduction. With guidance from mentors and exposure to generative AI tools, the course culminates in a final research project, equipping students with in-demand skills and a strong foundation for college and careers in technology.
Discover your future in medicine and health
This immersive, 10-day course introduces students to the interconnected world of modern medicine — from the first response in an emergency to the public health systems that safeguard entire populations. Through lectures, guest speakers, and hands-on simulations, students will experience the full spectrum of healthcare roles and gain insight into how care is coordinated across disciplines.
By the end of the course, participants will understand not only how health professionals treat individuals but also how their collective efforts sustain community health.
To see the latest information about these programs, please visit our Pre-College program page.
Course Description
Formerly SCMT.X406 - Supply Chain Operations Management.
Operations management involves designing, managing, and improving the set of activities that create products and services and deliver them to customers. The activities, along with the people, technology, knowledge, and procedures that dictate how work is organized, collectively form the operating system.
This course covers operations from a supply chain network perspective, helping students understand key processes and process thinking that manage the flow of products, services, and information.
In Supply Chain Operations Management, you will learn how supply chain partners and functional groups interact with each other as a supply chain network. We'll cover inventory models, optimization using MS Excel's linear programming add-in, forecasting, aggregate planning, and quality tools. You will also learn the planning activities required to manage operations across the supply chain from the supplier to the customer and end user.
Learning Outcomes
Topics include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course allows students to work with AI as a decision-support tool to address both simple and complex problems, enhance analytical reasoning, and conduct more rigorous evaluations of business ideas and real-world scenarios encountered in their academic and professional experiences. The integration of AI enables students to engage more deeply in critical thinking as AI adoption continues to expand.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
The 3-session Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) Excellence course provides a comprehensive personal and professional development experience for the student who is either currently an HR Business Partner or aspiring to develop the skill set to grow into this role. Course participants will have the opportunity to take a "deep dive" into the craft of HR business partnering, explore the competencies required to become effective, and plan to reach heights of excellence in their current or future HRBP role. The HRBP Circle of Excellence Framework combined with the HR Functional Competency Dimensions will provide stimulating and robust content and insights for the student; all of which can be practically utilized on the job. As part of the program, every participant will have the opportunity to construct their individualized "action-oriented" development plan with respect to the knowledge, skills and abilities as detailed in the HRBP Excellence Framework.
The course will begin with a self-assessment based on the HRBP Excellence framework. Following this, targeted personal goals for development will be identified. An authentic HRBP case study will be analyzed by teams of students; including an interactive discussion and culminating in a presentation of their findings and recommendations out to the whole class. In addition, students will work in these same teams (using a study group approach) on a final project to be presented out to the whole group in Session 3. The final project will entail identifying real-life HRBP issues and challenges, selecting the most compelling scenario and then conducting a comprehensive analysis, applying the HRBP Circle of Excellence framework and functional competencies to the selected scenario (s). This project will be graded.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Professional Credit
SHRM-CP(R) or SHRM-SCP(R) 9.5 PDCs.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course discusses and explores the potential use of AI in the HR role; specifically, how AI can benefit HR Business Partner professionals in corporate or other organizational settings.
Quarter units: 1.0
HRMT.X400: Human Resource Management
Course Description
Formerly "Educational Therapy: Reading I"
Structured Literacy I introduces you to the theories, issues, strategies, and materials related to literacy instruction and assessment for both reading and writing. While not focusing on students with learning difficulties, in this literacy course you will learn foundational skills for supporting all your students.We will emphasize the science of reading and structured literacy, as well as best practices of instruction and informal assessment. You'll also practice developing materials and gain the skills to teach literacy to a broad range of students.
A two-part series
WhileStructured Literacy I(formerly Reading I) focuses in depth on the teaching of literacy,Structured Literacy II(formerly Reading II), focuses on teaching literacy to students with learning disabilities, speech and language disabilities, ADHD, ASD, and other challenges.Both courses are required for the certificate in Educational Therapy and are closely aligned to the requirements of the Association of Educational Therapy.You'll master the skills and knowledge you need to help all the diverse students who will come to you in your practice.
Topics Include
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This course equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively collaborate on User Experience (UX) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects, particularly in the context of business users. Participants will gain hands-on experience with industry-standard tools like Figma, FigJam, and Miro, essential for creating dynamic, interactive design environments. The course will also provide an overview of agile methodologies, covering meeting cadences, timelines, and project management tools such as Jira and Confluence. This practical training ensures that students can thrive in collaborative design teams and contribute to the development of UX and AI solutions.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Additional Information
AI*- This course will teach students how to design for AI-driven experiences, and how to integrate AI into the UX workflow, using AI capabilities within tools like Figma, Miro, Jira, and Confluence to support research, ideation, prototyping, and cross-functional collaboration.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
The world of work is changing due to four forces: digitization; flexible work designs; the evolved nature of employee expectations and attitudes; and black swan events that require adaptations to work delivery systems. These existential challenges are impacting compensation systems. The era of total rewards management is here to stay.
We will take a wholistic view of total reward systems, looking critically at the compensation systems and how they are impacted by changes in our society and economy.
It is highly recommended that students new to Human Resources begin with "Human Resource Management." After that, courses may be taken in any order.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Additional Information
AI*- This course has students use simple AI tools to reduce the manual workload of compensation management while focusing on strategic decision-making and professional judgment.
Professional Credit
SHRM-CP(R) or SHRM-SCP(R) 19.25 PDCs.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
Project risk management is the application of tools, techniques, and practices to both increase the likelihood of positive project outcomes and reduce the likelihood of negative ones. It requires constant vigilance from the earliest stages of a project through planning and execution and even beyond its completion.
Students in this course will learn risk management practices as they apply to traditional (waterfall) projects and Agile projects, and ultimately to the realization of a project's intended benefits.
The course reviews basic risk management concepts for waterfall projects and introduces techniques for quantitative risk analysis, incorporating analysis insights into project plans, developing effective risk response plans, and creating project reserves. It also examines Agile practices such as backlog management, sprint planning, and quality management to reduce project risk.
Additionally, the course includes two key risk management topics - root cause analysis and organizational risk management. Root cause analysis helps teams identify potential risks during planning and how to manage them after they occur. Organizational change management assures a higher rate of adoption of project deliverables and realization of benefits to project stakeholders.
Coursework includes in-class team assignments, take-home assignments, and a final project, providing students with practical experience in applying risk management principles.
Quarter units: 1.5
PPMT.X425: Project Management in the Age of AI
PPMT.X426: Agile Project Management Fundamentals
Basic level training or experience in waterfall project management and agile.
Course Description
This course introduces students to the international business environment within the global economy, especially key changes stemming from the global pandemic. We’ll leverage lessons learned from business economics and introduce students to non-economic factors influencing an international business in the global economy.
Drawing business insights from ethics, culture, and political economy, students will discuss international business scenarios through small case analysis.
Quarter units: 3.0
Intermediate Algebra. Familiarity with Online eBook (Pearson/MyLab), Microsoft Office, or another office suite, and Canvas.
Course Description
Oracle and MySQL are both reliable database engines commonly used for storing and serving data as web content. They are popular among developers of open source platforms and projects on the Web. High volume major websites use them. They also have a significant user base in the enterprise database market. This course is intended for DB developers and designers who want to learn MySQL and Oracle technology in depth.The course begins by reviewing the basic SQL queries, DDL and DML operations, data retrieval from multiple tables, and different types of storage engines in databases. It then introduces the aggregate, the index merge, data manipulation, and stored procedures in MySQL. You will learn to write complex queries and get hands-on experience with advanced features such as creating sub programs, data security, triggers, and dynamic SQL. You will also learn a performance tuning strategy, server configuration, loading techniques and the application architecture for efficient database design. This is a hands-on lab-based course designed to help students master MySQL features and tune for performance.
Quarter units: 3.0
Students should have prior knowledge of the installation and basic operation of MySQL.
Course Description
In this course, you'll examine basic child development theories in relation to design and implementation of curriculum for young children. Topics include the design of developmentally appropriate lesson plans and learning centers to fit the needs of specific age groups, the steps involved in curriculum development, material and equipment selection, planning group experiences, and basic guidance techniques for young children. The course emphasizes the value of play and learning environments and developmentally appropriate materials and activities.
Quarter units: 4.0
Course Description
This course is designed for those who work or plan to work in child-care programs for children up to three years of age. The focus is on understanding growth and development and recognizing the range of individual differences within developmental norms. Participants engage in a variety of activities to promote theory learning and observation skills. Topics include gross and fine motor skills, perception, emotions and feelings, social skills, cognition and language.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This course studies the philosophy, history and development of early childhood programs. You'll examine the teacher-child relationship and how existing programs meet the needs of preschool children and review programs to evaluate how they meet the criteria of a quality learning environment. You'll get a chance to see how ECE programs operate in the real world by attending mandatory field observations at sites designated by the instructor.
Quarter units: 4.0
Course Description
This course explores the fundamentals of statistical methods and reasoning. Topics include descriptive methods, data gathering, probability, interval estimation, significance tests, one- and two-sample problems, categorical data analysis, correlation and regression. The instructor will demonstrate how to use spreadsheets and statistical software to analyze and interpret data. Real-world examples are drawn from a variety of fields including biology, business and marketing. While not too mathematically rigorous for the novice, the course provides some mathematical detail to illustrate basic concepts. No prior background in calculus or statistics is required.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
In this course, we'll explore the designer's role in crafting intuitive and visually compelling user interfaces. You'll master essential design principles, including color theory, typography, layout techniques, branding, and interaction fundamentals, all of which shape user experiences in digital media.
These insights will inform the development of effective design strategies and interactive prototypes that resonate with user needs. The curriculum also covers responsive web and mobile design, optimizing graphics, and incorporating motion design to enhance interactivity. You'll analyze corporate design systems, understand their role in tech-driven markets, and refine your collaborative skills through projects and potential guest sessions with Silicon Valley professionals, including visual and UX designers and researchers.
This course is ideal for graphic designers, web professionals, product managers, web developers, and anyone aspiring to build foundational skills in designing and prototyping engaging interfaces for digital media.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Additional Information
AI*- This course explores the intersection of traditional design and modern automation, teaching students how to use AI-powered tools within Figma, Illustrator, and Photoshop to accelerate the prototyping process and deliver high-fidelity, interactive designs.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
Increasing acquisitions, mergers, innovation, the pressure of change, and the shorter life cycle of competing products demand viable businesses to have global footprints. Multinational organizations rely on international projects for growth, as globalization affects nearly every industry. However, most projects, particularly international ones, are expected to fail to meet their stated or planned end goals due to challenges in adapting to cultural, technical, or collaborative processes. Surveys of various institutions indicate that only 40% of international projects meet their planned milestones.
In this course, we provide project managers with tools and practices to help them succeed in developing and managing international projects in the Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) era. You will learn critical success factors in managing global projects including the use of objective metrics, applicable methods and the latest GAI's enhancements. This course, at a high level, covers techniques for developing and managing projects in the international business arena and finding winning partners in emerging markets.
Topics Include
This course assesses students on practical problem-solving, applying the latest tools and techniques using Generative Artificial intelligence, and using exercise-based projects. This course is ideal if you're looking to expand your company's market reach or establish your start-up in emerging markets.
Topics Include End
Prerequisites/Skills Needed Start
Prerequisites/Skills Needed
Quarter units: 1.5
PPMT.X425: Project Management in the Age of AI
Course Description
Formerly "Mobile Health, SaMD, and AI/ML Devices."
Wearable technology and AI-powered digital health products are reshaping healthcare in real time—from performance wearables navigating the line between wellness and medical claims, to smart glasses highlighting new questions about safety, data use and privacy. This instructor-led course equips you to understand how innovation actually makes it to market—safely, compliantly, and at scale.
You will gain a practical, hands-on understanding of the regulations, standards, and guidance governing the rapidly evolving digital health ecosystem, with a focus on mobile health, wearables, Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), and AI/ML-enabled technologies. Through real-world case studies, interactive lectures, and applied assignments, you will learn to develop regulatory strategies, classify products, manage post-market changes, and address privacy and data governance.
This course explores how digital health solutions span the full spectrum—from general wellness and consumer devices to clinical decision support, chronic disease management, and digital therapeutics. It also provides an in-depth review of current FDA policies and guidance, including general wellness, mobile medical applications, SaMD, and AI/ML-based medical devices-arming you with the tools to confidently assess emerging technologies and make informed regulatory decisions in a fast-moving industry.
Quarter units: 1.5
MEDD.X407: Quality Management Systems for Medical Devices: ISO 13485 and FDA QMSR
REGL.X410: Foundations in Medical Devices: Developing Regulatory Strategies
Course Description
Familiarity with the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) regulations is necessary for employees engaged in the manufacture, regulation, quality assurance, and control of drugs and biologics. Through lectures, discussions, and case studies, you’ll gain an understanding of the FDA GMP and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations. While primarily aimed at the manufacturing, quality control, and quality assurance worker, the course is also useful for regulatory affairs and clinical research professionals, as well as anyone who wants to understand which regulatory controls apply to the manufacture of drugs and biopharmaceuticals for human use.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
Formerly "Project Management Fundamentals"
Delivering on time and on budget is not enough. Projects must generate value for stakeholders. This foundational course goes beyond the nuts and bolts of project management, exploring the strategic value that projects deliver to customers and sponsoring organizations. In this course, students focus on traditional waterfall project management as defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI) while learning how it differs from Agile project management methodology.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Note
For a detailed course on Agile, please consider PPMT.X426 - Agile Project Management Fundamentals.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course incorporates an evolving generative AI component that introduces students to LLMs, demonstrates tools like Gemini and ChatGPT/Perplexity, and showcases practical prompts for creating project artifacts-while continually adding new workplace-relevant tools and uses as the technology advances.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
Welcome to our immersive AI technology workshop series. During these sessions you will be introduced to new and established AI tools that will help you create and manipulate content in new and powerful ways. Each session is led by an industry expert who will guide you through the material and share its real-world implications.
As organizations face an explosion of AI-generated data and decision-making tasks, many find that legacy compute, networking, and storage in traditional data centers (DCs) quickly become bottlenecks. With global AI infrastructure investment exceeding $1 trillion, modern AI workloads demand powerful GPU-based systems that deliver predictable performance, scale across distributed architectures, and securely manage business-critical data. This workshop explores the infrastructure foundations required to support reliable, scalable, and secure AI applications in today's enterprise environments.
Learning OutcomesBy the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
Topics Include
Skills Needed:
Students should have a fundamental understanding of computers, networks, and storage, along with basic knowledge about AI and how it is used in everyday life.
0.3 CEUs
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to ecology and evolution, exploring fundamental principles of evolution at the molecular, organismal, and population levels. Students will examine key ecological concepts and evolutionary mechanisms that shape biodiversity and species interactions.
Quarter units: 5.0
Prerequisites: Cell and Molecular Biology (or equivalent course).This course is intended for postbaccalaureate students. UCSC undergraduates should follow their major's course requirements.
Course Description
Deep learning, a branch of artificial intelligence and machine learning, uses multilayered neural networks to create highly accurate prediction models for image recognition, object detection, language translation, speech recognition, and other tasks. In this course, students will use open source and industry-standard machine learning libraries to build and deploy deep learning models.
Students will build deep learning prediction models of different complexities, from simple linear logistic regression to major categories of neural networks including convolutional neural networks (CNNs), recurrent neural networks (RNNs), long short-term memory (LSTMs), and gated recurrent units (GRUs).
By the end of the course, students will be proficient in best practices of using standard machine learning frameworks such as Pytorch, TensorFlow and Keras, and using datasets for solving common machine learning problems.
The class prepares students to pursue a career in data sciences and AI model development.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Note(s):Students are required to bring laptops for the classroom and work with Python3/ Jupyter Notebook environment.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Skills Needed:Moderate level of computer programming ability in Python, comfortable with an editor, familiarity with command-line operations on a laptop, and a basic understanding of Machine Learning models.
Additional Information
AI*- This class empowers students to harness the power of AI by learning how intelligent systems are designed, trained, and applied across real-world challenges. Students will use AI-driven tools and techniques to gain practical, industry-ready experience in building and deploying deep learning models.
Quarter units: 3.0
AISV.X400: Introduction to Machine Learning
DBDA.X427: Python for Machine Learning
Course Description
This year-long, cohort-based course supports postbaccalaureate premedical students through a structured sequence of seminars and hands-on workshops that strengthen readiness for medical school and healthcare careers. The course meets four times per quarter and alternates focus across the academic year, integrating mentorship, career exploration, and applied skill development. In the winter and summer quarters, the course is offered as a workshop series focused on experiential learning, including medical school application preparation (personal statements, interviews, MCAT strategy, school selection), networking, and foundational clinical skills such as Stop the Bleed and suturing. In the fall and spring quarters, the course transitions to a seminar series featuring physicians, medical students, and residents who share their pathways into medicine, providing insight into diverse careers, medical training, and professional success while fostering mentorship and networking.
Topics Include
1.5 CEUs
Course Description
This course discusses how risk management is applied in the medical device, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and in vitro diagnostic (IVD) industries. Lectures and workshops delve into risk management concepts and tools, including hazard identification, hazard analysis, fault tree analysis, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), mitigation application, regulatory requirements, the creation of risk management plans, reports and files, how to conduct Risk Management Reviews, and what might be audited in your Risk Management System. By the end of the course, you'll be able to conduct risk management for a variety of products, processes and services within the biomedical industries and beyond.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
Prerequisite(s): Students need to possess reasonable experience, background, and/or theoretical knowledge of medical devices, diagnostics or pharma. "Quality Management Systems for Medical Devices: ISO 13485 and FDA QMSR" and "Foundations in Medical Devices: Developing Regulatory Strategies" or equivalent experience.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This is the final course in the certificate program and enables students to apply what they've learned from previously completed project-management courses, by developing a simulated but realistic team project. Students will be given project-management tools to facilitate the development of their project. Emphasis will be placed on practical application of project-management principles, processes, and techniques, including project control, cost management, project tracking, and project outsourcing.
Students will also learn how to control project schedules, budgets, and scope, using methods that minimize or completely eliminate "scope creep." Techniques such as fast-tracking, critical-path crashing, stochastic estimating, and exploiting activity lead-lag times will enable students to develop fast, accurate project schedules. In-class exercises and case studies lead students to skills they can take back to work and immediately apply to their own projects.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course will show how Generative AI can help teams refine project needs into a clear scope, milestones, and PBIs, and quickly draft roadmaps and release plans. AI can also suggest schedules and compression options, assist in defining KPIs and risk registers, and propose risk responses for team validation. During execution, AI can summarize progress, generate dashboard-ready status reports, and help iterate on sprint plans and retrospectives, enabling teams to communicate outcomes and lessons learned more efficiently throughout the life cycle.
Quarter units: 3.0
PPMT.X406: Project Risk Management
PPMT.X415: Project Leadership and Communication
PPMT.X425: Project Management in the Age of AI
PPMT.X426: Agile Project Management Fundamentals
Course Description
There are hundreds of thousands of mobile apps in the App Store, but only a small portion of them have innovative design principles, friendly user interfaces, and most importantly, widespread adoption by users. In this hands-on lab and lecture course, you will learn the core design thinking and strategy principles for creating effective user interfaces for mobile app design to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) interfaces, including wearable user experiences such as Apple Watch and Android Wear, and smart device experiences. You will actively create these diverse experiences through hands-on design work using an iterative and user-centered design process.
Designing your own prototype will provide opportunities to explore new types of touch and gesture-based user interaction that can expand the functional possibilities of your apps. This exercise will demonstrate how mobile products can be rapidly developed and released to the market.
The course covers the trends, industry practices and techniques for the most popular platforms, and by the end of the course, you will have created an engaging user interface prototype. This UI prototype will incorporate the new conceptual and technical skills learned, and can also function as a portfolio piece for future endeavors.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 3.0
UEWD.X414: User Experience Design Fundamentals
Course Description
Recruiting top talent for an organization is one of the most difficult challenges for staffing departments today. Those responsible for staffing are under immense pressure to obtain the talent necessary for organizations to meet business goals. This workshop explores critical issues related to managing the staffing function. Course exercises reinforce student understanding and student projects provide an opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge acquired.
It is highly recommended that students new to Human Resources begin with "Human Resource Management." After that, courses may be taken in any order.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Professional Credit
SHRM-CP(R) or SHRM-SCP(R) 16.5 PDCs.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course integrates artificial intelligence as a lens for modern talent practice, examining how AI tools are reshaping sourcing, screening, and candidate assessment - and what it means for HR professionals to remain the "accountable human" in the loop.
Quarter units: 1.5
Course Description
SystemVerilog is the industry IEEE-1800 standard combining the hardware description language and hardware verification language. This course focuses on the use of advanced verification features in SystemVerilog. Students will learn the step-by-step processes of creating flexible verification components, which form the basis of modern industry-standard methodologies such as UVM (Universal Verification Methodology). They will also gain experience developing an industrial-strength object-oriented programming (OOP) testbench that is layered, configurable, constrained-random, and coverage-driven.
The course starts with a brief review of SystemVerilog language semantics and simulation fundamentals such as event ordering, delta cycles and race conditions, which will then feed into closely related entities in program block, clocking block, and interfaces. Students will learn how to develop a complete verification environment by building flexible testbench components via the use of virtual interfaces, classes, mailboxes, dynamic arrays, and queues, etc. Functional coverage in the form of covergroup, coverpoint, and SystemVerilog Assertion (SVA), will round up the development of a complete verification environment. You will become familiar with the flexibility of an OOP-centric technique, the power of constrained random verification and the use of functional coverage tools to ensure the success of a verification project.
Concepts introduced in class are reinforced in the lab. In addition to in-class hands-on labs and weekly take-home assignments, students will work on a required project to build an advanced OOP testbench and verification environment for a selected application (such as a 10G Ethernet MAC design), with transaction-level and layered architecture. Students will form a project team, create a test plan, develop an OOP-centric verification environment, perform functional coverage, and submit a complete project report. This course builds the foundation for the course "System and Functional Verification Using UVM (Universal Verification Methodology)."
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Skills Needed:
A course in SystemVerilog and knowledge of VHDL, Verilog, C/C++, and some hardware verification experience. Ability to install and configure open-source software on own computers.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
Python language is gaining popularity because its use enhances program correctness and increases programmer efficiency. Because of its clear and elegant syntax, dynamic typing, automatic memory management, and straight-forward module architecture, Python is simple to learn and fun to use. Its code is easy to read, write, extend and modify. This lab-based course offers proficiency in the core concepts of Python, and the skills and knowledge for building applications using any of the hundreds of thousands of task-specific Python libraries.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics include
Note(s):The Python interpreter is free software and runs on all popular platforms. Students are required to have Python 3.7 or higher installed.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Skills Needed:Significant experience in any programming language.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
Organizational development is needed now more than ever.
The course on Organizational Development and Change aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate and lead change in an ever-evolving work environment. Students will gain insights into managing successful change initiatives by exploring the historical development of organizational development theories, evaluating different frameworks, and analyzing the impact of organizational culture and employee engagement. The course emphasizes the role of leaders and change agents, the challenges and opportunities associated with change, and the importance of effective communication and feedback.
Through practical application and reflection, students will develop the ability to develop and design change management processes that foster organizational effectiveness and adaptability while addressing cultural and diversity considerations. In this experiential, interactive course, participants engage in group activities and collaborate on a team project, both in and out of class.
Designed for leaders charged with bringing about change, this course builds a valuable foundation for managers, human resource professionals, internal and external consultants, and those interested in pursuing a career in this field. It provides an overview of the field of OD, the nature of change, and the role of the OD and HR practitioner.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Professional Credit
SHRM-CP(R) or SHRM-SCP(R) 19.25 PDCs.
Additional Information
AI*- This course has students create a prompt for an AI tool (such as ChatGPT, Claude, or similar) that requests recommendations for their team's final project topic related to organizational development interventions.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
Formerly "Drug Safety and Adverse Events Reporting."
Regulators, the public, and the medical community are scrutinizing the safety profiles of pharmaceuticals more closely than ever. Thus acquiring, verifying and reporting quality safety data are crucial to obtaining and maintaining product approval. This course introduces fundamental concepts essential to drug safety and adverse event reporting and how to apply them to situations encountered during clinical trials and post-marketing reporting. You'll learn why safety reporting is crucial; the definitions of an adverse event and the key reporting issues of seriousness, expectedness, and relationship to the study drug. The course includes a brief overview of reporting requirements in the U.S. and abroad and the documents associated with these reports. The content is appropriate for CRAs, CRCs, drug safety associates, and regulatory affairs personnel.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Skills Needed
Professional Credit
UCSC EXTENSION Approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 13114, for 20.0 contact hours
Quarter units: 2.0
CTDM.X411: Good Clinical Practices
Course Description
Formerly "Customer Acquisition Strategies."
Succeeding in today's marketplace requires a customer acquisition plan that targets the right audiences, provides value at each stage of the journey, and promotes sustainable growth. This course gives students practical strategies and tactics to develop and implement acquisition programs in both B2C and B2B markets. Students learn to map customer funnels, develop personas, and design multi-stage campaigns that combine demand generation, account-based marketing, sales enablement, and marketing technology. The course emphasizes how to measure acquisition success at every step using clear metrics and highlights how digital platforms and AI-enabled technologies can influence customer acquisition planning and execution.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course encourages the responsible use of AI tools to enhance the learning experience through AI practices and exercises.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
The development of a new drug is a complex, lengthy, and expensive process. Since regulatory approval is required before a company can bring a drug to market and generate revenue, it remains one of the riskiest endeavors in the biopharmaceutical industry.
In this course, you will explore the drug development process-from preclinical efforts to evaluate a drug's pharmacologic properties for safety and efficacy to the clinical trials required for regulatory approval. You will examine the objectives, mechanics, and ethical considerations of testing investigational drugs in human clinical studies. The course also covers how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews new drug applications and the post-approval requirements imposed on biopharmaceutical sponsors.
Through real-world case studies, you'll gain insight into the science and regulatory frameworks guiding drug development, as well as the challenges biopharmaceutical professionals face in bringing a new drug to market. These case studies illustrate the complexities of the process, providing a practical perspective on the regulatory and business considerations influencing the industry.
Designed for professionals across disciplines who are currently working in-or considering a move to-the biopharmaceutical industry, this course offers a foundational understanding of drug development and equips students with the knowledge needed to navigate the biopharmaceutical landscape.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Professional Credit
Professional Credit: CA BRN/LVN Credit--Provider #CEP13114, 20.0 hours.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
Formerly " Foundations in Medical Devices: Developing Premarket U.S. Regulatory Strategies and Working in a Regulated Environment."
New to the industry? Or maybe you need a basic understanding of the U.S. FD&C Act and U.S. FDA regulations? Maybe you have a medical device that you'd like to commercialize in the U.S.? Maybe you just want some practical regulatory advice for working in the industry or how to do remote work? This online synchronous-lecture course will give you the medical device industry basics all from the comfort of your home. The course will answer your questions such as: how to work in a regulated environment, what are the roles available to you, and what are the differences between regulatory affairs, quality assurance, quality control, compliance, and quality engineering. This course will also help you create or be a part of producing a regulatory strategy for your medical device, IVD, stand-alone software, or combination product. Live discussions, class group games, etc. will be used to help you in navigating through the US FDA regulations including California's FDB requirements. You'll learn about the various US FDA device classifications, including the various regulatory pathways 510(k), De Novo, PMA, and HDE. You'll also learn about the different programs such as Q-submissions, Investigational Device Exemptions (IDE), Breakthrough Designation, Pilot Programs, and more. Including the medical device program enacted by FDA during emergency situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic: Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
The modules in Canvas are set up as the roadmap for each class lecture week.
AI*- This course integrates AI throughout the curriculum, with weekly presentations demonstrating its use, team assignments requiring AI-driven analysis, and both the medical device regulatory strategy project and final 510(k) submission centered on applying AI tools and methods.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
Technology can help struggling students leverage their learning strengths and bypass weaknesses to improve performance, independence, and self-confidence. In this online course aimed at teachers, learning specialists, educational therapists, and parents, you will learn about a wide range of tools to support students with learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), executive functioning deficits, and issues with processing information and memory. Through readings, lectures, video demonstrations, and hands-on activities, you will learn:
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Working knowledge of:
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course includes a dedicated generative AI module that evolves each term, giving students hands-on experience with AI tools while reflecting the rapidly changing landscape of educational technology.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
There are numerous algorithms available as freeware or by public access in the cloud that make complex biological sequence analyses accessible to everyone. This self-paced, introductory course, aimed at professionals who want to break into the sequencing-related field of bioinformatics, explores important public access tools used for analyzing biological sequence data.
Through hands-on examples and exercises, you will learn how to access public databases for raw sequence data and perform the basic steps in processing next-generation sequence data for RNA, DNA, and ChIP sequencing data to obtain interpretable results.
You will get to explore the analytical parts of next-gen sequencing without having to do wet lab work because we've designed this course for people who are interested in a quick introduction to tools that allow for quick problem-solving without a deep theoretical understanding of how the tools work.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
Most job postings for technicians and scientists in the molecular biology field ask for experience with next-gen sequencing. Having experience with the analytical tools is considered a plus on job applications.
Professional Credit
UCSC EXTENSION Approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 13114, for 30 contact hours
Quarter units: 3.0
BINF.X401: Experimental Methods in Molecular Biology
Course Description
This introductory course provides a framework for understanding the process of drug discovery, from target selection and validation to lead optimization and preclinical studies. Although the fundamental principles of drug discovery are well established, the tools, technologies and methods used in the discovery and development of safe and effective drugs are constantly evolving. Personalized medicine and novel diagnostics involving biomarkers, pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics in clinical practice are changing the landscape of drug discovery. The instructor will address fundamental and translational principles and cutting-edge approaches along with strategies for integrating current scientific approaches into the drug discovery process.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Notes
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Completion of "Bioinformatics Tools, Databases and Methods" or a course in Molecular Biology is recommended.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This advanced course introduces students to many aspects of natural language processing (NLP), a subfield of Artificial Intelligence (AI) focused on human language. The course includes hands-on lab work with popular open source frameworks, such as Pandas, Hugging Face Transformers, and Pytorch and covers a wide breadth of material, ranging from traditional methods, to more recent advancements in NLP, for example ChatGPT.
Students will explore natural language understanding (NLU), natural language generation (NLG), and discuss frameworks, algorithms and supervised learning.
The course will cover deep learning (DL), how DL and NLP can be combined, modern NLP architectures and language models in the BERT family. In addition, students will learn about the amazing GPT family of language models, for example GPT, GPT3, Instruct GPT, ChatGPT, and GPT4, as well as other recent advancements in generative Large Language Models (LLMs).
Students will leave the course with a wide-breadth of experience and understanding of the diverse applications of NLP in the modern world, along with the ability to program NLP methodologies in Python.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Skills Needed:Moderate level of computer programming ability in Python, comfortable with an editor, familiarity with basic command-line operations on a laptop, and a good understanding of Machine Learning models and Deep Learning models.
Note(s):Students are required to bring laptops for classroom work. The code samples use Python 3+ and Pytorch, along some Jupyter notebooks in Google Colaboratory (students can optionally pre-register for a free account). Students also have the option of installing the Python 3+ version of Anaconda distribution on their laptops from the following link:https://www.anaconda.com/on their machines.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 3.0
AISV.X401: Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Course Description
This course explores the foundational principles of chemistry, from atomic theory and the periodic table to chemical bonding and molecular structure. Students will examine intramolecular forces, chemical reactions, and stoichiometry, developing both conceptual understanding and analytical skills essential for advanced studies in chemistry and the health sciences.
Quarter units: 5.0
Previous or concurrent enrollment in Algebra or higher.This course is intended for postbaccalaureate students. UCSC undergraduates should follow their major's course requirements.
Course Description
Validation is a critical aspect of medical device development and manufacturing and insufficient or noncompliant validation is a common reason for warning letters. Through lectures, assignments, in-class games, you will learn about industry best practices in a hands-on manner on how to set up and maintain a validated process. Utilizing an example surgical device, you will gain a thorough understanding of when to validate a process, how to develop and conduct IQ/OQ/PQ, qualify methods through Gage R&R, and extend concepts to sterilization and packaging validation. You will also be provided templates for validation plans, validation protocols and reports that are compliant with US FDA regulations as well as harmonized regulatory requirements from the IMDRF (International Medical Device Regulators Forum).
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Working knowledge of:
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
This is an intermediate/advanced level class geared towards students and medical device professionals who work in quality engineering, product design and development, manufacturing engineering, quality assurance, quality compliance and regulatory affairs.
AI*- This course encourages the use of AI tools for editing, translation, idea generation, visualization, and tutoring, while teaching students how to properly cite any AI-generated content.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
This course provides an overview of agile software development with an emphasis on popular software development practices like test-driven development (TDD) and behavior-driven development (BDD). It covers best practices, techniques and tools used in TDD and BDD, providing an overview of testing methodologies, including black box and white box testing in the evolving Agile/Scrum model. You will learn how to use Git for version controlling and GitHub for source code management. The course introduces xUnit framework based test automation using Python pyUnit and nose as well as Selenium WebDriver based functional test automation. Test coverage concepts, strategies and tools such as coverage are also addressed. By the end of the course, you will gain hands-on exposure to cutting-edge tools heavily used in the software industry. You are encouraged to bring laptops to class.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Skills Needed:Coding knowledge of any general purpose programming language such as Python, Java, C++, Ruby, or C# is required. Students without prior programming experience in Python are encouraged to go through a quick learning guide such aswww.learnpython.orgbefore the first lab starts.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course introduces practical ways to incorporate AI into Agile, TDD, and BDD workflows-using it to support debugging, test creation, refactoring, and CI/CD insights-while strengthening the core development skills essential for modern software engineering.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This course is an introduction to Java programming for those who are new to the field or need a refresher. The course covers how to apply key programming concepts and use Java programming environment for real world applications. This introductory foundation in Java programming will prepare students to start simpler programming projects for applications.
The course begins with programming concepts and Eclipse IDE. The instructor introduces basic and intermediate Java syntax, and then methodically addresses abstraction, object-oriented paradigm, procedural programming, elementary data structures, and more. Other useful topics include graphics user interface, collections and generics. Students will gain a strong conceptual foundation in these areas while starting to write programs for real applications.
The course consists of lectures and discussion, with some lab work. Students are expected to complete assignments on their own computers. By the end of the course, students should be able to program in the Java language and will be exposed to many useful programming concepts.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Skills Needed:
Students should have experience using logic. Some programming experience will be helpful. Ability to install and configure open-source software on own computers.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
This course includes a module on "Introducing Generative AI Assisted Programming."
AI*- This course introduces AI midway through the term as a supervised enhancement tool, helping students refine their own handwritten coding assignments and reflect on the insights gained, while also evaluating how different GenAI systems support their work.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
This course covers the entire basic printed circuit board (PCB) design process, including component library creation, schematic capture, and PCB layout. Students learn to use industry-standard software tools like Altium Designer to create detailed schematics and translate them into PCB layouts. Emphasis is placed on best practices for component placement, routing techniques, and design rule checks to ensure manufacturability and functionality.
Through hands-on learning, students develop a strong understanding of component libraries, schematic best practices, and various methods for wiring schematics. They also explore the PCB structure setup, including mechanical layer assignments and layer stack-up considerations. The course covers design rule checks (DRC), component placement strategies, routing methodologies, and the use of polygons, pours, and planes in PCB design. Additionally, students learn about PCB verification, cleanup processes, and documentation preparation for fabrication and assembly.
Upon completion, students can produce industry-standard documentation for analog and digital multi-layer, flexible, and high-speed PCBs, adhering to current IPC standards. This course provides the foundational knowledge and technical skills necessary for entry-level positions in the electronics industry or further study in advanced PCB design.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to:
Learning Outcomes End
3.0 CEUs
Course Description
This course explains where large data sets come from and how they are stored and managed. It also examines data sizes, accessibility approaches, and how data are transformed and used for AI consumption. You will examine the challenges and considerations when choosing data for training sets.
By the end of course, you will understand the types of data used in bioinformatics, how the data are collected, stored, managed and searched, and how the data are transformed for further processing and analysis. You will also develop skills on how to aggregate and normalize the data to be used for machine learning and/or AI training sets.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course teaches students how to write bioinformatics programs by using AI for parsing and normalization of biological data.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
Technologies like machine learning, autonomous driving, IoT, and cloud computing are ushering a new era of chip design with innovative architectures and advanced process nodes. With billions of dollars at stake, the race to be first-to-market is putting new challenges on the chip design and verification community.
In this course, you will be introduced to SystemVerilog (1800-2017 IEEE standard), a unified hardware design, specification and verification language that is being rapidly adopted by chip designers and verification teams to boost productivity and ensure first-pass silicon success. While it's based on Verilog and some extensions, the SystemVerilog language improvements include enhanced scheduling semantics, rich data types, interfaces with emphasis on assertions, and formal verification-all covered in this course.
You will also be introduced to SystemVerilog Assertion (SVA) concepts and syntax, using small examples and realistic design protocols. You will learn about immediate and concurrent assertions, their differences and use cases, and how to write assertions for formal verification. In the second part of the course covering formal verification theory, students will run the formal tool, debug a counter-example, and learn the refinement process.
This is a lab-based course giving you the opportunity to dive into key topics in detail-from language constructs to assertion coding guidelines that include practical examples of how to use assertions in verification. Students will also learn methodology choices and assertions in a formal context. The course provides hands-on exercises using assertions in simulation (VCS) and formal verification (VC-Formal).
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course discusses AI as part of emerging trends, including generating assertion test plans, creating assertions from those plans, and developing strategies for handling non-converging properties.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This course provides an in-depth understanding of user research and analysis techniques essential for designing user-centered products and services. Students will learn various user research methods with emphasis placed on real-world applications and developing actionable insights for iterative product design.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course will demonstrate how user research work can benefit from the use of AI tools such as automated transcript analysis, LLM generated study guide drafts, and conducting secondary research. We'll discuss how AI can be of use to a researcher working in product design today, and give students a chance to explore its benefits via hands-on exercises.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
Learn the fundamentals of large language models and build practical AI applications for business use. This course covers the transformer architecture basics, prompt engineering, and API integration. Through hands-on projects, you'll develop hands-on skills in crafting effective prompts, creating conversational interfaces, and using popular large language model (LLM) frameworks to build real-world applications, including domain-specific chatbots, productivity tools, and sentiment analysis solutions for customer feedback.
2.0 CEUs
AISV.814: Generative AI Fundamentals
Course Description
Formerly: Preparing for FDA Inspections and Conducting Sponsor Audits - GxP
In the regulated pharmaceutical and biotech medical device industries, inspections by government agencies are often a prerequisite for new product-marketing approvals. Knowing what to expect and how to prepare for and respond to such inspections is as critical as conducting sound clinical research. As the FDA and other regulatory authorities increase the frequency of inspections, it is imperative that everyone involved in the development of new therapies be familiar with government inspection processes and their role during these inspections. This course helps participants prepare for FDA inspections and conduct sponsor audits considering GxP guidance.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
This course benefits professionals involved in all aspects of clinical research including sponsor clinical development personnel, quality assurance and compliance, investigators, monitors, regulatory affairs personnel, data managers, and safety surveillance personnel.
AI*- This course examines AI topics as they relate to inspection readiness tools, risk management and central monitoring.
Professional Credit
UCSC EXTENSION Approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 13114, for 15 contact hours
Quarter units: 1.5
CTDM.X411: Good Clinical Practices
Course Description
This course introduces dashboard and data visualization technologies with a hands-on approach. Dashboard is a presentation of key performance indicators (KPIs) important to an enterprise. Database and data analytics professionals often build, use, and support dashboards. Data visualization is the application of data science to extract intelligence from data sources, often in a graphical format.
The course introduces the characteristics of dashboards and the principles of data visualization. It also covers how to select KPIs, identify dashboard content requirements, design and implement dashboards and scorecards, and apply data visualization techniques. In addition, you will learn how to identify and select the software tools used to create dashboards and their visual content, as well as common mistakes, tips, and best practices relevant to dashboards and data visualization.
You will learn how to choose data sources, extract required data, perform data analysis using an example tool, and visually present the results on a dashboard using tables, charts and maps. As a course project, you will identify and specify dashboard requirements (including selecting the appropriate KPIs), design the dashboard views, reports, layout and navigation, as well as create the dashboard and the data visualizations to be incorporated in it. You will learn new visualization techniques like 'word cloud', 'Sankey Charts','Tooltip visualization', and about the HYPER data format that enhances performance. In addition to these, you will also learn the newer features of the Tableau software. Your grade will be based on the project, in-class participation, a midterm and a final exam.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Note:The Tableau software is available to students for learning purposes only for approximately three months. Students are required to install software on own computers (Windows Vista or newer or Mac OSX 10.8.1 or newer) and are encouraged to bring laptops to class. Also note that this is not a specific tool usage training course. Tableau is introduced as an example tool for data visualization.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional InformationAI*- This course uses AI to accelerate data exploration, highlight key trends, generate queries, and provide insight narration, while also suggesting improved color schemes and layouts for clearer visual storytelling. The course further incorporates AI-driven anomaly explanations, automatic grouping of similar data through unsupervised machine learning, and Tableau's ability to connect with Python or R for deeper analysis.
Skills Needed:Knowledge of database concepts and any business experience related to decision-making.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
Welcome to our immersive Education Innovation workshop series. Join master educators to explore the most current, evidence-based best-practices to keep your knowledge and skills up to date and to strengthen your ability to support every student. Each session is led by an expert in the field with real world experience, who will guide you through the material and help you apply it immediately to your work..
0.5 CEUs
Course Description
A growing body of scientific research and evolving cultural awareness have affirmed the value of addressing neurodivergent learners in the classroom and in the workforce.
In this course for educators and professional trainers, we will explore brain differences, reduce cultural prejudice, and identify tools to support the creative potential and abilities of neurodivergent learners. Students will examine the social and cultural dynamics of being neurodivergent and address inequities in the current educational paradigm.
Once we explore difficulties such as overdiagnosis and gaps in educator training, we will examine how the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be a strategy for leveling the playing field and put it to use in a new design for the classroom or workplace.
This course is designed for K-12 teachers, college educators, school administrators, home-schoolers, therapists, and HR professionals.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Working knowledge of:
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course explores how AI tools can enhance support for neurodivergent learners, from research assistance to personalized strategies for reading comprehension and learning success.
Quarter units: 1.0
Course Description
This course is designed to equip students with the "soft skills" needed for managing projects, including leadership, communications, team organization and development, conflict management, quality management, and negotiating. Using case studies and exercises, students explore vital aspects of project leadership such as the use of participative management to build commitment, leadership styles, organizational cultures and configurations, interpersonal skill development, project staffing, and working with distance-separated teams. Students also learn to establish clear project goals, overcome communication problems, write performance reports, and manage agreement.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 3.0
PPMT.X425: Project Management in the Age of AI
Course Description
Formerly REGL.X407 - "Value-Added Quality Audits"
In today's dynamic business environment, effective quality audits are essential for achieving sustainable compliance while contributing to corporate objectives. This hands-on course introduces participants to the skills and knowledge required to conduct effective internal audits, while building a strong foundation in core auditing principles and techniques - including planning, executing, analyzing, and communicating audit results in terms that are meaningful to key stakeholders and top management.
Participants will also gain insights into the psychology of auditing, practice questioning techniques to uncover root causes, and learn how to present audit findings in a manner that drives corrective action and fosters management engagement. By the end of the course, participants will be prepared to elevate their organization's quality audit program to a more strategic and impactful level.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course will review AI tools and techniques for auditors to leverage throughout the audit process from planning to report writing.
Professional Credit
UCSC EXTENSION Approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 13114, for 15 contact hours
Quarter units: 1.5
MEDD.X407: Quality Management Systems for Medical Devices: ISO 13485 and FDA QMSR
Course Description
This course will give students a theoretical and practical introduction into important methods in molecular biology. This is a lecture-based course that provides a theoretical overview of the key molecular biology techniques used in basic life science research and by the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industry for the discovery of novel therapeutics. Students will understand how to work with molecular biological laboratory equipment and identify biological solutions relevant for molecular biology research. Laboratory safety aspects will also be a focus.
Along with the practical aspects of the course, there will also be a particular emphasis on the planning, presentation, and critical evaluation of the results in the form of a laboratory report or oral presentation. You'll also learn about high-throughput sequencing and microarray expression analysis, methods that generate massive amounts of biological data. The instructor discusses the types of data these techniques generate, the relevance to bioinformatics, and their uses in the diagnosis and treatment of human disease.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course will examine how AI is being used in bioinformatics for analyzing data generated from experimental methods in molecular biology.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This course satisfies part of the State Licensing requirement for the application of infant/toddler caregiving principles. We encourage students to visit the cdss.ca.gov website for more information on the requirements. The course "Infant/Toddler Growth and Development" fulfills the remainder of the requirement. This course is designed for those who work with children up to three years of age. The course focuses on understanding the principles of high-quality caregiving. Topics include understanding the adult role in the development and implementation of curriculum for infants and toddlers, and essential curricula components such as physical setting, social environment and play.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
This course is great for all interested in this age group even if they have not had children of their own yet. It is also informative for those who have had children as they can relate to many of the things the book focuses on.In this course, you will study the theories, philosophies, and practices that are best for working with infants and toddlers two and under. This class is necessary and mandatory for all caregivers working with this age frame.
AI*- This course will explore and focus on how some new AI tools can enhance and support the creativity process for our young learners as they create works of art that can now dance and move, etc. with the help of AI tools!
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
User experience design is a major factor in creating winning industry products. Design-driven businesses and products have a higher chance of succeeding in the marketplace. This course focuses on using user-centered design strategies and methods to create highly effective, pleasurable, and usable products while meeting business goals and objectives. The knowledge gained in this course directly applies to creating great user experiences for Web sites, Web applications, software as well as user-interfaces of many other products.
The course will also expose you to the multidisciplinary nature of the user experience design process, design thinking, and the steps you can take to succeed. The course covers methods and strategies of six overlapping phases: problem identification, information collection, idea generation, prototyping, evaluation/testing, and implementation.
You will practice with assignments and through team discussions. Some assignments require high-fidelity design of Web applications.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Working knowledge of:
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course will encourage students to explore how modern AI technologies (e.g. Figma Make), can augment design thinking, rapidly expand ideation, and improve both the speed and fidelity of UX deliverables.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
The increasing rate and scope of change is having a profound effect on the workplace. In this course, you will learn essential leadership skills, including how to inspire and motivate individuals, manage talent, influence without authority, and lead teams. Managers, supervisors and Human Resource professionals often bear the responsibility of maintaining morale and productivity during difficult change processes. Doing this effectively requires grasping the impact of change on people, understanding the change process, acquiring critical coping skills, optimizing the positive payoffs from change, and implementing action plans for leading people through change. You will obtain practical resources and develop a personal action plan for leading people through change.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Professional Credit
SHRM-CP(R) or SHRM-SCP(R) 6.5 PDCs.
Quarter units: 1.0
Course Description
Formerly "Principles of Marketing."
Marketing drives business growth by connecting companies with customers, markets, and opportunities. This course introduces students to the core principles of marketing that create customer value while providing practical skills to develop, implement, and assess marketing strategies in today's digital and AI-driven landscape. Students learn to apply marketing theory to practice through real-world examples, exercises, and projects, gaining insight into how digital marketing, social media, and AI-enabled technologies influence customer engagement and growth.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course explores how AI serves as a critical enabler of efficiency for companies and relevance for customers by helping marketers identify and reach target audiences at the right time with the right message, tailor offerings and content, and ultimately create greater value on both sides of the marketing value exchange.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
Participants explore human development from prenatal stages through middle childhood and study the interrelationships among social, emotional, physical and cognitive development, with a focus on the role of play in early childhood. Using observational techniques, the class identifies developmentally appropriate characteristics and activities.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
Students must have the required textbook for the first class meeting.
Quarter units: 4.0
Course Description
This course is part II of a two-course series, Structured Literacy I and II. Spreading the content over two courses offers us the luxury of focusing more in depth, first on the teaching of literacy and then on teaching literacy to students with learning difficulties. Both courses are required for the Certificate in Educational Therapy, and are more closely aligned to the requirements of the Association of Educational Therapists. Together, they provide a foundation of the skills and knowledge base necessary to adequately teach all of the students who will come to you in your practice.Structured Literacy II builds upon the Structured Literacy I groundwork to explore how to teach, remediate and support students with learning difficulties, whether due to dyslexia, speech and language disability, ADHD, ASD, a mismatch between home and school culture, learning English as a second language, or a number of other challenges. The course emphasizes the neurobiological and neurocognitive underpinnings of literacy, the science of reading and structured literacy, best practices of instruction, using informal and formal assessments to guide instruction, and the development of materials and skills to teach literacy to a broad range of students.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course encourages responsible AI use to clarify readings, summarize content, and support creative learning tasks like developing student-centered passages.
Quarter units: 3.0
EDTH.X301: Educational Therapy: Structured Literacy I
Course Description
Welcome to our immersive AI technology workshop series. During these sessions you will be introduced to new and established AI tools that will help you create and manipulate content in new and powerful ways. Each session is led by an industry expert who will guide you through the material and share its real-world implications.
0.5 CEUs
Course Description
This course offers a comprehensive and structured introduction to the fundamental principles of biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, and genetics, providing a solid foundation for undergraduates pursuing the life sciences and related disciplines. No prior coursework in biology or chemistry is required-if it has been some time since your last exposure to these subjects, rest assured that we will cover the necessary background to support your success.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Expected Effort
At UC schools, 1 credit hour typically requires about 3 hours of student work per week. Actual class meeting times may vary by course.
Course Eligibility and Prerequisites
Prerequisites: General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II (or equivalent courses).
This course is intended for postbaccalaureate students. UCSC undergraduates should follow their major's course requirements.
Quarter units: 5.0
Course Description
Assessment is critical for determining what we've learned, how we learn, and how to best target and bolster instructional approaches as we move ahead. This course introduces the assessment tools and procedures frequently used in educational therapy settings. Participants will gain experience using specific assessment instruments. They will have access to a limited number of assessment instruments which they may use for practice. Testing is limited to educational assessment tools, which are widely used by educational therapists and do not require credentialing as a school psychologist or licensing as a clinical or educational psychologist. The course offers insight into how to administer tests used by educational therapists and how to interpret psycho-educational evaluation reports.Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Additional Information
Please note that this course is designed for educational therapist candidates, general and special education teachers, school administrators, and allied professionals.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
AI*- This course includes discussions about the ethics of AI - as well as its responsible use - in educational assessments.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
High-speed signaling technologies with multi-gigabit data transfer rates are critical to high-bandwidth communications. However, the physical limitations of the channel (in board, package, and connector), the transceiver circuits, as well as voltage and timing noises introduced along the signal paths, make the design of high-speed links very challenging. Accurate modeling and analysis of high-speed digital systems requires a good understanding of physical effects and system architecture in order to optimize the design parameters in the channel, transmitter, and receiver subsystems. This course in applied signal/power integrity gives students a set of skills for problem solving and strategies that bridge the gap between theory and real world applications by going through case studies from real designs.
This course starts with a comprehensive overview of signal and power integrity analysis for high-speed systems. The instructor promptly moves on to cover the state-of-the art modeling and analysis techniques used in high-speed links. The course introduces accurate interconnect modeling including high frequency and second-order effects, and behavioral modeling of IO and ESD, including IBIS. Students will learn the concepts of equalization design and various signaling techniques (such as differential, NRZ, pulse, multi-level, etc.). At the system level, topics include clocking schemes and timing jitter analysis, as well as power analysis topics such as IR Drop, AC noise, simultaneous switching noise, and decoupling capacitor. The course concludes with a discussion of variations in manufacturing and methods to handle them in simulation and design.
Upon completing the course, students will have a strong understanding of signal and power integrity concepts and terminology. They will acquire the skills to design, model, and analyze high-speed interconnects. They will be able to relate various link blocks and parameters to system performance and make trade off decisions.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Skills Needed:
Students must have a basic understanding of signal integrity, electromagnetic compatibility, printed circuit boards or packages.
Additional Information
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
AI*- This course uses AI-enabled simulation tools and Python-driven automation to help students design, analyze, and optimize high-speed signal and power integrity for advanced AI processor boards.
Quarter units: 3.0
EMBD.X409: Printed Circuit Board Design for Signal Integrity and EMC Compliance
Course Description
This course covers the fundamentals of building and installing a custom embedded Linux for an ARM processor platform, and provides hands-on experience for creating cross-platform environments using the GNU tools. Basic concepts for designing, testing, and customizing embedded Linux will be covered, including how the Linux scheduler is implemented, and how to write Linux kernel modules and remotely debug embedded Linux applications.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics include
Note(s):To do projects, students are expected to have access to Debian Linux on their computers. Options include Virtual Box, LiveCD, disk partition or separate drive. Instructor will not cover the Linux installation topic in class. For students needing help with Linux, "Introduction to Linux" is recommended. Students should come prepared with knowledge of the suggested prerequisites.
This course requires students to purchase a board (approx. $50, not included in the tuition) to complete the assignments. Students may either use Raspberry PI 2 Model B or Raspberry PI 3 Model B (details to be discussed in class). Students are expected to use their own Linux-based computers to do the programming project.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Skills Needed:
Working knowledge of C programming language and UNIX/Linux operating-system internals. Advanced C programming recommended.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This course addresses financial management, including fundamental principles, planning and evaluation, and appropriate financial tools. Through lecture, readings, group discussion, and a group project, this course covers the concepts and tools of the financial marketplace.
This course is designed for managers and team members from corporations, nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and those self-employed who are increasingly required to address the organization's goals for financial planning, working capital, capital budgeting and return on investment for goal alignment with corporate planning to meet stockholder goal of wealth maximization.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Skills Needed
A foundation in basic financial accounting knowledge is recommended.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This class will consider the efficacy and relevance of using AI tools in making financial decisions.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
The demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in industry has grown 270 percent in just four years creating huge job opportunities for the people who understand the technology as well as the developing business impact of such disruption. This course is not just for software engineers. In a hands-on, workshop-style environment, students will explore the future of AI and its potential on organizational levels.
You will focus on:
We will start by demystifying AI with an introduction to the technology, including an overview of machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), and autonomous systems. We will review definitions and buzzwords; the hype vs. reality; and the evolution of key AI technologies.
A survey of how enterprises are using AI will help you identify opportunities in your own companies. You will gain exposure to AI applications across functional areas, including:
Topics
Topics also include the economics of AI technologies and business models, as well as risks and regulatory compliance. You will explore an AI transformation playbook and learn how AI can be integrated into business functions through rich case studies and an AI-first strategy. Ethical, legal, and economic implications will be covered for business strategy and society as well as AI's impact on work and trends in the labor market.
Finally, the future of work will be discussed, its changing nature, the balance between people and machines and the training, reskilling, and retention of needed talent.
By the end of this course, you will be able to create a business roadmap for implementation of AI in your specific domain areas.
1.5 CEUs
Course Description
New and experienced project managers wanting to improve their management of software projects need to include key planning elements, appropriate techniques, effective communications, and ideas for self-improvement. In this interactive course, new and experienced project managers explore the most common causes of project failure; and are introduced to up-to-date methodologies, principles, and practices for successful software projects.
The course is excellent for those seeking to improve their software project management skills for producing full scope, adequately tested, on time and on budget results. Students are guided to those processes outlined by the Project Management Institute
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Skills neededKnowledge of software development fundamentals and the development lifecycle.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course incorporates AI tools by integrating practical understanding and ethical considerations across the entire project lifecycle. The goal is to prepare students to work effectively in AI-enabled environments and manage AI-driven projects.
Quarter units: 1.5
Course Description
In this course for technical and non-technical professionals, students learn to establish high-performance teams by exploring the fundamental principles and characteristics that make them effective. By examining what makes individuals standout, you will better understand how to develop and leverage their contributions to a successful project team. The course focuses on key team development skills-trust building, goal setting, role agreement, and how to sustain commitment for the duration of a successful collaborative project.
The course also covers how to design and manage virtual teams. Through participating in a virtual team, you will learn to identify and respond to typical challenges, including group meetings and team decision-making. Concepts learned in the course are applicable to building highly effective strategic and tactical teams at all levels of an organization.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course will practice evaluating appropriate ways to leverage AI in creating successful teams.
Quarter units: 1.5
Course Description
This comprehensive course introduces participants to the world of generative AI and its transformative impact across industries. Suitable for beginners and professionals, this course delves into the practical applications of generative AI, from text and image generation to music composition, and its expanding role in healthcare, finance, and other sectors.Throughout the course, you'll gain a solid understanding of the underlying technology, including deep learning and neural networks, as well as the architecture of ChatGPT, its variants, and prompt engineering. You will also learn about the tools, resources, and best practices for building generative AI models. Moreover, you’ll have the chance to explore emerging trends, ethical considerations, and future opportunities in the field.
2.0 CEUs
Python and Machine Learning Basics are recommended but not required.
Course Description
All embedded systems require firmware to enable their features. In addition to C programming, firmware engineers must understand system and CPU architecture, as well as the IO and memory interface. They must also master techniques to manage limited memory and tasks, and code programs that are suitable for hardware bring-up and application development. In this course you will learn practical, in-depth knowledge and coding exercises for firmware development.
Additional InformationWe'll review embedded system architecture and hardware configurations specifically on the Espressif ESP32 and its CPU core architectures. You will be introduced to C codes, how to enable hardware features, and work with real-time operating systems, task management and interrupts as well as various inter-chip communication interfaces and access to the outside world. We will introduce the wireless functions of these devices.
Most firmware development in industry is done on Linux systems. You should have solid C programming skills and be ready to complete all class projects with GNU tools. You'll gain experience working on several on-hardware projects. This course prepares you for additional embedded software courses covering a wide range of product interests.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Notes:Students are required to purchase a hardware starter kit, a small board, breadboard, resistors, LED, and wires (estimated $45-$60, not included in the tuition) to do class projects on their laptops. These are available on Amazonhttps://a.co/d/bmhGjaYorhttps://a.co/d/7ZHsEDGand should be purchased before the first class. For additional sensors or actuators depending on the student's interest, please contact the instructor.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
AI*- This course integrates AI throughout the learning experience. Students use AI-powered guidance to focus on high-level concepts, complete more advanced assignments without getting stuck on syntax, and learn practical techniques for building, fine-tuning, and deploying small neural networks on embedded devices. The course also teaches effective AI prompting, agent usage, and introduces AI-accelerated hardware fundamentals.
Quarter units: 2.0
CMPR.X400: C Programming for Beginners
LINX.X400: Linux, Introduction
Course Description
Business professionals and students interested in learning financial accounting skills get hands-on experience in this course analyzing and evaluating the information behind financial statements and relevant data. Master basic business accounting concepts and processes, financial statements, budgets, and financial ratios. Get the financial literacy you need to succeed in the business world.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Professional Credit Note: Effective Summer 2025
HRCI(R)---PHR(R), SPHR(R) and GPHR(R) general recertification credit: 13 hours.
SHRM-CP(R) or SHRM-SCP(R) 13 PDCs.
Additional Information
AI*- This course uses AI to guide students toward real-world financial examples-such as companies' full annual reports and documented internal-control failures-enabling them to analyze authentic scenarios and the resulting financial impacts.
Quarter units: 1.0
Course Description
Welcome to our immersive AI technology workshop series. During these sessions you will be introduced to new and established AI tools that will help you create and manipulate content in new and powerful ways. Each session is led by an industry expert who will guide you through the material and share its real-world implications.
0.5 CEUs
Course Description
This course is designed to develop the essential communication skills required for success in the world of business. Learn key communication and leadership skills vital to success: listening, storytelling, public speaking, and meeting facilitation, while building confidence and credibility in your ability to positively influence others.
Through interactive activities, role-play, and problem-solving team assignments, students will develop the confidence and competence to communicate effectively in a business setting. You'll have the opportunity to deliver impromptu and prepared speeches, improve your listening skills, enhance your credibility, and learn new modes of business communication. In addition, as a leader you will learn how to facilitate meetings with ease, while being creative, flexible, and adaptable in real-time.
This course will include assignments that involve reading, researching, and creating content to share during class. By the end of the course, you will have a well-rounded communication skill set to help you succeed in your career.
Learning Outcomes
Topics Include
Skills Needed
For best success, it's suggested you possess the following capabilities:
Professional Credit
HRCI(R)---PHR(R), SPHR(R) and GPHR(R) general recertification credit: 19.25 hours.
SHRM-CP(R) or SHRM-SCP(R) 19.25 PDCs.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course embeds the structured use of AI tools across several assignments, enabling students to brainstorm, draft, edit, research, and analyze content and its delivery.
Quarter units: 2.0
Course Description
Welcome to our immersive AI technology workshop series. During these sessions you will be introduced to new and established AI tools that will help you create and manipulate content in new and powerful ways. Each session is led by an industry expert who will guide you through the material and share its real-world implications.
0.3 CEUs
Course Description
This course introduces students to the Python programming language essential for data manipulation, statistical analysis, and predictive modeling techniques required for machine learning and artificial intelligence.
We will explore the wonderfully concise and expressive use of Python's advanced module features and apply it in probability, statistical analysis, training models, and various other applications. Students will explore mathematical operations with array data structures, optimization, probability density function, interpolation, visualization, and other high-performance benefits of core scientific packages such as NumPy, Pandas, scikit-learn, and Matplotlib.
Additionally, students will learn modern machine learning concepts and techniques, including supervised, unsupervised, and semi-supervised learning, to develop predictive models using Python libraries. The course concludes with a real-world, end-to-end machine learning project, providing students with practical experience in solving challenging problems.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, the student should be able to
Topics Include
Skills Needed:
Basic Programming Knowledge as can be acquired in Python Programming for Beginners (CMPR.X415) and a knowledge of Fundamentals of Statistics
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course uses Generative AI through hands-on labs, to develop the skills needed to implement and evaluate ML models effectively.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This hands-on, lab-based course is intended for newcomers to programming. Python is favored by first-time programmers because it presents engineering concepts in a straightforward, clear language, while quietly and behind-the-scenes, it takes care of the difficult, tedious, and error-prone details that present the major obstacles to writing a program in older languages. Python is an open-sourced language with rich features and is used extensively in many industries.
The course covers the important concepts and programming mechanisms that exist in all programming languages: reading and writing to standard IO, using operators, controlling the flow of execution, using functions, reading and writing files, and basic object-oriented programming concepts. It also includes Python-specific facilities such as code introspection, re-use, built-in sequence types, and iteration.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Note(s):The pace of this course may be slow for people who are familiar with a programming language. If you have a basic understanding of Python, you may want to consider the intermediate level "Python: Object-Oriented Programming" (CMPR.X420). More experienced programmers should take "Python for Programmers" (CMPR.X416).This course includes a module on "Introducing Generative AI Assisted Programming.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 1.5
Course Description
This hands-on, lab-based course is intended for newcomers to programming. Python is favored by first-time programmers because it presents engineering concepts in a straightforward, clear language, while quietly and behind-the-scenes, it takes care of the difficult, tedious, and error-prone details that present the major obstacles to writing a program in older languages. Python is an open-sourced language with rich features and is used extensively in many industries.
The course covers the important concepts and programming mechanisms that exist in all programming languages: reading and writing to standard IO, using operators, controlling the flow of execution, using functions, reading and writing files, and basic object-oriented programming concepts. It also includes Python-specific facilities such as code introspection, re-use, built-in sequence types, and iteration.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Note(s):The pace of this course may be slow for people who are familiar with a programming language. If you have a basic understanding of Python, you may want to consider the intermediate level "Python: Object-Oriented Programming" (CMPR.X420). More experienced programmers should take "Python for Programmers" (CMPR.X416).This course includes a module on "Introducing Generative AI Assisted Programming.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 1.5
Course Description
Most business and technical data consists of multiple tables with interlocking relationships. Such databases must provide reliable storage, transaction management, access security and multi-user support. In this course, you will learn the concepts and design for a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) and focus on the Structured Query Language (SQL) to define and manipulate data.
The course covers how to create conceptual, logical and physical designs of relational databases in response to a set of user requirements. Instructions will be provided through the use of several case studies. You will learn design methodology, entity-relationship diagrams (ERD) and normalization principles. You will use an Oracle database to design the ERD and implement a working database. SQL is the query language used to access, maintain and share data with the relational database. You will learn methods for producing readable output, creating and manipulating tables and creating and managing constraints using SQL.
The concepts and SQL language learned here apply to all major RDBMS. You will gain understanding of the relational DB and have hands-on experience in creating database and working with data. The instructor recommends MySQL as an example database.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Skills Needed:
Familiarity with general database concepts and ability to install software or databases on a personal computer.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
Welcome to our immersive AI technology workshop series. During these sessions you will be introduced to new and established AI tools that will help you create and manipulate content in new and powerful ways. Each session is led by an industry expert who will guide you through the material and share its real-world implications.
0.5 CEUs
Course Description
Machine learning (ML) is the foundation for many artificial intelligence (AI), and ML algorithms that underlie online shopping recommendations, credit card fraud detection, relevant social media content delivery, rideshare trip pricing, and traffic navigation.
In this course you'll explore essential ML concepts, tools, and methodology, such as classical and modern algorithms that drive real-world applications such as search engines, image analysis, biometrics, industrial automation, and market segmentation. You'll work with practical data-driven applications and gain a practical background for creating new products and improving existing ones.
Starting with an introduction to the mathematics underlying ML, we'll leverage open source Python-based libraries, including Pandas, NumPy, and Sklearn. You'll improve your intuitive understanding of the underlying algorithms, such as regression, classification, and clustering, as well as related Python-based code samples. You'll work in a small team or by yourself on a project to present during the final week of class.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics include
Skills NeededFor best results in this class, the following topics are highly recommended, some of which are covered in the suggested prerequisite course (listed below):
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This class empowers students to harness the power of AI by learning how intelligent systems are designed, trained, and applied across real-world challenges. Students will use AI-driven tools and techniques to gain practical, industry-ready experience in building and deploying machine learning.
Quarter units: 3.0
DBDA.X427: Python for Machine Learning
Course Description
Agile, typically associated with software development and product development, is quickly becoming the preferred project management paradigm. It enables organizations to deliver value to organizations and customers quickly, to recalibrate scope and priorities frequently, and to reduce project overhead. Agile teams constantly work to improve team performance. With roots in Japanese quality management practices, Agile has also become a model for process, product, and IT management.
In this overview course, students dive into the history, principles and practices of this highly collaborative project management system.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Skills You Will Gain
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course will review AI tools and techniques that professionals can use to help their teams and organizations to become Agile, enhance their work, and improve product delivery and customer satisfaction.
Quarter units: 1.5
Course Description
With data now being created at the rate of 2.5 quintillion bytes a day, there is a tremendous demand for people who can explore vast amounts of data. In this lab-based course, you will learn how to glean empirical truth from data using Python with Pandas, how to make the right decisions, and how to bring order from chaos.Experience Python's straight-forward syntax, built-in data types, and object-oriented programming (OOP) and make your own data types. Learn how Python's brilliant architecture allows you to jump into any of more than 300,000 libraries provided for Python. In this course you work with the Pandas, NumPy, and Matplotlib libraries to inspect data, manipulate data, calculate statistics, and provide informative and beautiful visual representations for data sets via interactive Jupyter Notebooks.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to:
Topics Include
Skills Needed
Helpful, but not required, are a basic experience in any programming language and a rudimentary knowledge of statistics.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course, in parallel with the technical curriculum, includes a dedicated module on Generative AI, exploring its role in modern data work. Students study selected literature on the topic and complete an extra credit assignment that uses generative AI tools to support or extend their analysis.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to proteins, protein structure and function, membranes, bioenergetics, and metabolism. The course is intended to provide strong preparation for health professional schools and their entrance examinations. The course is designed to impart a deep understanding of how life works at the molecular level, as well as an understanding of the methods and logic used to study and manipulate biological molecules. Throughout, we will study examples of how the principles of biochemistry serve as a foundation for basic research into how life works, as well as a foundation for understanding medicine, including the development, mechanism and specificity of drugs.
Quarter units: 5.0
Prerequisites: Cell and Molecular Biology, Development and Physiology, and Organic Chemistry II (or equivalent courses).This course is intended for postbaccalaureate students. UCSC undergraduates should follow their major’s course requirements.
Course Description
This course covers thermodynamics, redox reactions, electrochemistry, phase changes, and solution properties. Students will explore energy flow, reaction spontaneity, and phase behavior, building a strong foundation for advanced chemistry studies.
Quarter units: 5.0
Prerequisites: CHEM.X001_B (General Chemistry II) with a grade of C or better or equivalent non-UCSC course.This course is intended for postbaccalaureate students. UCSC undergraduates should follow their major's course requirements.
Course Description
Demand for Python programmers who understand the latest skills in today's fastest growing computer language, grows every day. Object-oriented programming (OOP) has become a must-have technique in today's high-tech software development jobs.In this intermediate course, students will use Python to explore OOP techniques including: encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance. The material is introduced and explained through the development of graphical user interface elements and, in a fun way, by building highly approachable, simple computer games. The Python language, because of its simple syntax, makes the implementation of OOP very clear. To build interactivity, we will use the well-known Pygame extension to introduce event-driven programs.
Along the way, you will gain an intermediate level of understanding of the Python language. After this course, you should be able to translate the underlying concepts to other OOP languages with ease.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 2.0
CMPR.X415: Python Programming for Beginners
Course Description
Object-oriented design involves transforming the descriptive analysis models into computational models for coding. During an object-oriented requirements analysis, a descriptive model of the problem domain is developed into system specifications. This course which integrates GenAI topics and their applications to Object-Oriented design is intended for software engineers and managers who will be involved in the design of an object-oriented system. The course focuses on case studies and carries them through the design phase. Instruction uses the notation specified by the Unified Modeling Language (UML) developed by Booch, Jacobson and Rumbaugh.
Students will learn Agile and Iterative Development methodologies, such as Unified Process and SCRUM, alongside use case and requirements driven design, among other important topics. The course covers the principles of object-oriented design as well as practical applications. Students will have the opportunity to utilize GenAI to analyze requirements and examine generated code for completeness and accuracy.
The course includes a comprehensive final project for students to practice requirements gathering and documenting design using different UML diagrams. Upon successful completion of this course, students should have an understanding of the principles of object-oriented design and system modeling and experience in applying these principles to real-world projects.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Skills Needed:
Programming experience required in an object oriented language. e.g. Java, C++, C#, Python, etc.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course provides students with the opportunity to utilize GenAI to analyze requirements, generate code, and examine it for completeness and accuracy.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
Computer vision applications include industrial machine vision systems, optical character recognition, medical imaging, space exploration, image analytics for security surveillance, retail checkout, automotive safety, artificial intelligence in robotics, biometrics, and the emerging natural and intuitive human-computer interfaces.
In this course, you will learn the concepts, methods, and applications of computer vision and image processing. You'll build a foundation that can be used to develop practical applications and provide the basis for more advanced studies. The course begins with vision and image fundamentals, including image formation and display, digital camera and image capture, the human visual system, and visual perception. You will learn the basics of image processing, including spatial and frequency domain filtering techniques and applications and compression algorithms. The course further dives into neural network-based algorithms, such as CNN and Vision Transformers. The course covers practical image analysis and inference methods, including edge, contour, feature detection, image segmentation, matching, and stitching, as well as object and facial recognition. Additional discussions will cover the development of 3D computer vision, real-time human-computer interaction, emerging technologies, applications, and trends.
We will use Python and TensorFlow to develop these apps. Numerous well-illustrated examples and engaging hands-on projects will be used to demonstrate these principles in practical real-world computer vision applications.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 3.0
AISV.X401: Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Course Description
Universal Verification Methodology (UVM) is the industry standard for functional verification methodology developed by key EDA vendors and industry leaders. It uses a SystemVerilog-based, OOP-centric approach to improve interoperability and code reusability. In this course, you will use the OOP testbench knowledge learned earlier to create a full-fledged, flexible verification environment for solving today's increasingly complex functional verification challenges. You will also gain real-world, hands-on experience developing an industrial-strength UVM-based testbench that is layered, interoperable, constrained-random, and coverage-driven.
The course introduces the UVM architecture; its core set of base-classes and utility methods, and associated factory automation techniques. This framework forms the basic building blocks that facilitate the development of layered, modular, scalable, and reusable verification environments in SystemVerilog. You will be immersed in the practical application and deployment of UVM base-classes, understand their role in the verification environment to reduce design time and risks, as well as increasing quality and efficiency. The main base-classes covered are the UVM test classes, sequence classes, component classes, messaging and reporting mechanism, factory, configuration database, transaction-level modeling (TLM), scoreboarding, coverage and phasing mechanism. You will learn the power of UVM for successfully designing complex constraint-random coverage driven verification projects.
Concepts introduced in class are reinforced in the lab. In addition to in-class hands-on labs and weekly take-home assignments, you'll work on a project to build an advanced UVM verification environment for a selected application with transaction-level and layered architecture. You will form a project team, create a test plan, develop a UVM-based verification environment, perform functional coverage, and submit a complete project report.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Skills Needed:
Students should have experience with object-oriented programming, C/C++, or have taken "Advanced Verification with SystemVerilog OOP Testbench" course. Prerequisite topics will not be repeated here. Hardware verification experience is helpful.
Quarter units: 3.0
VLSI.X400: Advanced Verification with SystemVerilog OOP Testbench
Course Description
Quality management (QM)-planning, assurance, and control-is a critical skill in today's fast-paced business environment. In Quality Management for Enterprises, Products, and Programs, you will learn the widely adopted methodologies, such as Lean, Six-Sigma, and Continuous Improvement, which build successful outcomes. These are the techniques that produce organizational, product, and service excellence in corporations around the world.
You'll have the opportunity to work with typical framework, analytical techniques, and underlying principles and receive guidance with quality standards setting, root-cause analysis, and tactical decision making.
Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of the course, students will
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 2.0
PPMT.X425: Project Management in the Age of AI
Course Description
This course explores the fundamental cognitive processes that are necessary for learning to occur at maximum capacity. These include motor, auditory, visual, visual motor integration and verbal processing areas. The course will also include how to increase the functionality of these areas as well as attending skills. The "affect" of learning or how the student feels about himself in terms of academic performance will also be addressed. We review possible scenarios of client experiences and how to support their learning.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Additional Information
It is highly recommended that students find partners outside of class to work with to develop the activities based on concepts that are discussed in class. Reading will be assigned at first class. During this course, many objectives will be covered. Due to this large amount of information, concentration of certain topics may be altered to fit time constraints.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 3.0
EDTH.X301: Educational Therapy: Structured Literacy I
EDTH.X303: Educational Assessments I
Course Description
Formerly SCMT.X405 - Managing Global Supply Chains.
The products that consumers use every day do not reach their local stores by accident. They are produced, assembled, and shipped from all over the world. Advanced modern technologies and pandemic-related changes have highlighted global interdependencies and challenges. Linear thinking of supply chain is out of date. The global supply chain is more and more a supply network.
In Managing Global Supply Chains, you'll learn how a product reaches its final destination and how the latest industry trends impact global supply chain network management. We'll cover how to make the best global sourcing decisions, choose alternatives to delivering products to customers, and ensure international supplier performance despite time zones differences.
It is highly recommended that students take "Evolving Role of Supply Chain Manager" as the first course prior to taking this course.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 1.5
Course Description
Welcome to our immersive AI technology workshop series. During these sessions you will be introduced to new and established AI tools that will help you create and manipulate content in new and powerful ways. Each session is led by an industry expert who will guide you through the material and share its real-world implications.
0.3 CEUs
Course Description
Design is changing fast. AI tools have accelerated parts of the process — synthesizing research, generating explorations, building prototypes. The baseline has shifted and speed is now expected through use of AI. What's grown in importance is the work AI can't do: interviewing people, exercising judgment, and knowing what to do with what you find. Those skills have always been central to the work. What's changed is the toolset.
This capstone course is your opportunity to demonstrate those skills. You will find a real-world client, run the full design process, and produce a portfolio piece that shows you can navigate the current ecosystem through research, AI-assisted exploration, and a working prototype.
Because the cost of creating prototypes has dropped, you will work in rapid cycles — generating directions, testing assumptions, and refining based on what you learn. AI tools (including Claude) are treated as primary tools alongside your existing design toolset. You will use them for research synthesis, generating explorations, and prototyping. The goal is not whether you used AI, but whether you displayed the critical design thinking you have developed throughout your coursework here.
By the conclusion of the course you will have presented your design process and produced a high-fidelity interactive prototype to add to your portfolio.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Working knowledge of:
Additional Information
Students must have three years of industry experience, or have completed all prerequisite courses listed before enrolling in the course. Students should have server space available for posting their projects.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 2.0
UEWD.X414: User Experience Design Fundamentals
UEWD.X416: Interaction Design and Prototyping
UEWD.X423: Collaborative Design: Enhancing UX with AI
UEWD.X424: User Research and Analysis
Course Description
Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) is a critical component of modern LLMs, such as GPT, used in ChatGPT to improve rewards on the generated text. This course will introduce students to Deep Reinforcement Learning, RLHF and how ChatGPT's GPT family of LLMs leverages PPO, a policy gradient-based reinforcement learning algorithm, in order to build a ChatGPT-like system. As an advanced AI course, students gain hands-on experience with a variety of reinforcement learning (RL) and deep reinforcement learning (DRL) tools used to teach machines to make human-like decisions based on observation and interpretation of surrounding environments. The course also examines how DRL algorithms have advanced state-of-the-art games like Go and highly sophisticated multi-player games such as StarCraft and Dota, as well as control systems, natural language, self-driving cars, and robotics.
After a review of deep learning building blocks, and RL and DRL fundamentals, students explore promising DRL algorithms through concrete examples and simulation environments. Students learn to solve everyday tasks in RL, including well-known simulations such as CartPole, MountainCar, and MuJoCo.
Students examine Markov decision process (MDP) formulation and an extensive collection of DRL algorithms: deep q-learning (DQN, DDQN), policy gradients methods (A2C, A3C, PPO), reasoning policy gradients methods (GPRO), and inverse reinforcement learning. To implement these DRL algorithms, students will code in Python 3, Gymnasium environment, and tf.keras. The course also reviews other popular DRL libraries, such as Google Dopamine, Keras-RL, and Facebook Horizon.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Note: For this course there will be a term project related to fine-tuning LLMs.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 3.0
AISV.X401: Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Course Description
Formerly "Data Modeling, Introduction."
Data modeling defines and applies structure to the information systems in an enterprise. Data stored in various relational databases needs data modeling to depict the relationship between entities in the databases. The models provide pictorial views of how the data flows across the enterprise, departments, or business areas. Before creating a database for any application, you need well-constructed data models to maintain the integrity of data and improve query performance.
This course provides in-depth knowledge and hands-on practice in data modeling and design. After introducing the basic concepts and principles, the course addresses data modeling techniques and practices in four modeling areas: conceptual, logical, physical, and dimensional. The course first addresses the collection of user requirements, followed by design approaches for logical and physical models.
You will study real-world examples of data models for transactional systems, data marts, enterprise data warehouses, and modern analytics pipelines. Expert instructors will share their practical experiences connecting foundational data modeling skills to today's data stack-including cloud data warehouses, machine learning pipelines, and AI-driven applications. This is a hands-on course using an industry-leading data modeling tool in class. By the end of the course, you will be able to create data models for enterprise applications and understand how your modeling decisions impact analytics accuracy and AI system behavior.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course has students apply AI-assisted design and validation tools to evaluate data models, generate schema recommendations, and improve conceptual, logical, and physical modeling accuracy. Students will also critically assess where AI-generated models break down, deepening their understanding of real-world data architecture, accelerating hands-on learning, and building the judgment needed to use AI tools responsibly in data engineering and analytics roles.
Quarter units: 3.0
DBDA.X415: Relational Database Design and SQL Programming
Course Description
This course provides an overview of learning disabilities, attention, and behavior difficulties in young students. Participants will gain familiarity with the current special education field and their role within it. The materials provided are designed to support understanding of how disabilities affect learning and instruction. Participants will also be introduced to state and federal laws relating to providing free and appropriate education to students with disabilities. Topics include atypical brain development, characteristics of learning disabilities, ADHD, autism and co-occurring difficulties, behavior, attention, and the role of the special education assistant.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Quarter units: 4.0
Course Description
Formerly "Data Analysis, Introduction."
Data analysis is the process of converting data into valuable information to inform decision-making. This course provides a foundation in the tools, techniques, and common practices used in the industry. It covers the full lifecycle of a data analysis project, including how to obtain, manipulate, explore, model, and present data.
We will explore different analytical approaches and frameworks, using popular tools like R and Python. The course emphasizes hands-on application, with R being the primary language for instruction and examples. You will learn to prepare raw data for use, perform exploratory analysis, and apply techniques like regression, simulation, and forecasting. We will also cover various graphing and visualization tools to help you understand and present your findings.
Additionally, the course now includes an introduction to leveraging Generative AI for data analysis. You will use an AI-based tool to generate and validate R programs, helping you streamline your workflow.
By the end of the course, you will be able to apply a working framework to any data analysis project and use R or Python to complete a large-scale project, including a professional write-up with insights and visualizations. All tools are open-source, except for a trial version of the AI tool.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include:
Skills Needed:
Some programming experience is recommended. (R will be covered in class and used in examples. Python experience can be helpful.) Basic knowledge of probability and statistics required, at the level of basic statistics textbooks.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course offers a foundational and hands-on approach to the data analysis lifecycle using R and Python, leveraging AI to streamline your workflow through the generation and validation of R programs.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
Formerly "Big Data, Introduction."
In the era of big data and compute-intensive analytics, the ability to write high-performance Python code is essential. This course is designed for learners with basic Python knowledge who want to handle large volumes of data efficiently and optimize their workflows. We will explore how to make Python performant-moving beyond basic pandas use-by introducing tools, techniques, and tradeoffs for improving execution speed, memory use, and scalability.
You will learn strategies such as vectorization, avoiding unnecessary loops, leveraging data structures like NumPy arrays, and using multithreading/multiprocessing. We will also explore distributed computing with PySpark and Dask, and introduce Polars as a cutting-edge alternative to pandas. These skills will be placed in the broader context of big data frameworks and architectures, including Apache Spark, Apache Kafka, and modern NoSQL databases like MongoDB and Cassandra. GPU optimization techniques will also be discussed at an introductory level.
The final project will integrate these concepts into the design of a high-performance data processing pipeline, giving you hands-on experience with tools and methods to analyze large datasets efficiently.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Prerequisites/Skills Needed:
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Additional Information
AI*- This course focuses on leveraging AI and AI powered tools to enhance learning, write code in python and design Big Data pipelines.
Quarter units: 3.0
Course Description
This course presents the essential elements of monitoring a clinical trial and the interaction between a sponsor and one or more sites during a clinical investigation. The course covers expectations of the FDA, the sponsor, and the site. The process of site selection, budgeting, initiation visits, source documentation, regulatory documentation, and adverse event reporting are additional topics covered. Included in the course are the process of medical record review and maintenance, case report form completion, product accountability, and various tasks associated with different monitoring visits.
Professional Credit: CA BRN/LVN Credit--Provider #CEP13114.
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 1.5
CTDM.X411: Good Clinical Practices
Course Description
Welcome to our immersive AI technology workshop series. During these sessions you will be introduced to new and established AI tools that will help you create and manipulate content in new and powerful ways. Each session is led by an industry expert who will guide you through the material and share its real-world implications.
The AI Deployment Projects workshop prepares project leaders to manage the complex, cross-functional initiatives required to implement AI infrastructure within an organization. Rather than focusing on personal productivity tools, this course addresses the strategic, technical, and organizational challenges of deploying AI systems-from data pipelines and model integration to stakeholder alignment and governance. Participants will engage with real-world scenarios, explore risk mitigation strategies, and learn how to lead AI projects that deliver scalable, ethical, and business-aligned outcomes.
Learning OutcomesAt the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
Skills Needed:
3-5 years professional experience in one of the following fields: Project/Program Management, Business, Change Management, Data Science, or UX.
0.3 CEUs
Course Description
Formerly "Web and Mobile Analytics."
The rise of online and mobile businesses has made analytics crucial for understanding and boosting customer reach, engagement, and growth. This practical course introduces students to web, mobile, and AI-powered analytics, giving them the skills to define customer metrics, analyze data, and enhance campaign performance. Students work with platforms like Google Analytics, Tableau, or mobile analytics tools, while also exploring how generative AI assistants or conversational AI applications can improve profiling, site analysis, and conversion optimization. Through labs and projects, students learn to create reports and deliver actionable recommendations that connect data to marketing strategy.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to
Topics Include
*This course may be applied to a certificate only if you are currently declared in a program.
Quarter units: 2.0
MKTG.X400: Customer-Driven Marketing: Principles and Practice
Some of our programs are taught by our curriculum partners.
For questions about your interest in the course and/or eligibility, please email csp@ucsc.edu. Course:
Ziplines Education is a market-driven education company that delivers innovative programs to prepare learners for the demands of today's economy. For questions about these courses, please contact support@ziplines.com. Courses:
These legal studies courses are provided in partnership with Center for Legal Studies, a BARBRI Company that is focused on providing affordable, up-to-date, and effective legal education. Student payment plans available through CLS. Instructors are attorneys, paralegals, and other legal professionals with years of legal experience. They are not affiliated with UC Santa Cruz. For questions about these courses, please contact CLS. Courses:
Program Overview
The Certificate in Coastal Sustainability and Resilience series aims to increase the number of practitioners in coastal communities who are knowledgeable and prepared to integrate a range of sustainability solutions, including nature-based solutions, in coastal adaptation, sustainability, and resilience projects.
Our multisector network of instructors and classmates share a dedication to implementing practical solutions to coastal resilience projects. Through cohort-based activities grounded in science, students build actionable knowledge and skills, such as.
A 10-week online certificate course
In a data-driven economy, creating value means leveraging data to identify, strategize, and solve business problems. In this certificate course, you’ll learn the fundamentals in gathering, analyzing and presenting strategic data effectively to different audiences.
Students are invited to join in on optional online meetings each week. You can enroll up to one week after the start date.
Paying upfront isn’t always realistic. Ziplines Education offers a three-part payment plan. For more information regarding payment options, please contact admissions@ziplines.com.
This Digital Marketing Science certificate course will transform you into a complete digital marketer with expertise in the most in-demand marketing domains. Fast-track your career in digital marketing with practical training and technical certifications you can apply on the job. Delivered online, this comprehensive curriculum is taught by industry experts and supplemented with live/online mentor-led classes.
You’ll leave the course with proof of your digital marketing skills. For your final project, you will apply your new skills to the website of a real business in the form of a playbook and get feedback from industry experts and peers.
Earn industry-recognized certifications and qualifications.
Google Ads Search Certification
Google Analytics Individual Qualification
HubSpot Email Marketing Certification
Plus several highly marketable certifications offered by Marketo, The Trade Desk, and Facebook as well as tools for:
During each session, students are invited to join in on optional online weekly meetings. You can enroll up to one week after the start date.
Paying upfront isn’t always realistic. Ziplines Education offers a three-part payment plan. For more information or questions regarding payment options, please contact admissions@ziplines.com.
Each industry develops its own unique legal strategies and professional lexicon to grow and navigate the constantly evolving world of law. We're offering legal studies courses in key Silicon Valley industries—engineering, nursing, healthcare, and victim advocacy—to give you a practical understanding of your consulting role in the legal realm.
Whether you are an advocate for crime victims or an entrepreneur exploring a medical professional, this curriculum is tailored to your professional development.
This course is endorsed by ACEDS, the gold standard in eDiscovery training and education.
The legal terminology and process, victim rights, ethics, victim advocacy, and crisis intervention skills create the foundation for you to make a difference in the lives of crime victims.
Successful graduates of this training program will be eligible at minimum for theand possibly for the Basic, Intermediate or Advanced Credential based upon experience in the field.
A multitude of statutes cover the complex relationships between employers and employees. In this course, you'll learn about the National Labor Relations Act, the Railway Labor Act, and other statutes dealing with public employees. You'll focus on topics such as master and servant relationships, wages and hours, anti-discrimination in employment laws, minimum wages and maximum hours guidelines and the regulation of working conditions.
Center for Legal Studies and UCSC Silicon Valley Extension are recognized by SHRM to offer professional development credits for the SHRM-CPSM and SHRM-SCPSM.
Medical professionals interested in the field of forensic testimony and medical-legal issues will gain the fundamentals they need to advise law firms, insurance companies, and governmental agencies regarding medically related issues and to appear in court as expert witnesses. Click the button below for the course syllabus.
This program has been reviewed and is approved for a maximum of 45 hours of AAPA Category 1 CME credit by the Physician Assistant Review Panel.
Learn to assist attorneys, paralegals, insurance companies, private businesses, and government agencies in the process of civil and criminal investigation. You'll gain investigative skills related to arson, product liability, personal injury and accident forensics, financial matters, professional malpractice and negligence, skip-tracing, and the role of a legal investigator in preparing for civil and criminal litigation. You'll also learn about working in the field: freelance investigation, job search strategies, and placements.
Nurses (PAs and RNs) in the seven-week Legal Nurse Consultant Training Course build on their medical expertise to serve as legal expert consultants and advise law firms, health care providers, insurance companies, and governmental agencies regarding medically related issues and to appear in court as expert witnesses. Click button below for course syllabus available.
Successful graduates will receive a certificate for 42 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development from the Center for Legal Studies, a BARBRI Company, that they may be able to use to fulfill continuing education requirements.
Two seven-week intensives
The Paralegal Certificate Course© teaches students the in-demand skills necessary to perform a variety of paralegal tasks. This continuing legal education course is a valuable asset for paralegal professionals looking to advance their career, grow professionally, increase their earning potential and gain job-ready skills.
Focus on topics that interest you. You are required to complete six seven-week sessions of Advanced Paralegal course topics to receive a certificate of completion. Please choose from the sessions listed below.
UCSC Extension, a unit of the University of California, Santa Cruz, takes academic integrity seriously. All forms of academic misconduct, including but not limited to, cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic dishonesty, are grounds for student discipline.
Unless otherwise indicated by the course instructor, assignments must be individual efforts.
It is not acceptable to copy (verbatim or even with minor changes) whole sections of a book, article, or internet resource and submit them as your own work. References should be listed and direct quotes indicated as such, with the author cited.
If a student does not follow the Academic Integrity policy above, the following steps will be taken to report the academic misconduct.
Sanctions vary from case to case. Potential sanctions could include but are not limited to:
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If a case involves more than one student, the Program Manager will determine if they will be investigated individually.
If you have questions regarding the reporting of academic misconduct, please contact the Office of the Registrar at extensionregistrar@ucsc.edu.
A Grievable Action is an action that: (a) is in violation of written UCSC Silicon Valley Extension policies or procedures; or (b) constitutes arbitrary, capricious or unequal application of written UCSC Extension policies or procedures. If the request does not match this definition, it will be denied.
In cases where a student is not satisfied with the Academic Review Committee decision, the final level of appeal at UCSC Silicon Valley Extension is the Office of the Dean.
When the deadline for a refund or another policy has passed, a petition for exception may be submitted. It must be supported by special circumstances such as a personal or family illness, injury, or hospitalization. Proper documentation of the special circumstance is required. UCSC Extension reserves the right to approve or deny any such request.
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension is an institution committed to academic integrity. Ethical practices require transparency and honesty in the application process. We urge all prospective students to understand the negative consequences associated with fraudulent actions.
Consequences of Fraud
Our admissions team meticulously evaluates each application. Any misrepresentation or suspected fraudulent activity detected at any stage will result in the immediate rejection of an application and may subject applicants to further investigation and potential legal action.
Our Commitment
We are committed to upholding the principles of fairness, honesty, and equal opportunity in our admissions process. By adhering to these principles, we ensure that students admitted to UCSC Silicon Valley Extension possess the necessary qualifications, personal attributes, and ethical standards to thrive in our academic community.
Regulations do not permit tape recording, filming, videotaping or any other recording of any Extension program without the express written permission of UCSC Extension.
UCSC Extension does not allow auditing of courses. You must be enrolled in a class before attending.
If desired, courses can be taken for Credit/No credit. To take a course for no credit, download, complete, and submit the Alternative Grade Request form which is available on our Student Services Forms page. On your transcript and student record, NC will appear next to all classes taken for no credit. All course fees are still required.
Students are given access to their online course and materials approximately 24 hours before the start of a course via Canvas, our learning management system.
Students will continue to have access to their course in Canvas for 31 days after the course end date. After 31 days, the course will disappear from their Dashboard and Courses tab in Canvas. At this time, students will no longer be able to access any course material or submitted material. You are encouraged to download materials before this time. Note that certain materials may not be available for download at the instructor's discretion. Lecture videos are not available for download.
You can learn more about Canvas here. If you have trouble accessing your course on Canvas, please contact extension@ucsc.edu.
Note: Enroll at least seven days before your course start date to save your seat. This allows time to prepare for the first class and helps ensure that your course is not canceled due to low enrollment.
It is the policy of the University of California to provide computer resources to students, faculty, and staff to be used in ways that are consistent with the University's mission - instruction, research, public service, as well as administration. The University expects that its user community will respect the public trust through which these resources have been provided. These resources include computers, terminals, networks, modems, and printers. It is the policy of the University to provide its users with access to local, national, and international sources of information. The user community should not be subject to unauthorized disclosure, tampering, destruction, theft, harassment, or any denial of access to resources.
All users must guard against abuses of the University's information resources and systems. The university has determined that the following list, while not exhaustive, characterizes unacceptable behavior, which may be subject to disciplinary action:
In addition, the user should be aware of the following policies and expectations: The University grants permission to members of its community to use computation resources by issuing individual computer accounts. As a condition of receiving such an account, the user must exercise diligence to keep his or her password as a secret and not disclose it to any other person. Users of shared computers or networks which connect to the campus network should not share or transfer their account privileges to any other person. The University expects that all those who choose to use our off-campus network connections will understand and honor the policies of those regional and national network organizations to which the University is a party. The use policies for these networks are available separately from the policy statement. Campus units that administer computers may also establish guidelines for the appropriate use of their equipment in addition to these campus-wide policies.
When a non-University-owned computer is used on campus, the user must follow all of these campus-wide policies. In addition, if the computer is attached to the campus network it must be registered with the owner's name and contact information, machine manufacturer and model number, location of machine, and the network address of the machine. This registration can be done through divisional computer/network managers or through CATS. This includes computers with one or more unique network addresses as well as computers that obtain network addresses on a dynamic basis.
Account usage is also governed by the University of California Electronic Communications Policy. Full text of the policy is available at this URL: https://www.ucop.edu/information-technology-services/initiatives/universitywide-copyright-policies-and-guidance-.html
We're happy to help. Please note that international and workforce development students, as well as students in our partner programs, may have different deadlines and fees.
Note: Instructors do not have the authority to drop a student.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure that the requirements for completion of a certificate or specialization are met. Both the course selection and successful completion of the requirements rest with the student.
You may drop a course and receive a full refund minus a $40 drop processing fee—if you do this before the drop deadline for your course. Here is the timeframe for dropping:
Classroom • Live-Online • Flexible • Hybrid—Courses with 5 or more sessions If your course meets five times or more, you must drop the course prior to the start of the second session for a full refund minus the drop processing fee. If you register for a course on or after the second session, no refunds will be available.
Classroom • Live-Online • Flexible • Hybrid—Courses with 4 or fewer sessions
If your course meets four or fewer times, you must drop the course three business days before the start of the course for a full refund minus the drop processing fee.
Self-paced online courses
In self-paced online courses, you have six business days after the course start date to work with the first module in the series and still receive a full refund minus the drop processing fee. After six days or the start of module two, you are no longer eligible for a refund.
Custom online curriculum partner programs
You may be eligible for a refund, minus a $40 processing fee if your drop request is received three business days before the course start date of programs taught by our outside vendors. (Business days are Monday through Friday, not including holidays.) However, some programs have different policies. See below for more information on our custom courses.
Students may switch to a different section or change to a different course, with the $40 drop processing fee waived if the swap occurs within the same quarter or if you're re-enrolling in the same course when it is next offered. However, a $40 fee applies if switching to a different course in a future quarter.
Students may apply the units of one pre-approved course that is outside the designated curriculum to their certificate qualification. Please apply for pre-approval from Academic Services Department by filling out the Course Substitution Form.
Note: Students will need to submit a Course Substitution Request for the following articulation needs:
Registration fees, certificate and award application fees, and special requests are non-refundable. All refunds are put on the student account toward future enrollment, unless otherwise requested.
If the refund deadline for a course has passed, a petition for exception may be submitted. It must be supported by special circumstances such as a personal or family illness, injury, or hospitalization. Proper documentation of the special circumstance is required. UCSC Extension reserves the right to approve or deny any such request.
If you enroll in a section, you have the option to withdraw prior to the final class meeting to avoid a negative impact on your official academic record. If you need to drop a course past the drop deadlines stated above, you will be given a withdrawal (W) grade on your transcript with no refund. To receive a withdrawal grade on your transcript with no refund, you’ll need to submit a drop request.
Note: International and Workforce students need to seek prior approval before a W grade will be issued.
UCSC Extension may have to cancel, postpone or combine courses, programs, and/or change instructors without notice. Refunds prompted by cancellation or discontinuation will be made in full to your student account. Refunds to the original form of payment will be processed on request.
If you have enrolled in courses through other programs, such as a workforce development agency, an international agent, or the Open Campus process, you may have paid a deposit. It is your responsibility to comply with all financial obligations, deadlines, and refund policies established by these programs. If you are an international student, you can learn more about fees on our website.
In addition to our regular offerings, we work with outside vendors on several custom courses to provide specialized online training. Refund availability varies by curriculum partner.
For these offerings, you may be eligible for a refund, minus a $40 processing fee, if your drop request is received three business days before the course start date. Business days are Monday through Friday, not including holidays. Courses dropped after the first day of class will be given a withdrawal (W) grade, which will have no academic penalty.
See refund policy for students in the Legal and Paralegal Studies courses.
UCSC Extension currently does not allow auditing or sitting-in of any courses.
UCSC Extension is a self-supporting organization and we take your enrollment into account when deciding whether to run a course. We do not receive state funds to support our professional development programs. This policy is necessary for us to maintain the lowest possible fees for all students.
Student safety is our top priority.
All county, state, and campus laws relating to coronavirus safety must be followed while in the UCSC Silicon Valley Campus building at 3175 Bowers Ave., Santa Clara, CA.
We're here to help you have a great student experience. If you have additional questions, please reach out to us at Student Services.
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension receives federal financial assistance to discriminate against any individual in the United States on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, sex stereotyping, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, or political affiliation or belief, or, against any beneficiary of, applicant to, or participant in programs financially assisted under Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
It is against the law for UCSC Extension to discriminate for any of these reasons in addition to an individual’s citizenship status or participation in any WIOA Title I–financially assisted program or activity.
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension must not discriminate in any of the following areas:
Recipients of federal financial assistance must take reasonable steps to ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as communications with others. This means that, upon request and at no cost to the individual, recipients are required to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services to qualified individuals with disabilities.
If you think that you have been subjected to discrimination under a WIOA Title I–financially assisted program or activity, you may file a complaint within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation with one of the following entities:
If you file your complaint with the WDB, you must wait either until the WDB issues a written Notice of Final Action, or until 90 days have passed (whichever is sooner), before filing with the Civil Rights Center (see address above).
If you do not receive a written Notice of Final Action within 90 days of the day on which you filed your complaint, you may file a complaint with CRC before receiving that Notice. However, you must file your CRC complaint within 30 days of the 90-day deadline (in other words, within 120 days after the day on which you filed your complaint with the WDB).
If the WDB does give you a written Notice of Final Action on your complaint, but you are dissatisfied with the decision or resolution, you may file a complaint with CRC. You must file your CRC complaint within 30 days of the date on which you received the Notice of Final Action.
Here are the key identification markers on each course page:
| 1-99: | Lower division |
| 100-199: | Upper division |
| 200-299: | Graduate division |
| 300-399: | Professional courses in Education |
| 400-499: | Professional courses in other departments |
| 800 Series or non-numbered courses: | Noncredit or Continuing Education Units issued. (Academic credit and letter grade not applicable.) |
All UCSC Extension credit is offered in quarter-system units.
Continuing education units, established by a national task force of educational associations, are intended for students who need to document hours of study for employers, relicensing agencies, or associations. One CEU is awarded for each 10 hours of contact participation. Because CEUs reflect contact time, grading may not be offered in some courses with a CEU option.
Certificates with Honors are granted to individuals who complete their certificate programs with all A- grades and above.
Instructors assign grades based on a student’s performance on activities outlined in the course syllabi. Grades are available online through the student portal, no later than one month after a course ends.
| Grade | Value Range | Point Value | |
| A | 93 - 100 | 4.0 | |
| A- | 90 - 92 | 3.7 | |
| B+ | 88 - 89 | 3.3 | |
| B | 83 - 87 | 3.0 | |
| B- | 80 - 82 | 2.7 | |
| C+ | 78 - 79 | 2.3 | |
| C | 73 - 77 | 2.0 | |
| C- | 70 - 72 | 1.7 | |
| D+ | 68 - 69 | 1.3 | |
| D | 63 - 67 | 1.0 | |
| D- | 60 - 62 | 0.7 | |
| F | 0 - 59 | 0.0 |
When students enroll, letter grading is the default. The Credit/No Credit option is available only to students in good academic standing. Requests for Credit/No Credit must be submitted by filling out the Alternative Grade Request Form before the last day of the course.
Please note that only letter grades of C or higher may be applied to a certificate or specialization. Students in most employer- and government-sponsored payment programs, such as workforce development and international students on F-1 visas, need to maintain a B average to attain a certificate.
It is the student's responsibility to meet the requirements for completion of a certificate or specialization. Both the course selection and successful completion of the requirements rest with the student.
The issue date listed on the certificate of completion is the last day of the last course to be applied to the certificate program or specialization program. Please check the certificate program requirements and list of approved electives.
An incomplete grade may be approved for students who are unable to complete a course within the prescribed time due to unforeseen extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control. Please see our Incomplete Grades Policy for more information.
Changes to a final, recorded course grade can only be made when there is evidence of a clerical or procedural error and never based on a re-examination or the completion of additional work.
Submit a review request to the Academic Review Committee (ARC)
If a satisfactory resolution is not reached with the instructor, submit your grievance to ARC by filling out an Exception to Policy Request Form. ARC will review your written grievance and discuss it with the instructor and the program directors.
Please include the following documentation relating to your request:
After all required information is received, you will receive a copy of the formal resolution via email within 5-10 business days.
For more information, including the formal grade appeals policy and process, email extensiongrades@ucsc.edu.
An incomplete grade, “I,” may be issued to accommodate the completion of coursework of passing quality after the course end date due to circumstances beyond a student’s control. All requests should be made at least seven days before the last day of class and cannot be made after the course has ended.
Incomplete grades are contingent upon instructor approval, and instructors are under no obligation to grant them. Incomplete grades are not generally permitted for WIB, VA, or international students. Exceptions must be approved by the relevant academic department.
Request review by the department by emailing extensiongrades@ucsc.edu. Your email should include:
If you qualify for an incomplete grade, you will receive a signed Petition for Incomplete Grade form authorizing you to pursue an agreement with the instructor.
Forms without a signature, grade, or date will be returned to the department and will delay updating the student’s record.
The issue date listed on the certificate of completion is the last day of the last course that is relevant to the certificate program or specialization program. The last course must be a course that can be applied towards the certificate as a requirement or as an elective. Please check the certificate program requirements and list of approved electives.
Many of the professional education programs at UCSC Silicon Valley Extension help you get practical skills you can use in your job today while also advancing your career by providing you professional credits toward an industry recognized license or certification.
Many of our courses are approved for professional certification or recertification credit through state and national professional agencies and associations. To see a list of organizations that have recognized our courses for professional credit, please visit our FAQ page on professional credit.
While courses in many of our programs are approved and recognized by different agencies organizations and professional associations, your successful completion does not guarantee that you will obtain a particular license or certification.
Licensure and certification requirements are set by agencies that are not controlled by or affiliated with the University of California and these requirements can change at any time.
The University of California has not yet determined whether all of its programs meet other states’ educational or professional requirements for licensure and certification. If you are planning to pursue licensure or certification in another state, you are responsible for determining whether, your efforts at UCSC Silicon Valley Extension meet requirements for licensure or certification in another state.
This disclosure is made pursuant to 34 CFR §668.43(a)(5)(v)(C).
Please see the University of California Licensure and Certification Disclosure Statement.
University of California Licensure and Certification Disclosure Statement.
Open Campus concurrent students are evaluated and graded by the same grading policies applied to UCSC main campus students.
Extension mails a separate grade list to the instructor a week before the last day of class. The instructor returns the completed grade list to Extension.
Extension mails the grade report to the student, four to six weeks after the last day of the quarter.
If you requested an evaluation, the instructor will send it to Extension within three weeks after the grade deadline. We don't mail a copy to the student unless we have a written request from the student. The original is stored in the student´s UCSC Extension file.
Audit/NC Grade
An Open Campus concurrent student may not audit a class.
Open Campus concurrent students will not appear on the instructor´s regular student roster. The grading and retention process is through UCSC Extension Student Services.
If a student is enrolling in courses using an insurance or worker’s compensation voucher, they need to send a copy of the complete voucher and Enrollment Form to extension@ucsc.edu.
All funds received from sponsors will be processed as payments. They will be deposited into the receiving student’s account for unrestricted use.
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension is not responsible for ensuring the student recipient uses funds in a manner intended by the sponsor. This responsibility rests solely with the student.
The student recipient is also responsible for reporting satisfactory academic progress to a sponsor organization if required. To do so, the student can order an official transcript.
Any other grant vouchers must be sent directly to UCSC Silicon Valley Extension and include:
The agency or sponsoring payer will be invoiced for payment of funds upon enrollment and will be due upon receipt.
To be enrolled in requested courses, students must fill out an Enrollment Form each quarter.
UCSC Extension students can apply for a private student loan that includes course fees and textbook costs.
UCSC Extension does not endorse any financial institution, but you will find important information and a helpful chart comparing terms offered by prominent lenders by visiting our Student Loan Lender List. U.S. News & World Reports has a great article about student loans.
Learn more about requesting a private student loan in our FAQ.
UCSC Extension certificate programs are not currently eligible for federal financial aid.
To use a California Department of Rehabilitation (DoR) voucher to enroll in courses, you must send a copy of your complete voucher and enrollment form to extension@ucsc.edu.
The authorization must be issued to UCSC Silicon Valley Extension and include:
Incorrect or incomplete authorization forms will be sent back for correction. Submit completed authorization forms to extension@ucsc.edu
In the event a student decides to transfer to a different course section, UCSC Silicon Valley Extension will require an amended authorization from the DoR which reflects the new course information.
To request ADA Accommodations, please visit our Students with Disabilities page.
The student will receive an email with instructions for creating their student account to view the course enrollment details.
Note: When purchasing a course for a student under 18 years of age, UCSC Silicon Valley will request that the student and parent fill out the FERPA Authorization Form and the Minor Release Form.
Many of our students receive funding through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which was signed into law in 2014.
UC Santa Cruz Extension works closely with several great agencies throughout California. Note: UCSC Extension does not have the ability to approve a student for funding.
For more information, reach out to individual agencies for guidance.
Eligibility requirements
For more information about how to line up your dreams and your skills in a new job, please reach out to us at workforce@ucsc.edu and visit Workforce Development.
Out-of-pocket expenses
In most cases, funding will only cover the minimum number of required units to complete the program for which you are approved. Any out-of-pocket expenses are determined on a case-by-case basis by Extension. Students will be notified and responsible for additional costs.
In general, you can visit us online without revealing information about yourself. When you fill out one of our online request forms, we ask you for basic information such as your name, address, phone number, and email address so we can follow up on your comments or send you materials that you request.
Data you enter during a visit to our site is stored on systems using appropriate physical, electronic, and management procedures to safeguard and secure all information we collect online. Any sensitive or personal data, such as credit card or purchase information that you enter for online enrollment purposes is transmitted in an encrypted form and requires the use of a secure browser.
Your privacy is very important to us. UCSC Silicon Valley Extension is committed to protecting your online privacy while providing you with the most useful and enjoyable web experience possible. In general, you can visit UCSC Extension online without revealing any personal information. If you fill out one of our request or survey forms, we may ask you for personal information, such as your name, address, phone number, and email address so we may send you materials based on interests you indicate.
Should you choose to provide us with any personal information, such as age or level of education, you can be assured that UCSC Extension will only use it in the aggregate.
We do not and will never sell, rent, or share your name, mailing address, email address or any other data that can personally identify you any way to any outside group.
The University cherishes the free and open exchange of ideas and enhancement of knowledge. Maintaining this freedom and openness requires objectivity, mutual trust and confidence. It requires the absence of coercion, intimidation or exploitation. The principal responsibility for maintaining these conditions must rest upon those members of the University community who exercise authority and leadership: faculty, managers and supervisors.
The University has instituted a number of measures designed to protect its community from sexual and other forms of harassment. Information, advice, referrals and/or copies of UCSC’s Sex offense Policy and Procedures for Report of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment are available to all students, faculty and staff by contacting Rita E Walker, Title IX Coordinator/Sexual Harassment Officer, 105 Kerr Hall, at (831) 459-2462. The Title IX Coordinator is also available to investigate other violation of title IX. Questions regarding discrimination may be directed to the Affirmative Action Office at (831) 459-1590.
To carry on our work of teaching, research, and public service, the university has an obligation to maintain conditions under which the work of the university can proceed freely, in accordance with the highest standards of quality, institutional integrity, and freedom of expression with full recognition by all concerned of the rights and privileges, as well as the responsibilities, of those who comprise the university community.
The university’s standard of conduct for students consists of:
The chancellor has delegated authority to the college administrative officers, director of student judicial affairs, dean of graduate studies, college provosts (for academic dishonesty issues), and vice chancellor of student affairs to impose discipline for violation of these policies, regulations, and rules. See the Student Policies and Regulations Handbook, section 100.00, for a complete listing of violations.
Individual colleges have developed additional rules and standards of conduct applicable to members of the college communities and these are available at the college offices.
Procedural due process is basic to the proper enforcement of university policies, campus regulations, and college rules. The college administrative officer has initial responsibility for procedures for students of the college. In addition, the administrative officer of each college has original jurisdiction for students residing in the college, regardless of official collegiate affiliation.
The director of Student Judicial Affairs assumes initial responsibility for the following allegations:
Voluntary resolution of an alleged violation of student conduct policies, regulations, and rules is encouraged. When the student and the college administrative officer (or his or her designee) are unable to agree upon an informal resolution, the student is entitled to a directed appeal or, under certain circumstances, an opportunity for a hearing before the Campus Judicial Board.
The board is appointed by the vice chancellor and consists of staff and students. Disciplinary procedures are outlined in the Student Policies and Regulations Handbook. Information and advice regarding disciplinary procedures are also available from the director, Student Judicial Affairs, at 245 Hahn Student Services Building, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 • (831) 459-4446.
UCSC Extension's Registrar is responsible for maintaining Extension's student records. Any questions regarding records should be addressed to the Registrar’s Office in writing, at 3175 Bowers Avenue, Santa Clara CA 95054.
Policies governing the disclosure of information from student records, specifically the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the University of California Policies Applying to the Disclosure of Information from Student Records, are available at our office in Santa Clara. The full text of the federal law is available at the Student Affairs Office, located at 245 Hahn Student Services on the UCSC Campus, (831) 459-4446.
Retention Policy
The Records Office maintains a permanent record of academic work completed by each student. Support documents for the academic record are kept for one year.
We strongly advise that you carefully review your academic record quarterly. Discrepancies in your academic record should be reported to the Records Office immediately. After one year, it is assumed that you accept the accuracy of your academic record, and supporting source documents may be destroyed.
The University is required by federal law to request your Social Security Number or Individual Tax Identification Number and report your SSN or ITIN and other pertinent information to the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the reporting requirements imposed by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. The University may also use the SSN or ITIN you provide to verify your identity. This notification is provided to you as required by the Federal Privacy Act of of 1974.
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension courses may require the use of one or more third-party applications which have been requested by the course instructor. Third-party applications may be accessed in a variety of ways including visiting a website using a web browser, downloading software onto your device, or interacting with supplemental content embedded into Canvas, our Online Classroom. By using a third-party application, you acknowledge the following:
You are accountable for your own activity when using third-party applications.
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension does not govern the data security and other policies of any third-party applications. Please refer to the policies found on the specific application’s website to understand the terms you are agreeing to when you choose to use that application.
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension does not guarantee the level of functionality or support for third-party applications.
Wireless internet access is provided throughout our facility.
The appropriate wireless network card is required.
Any wireless connection is open to the internet.
Extension does not provide protection against viruses, worms, intrusion, or other data vulnerabilities. Protective software must be installed on the owner’s portable computer.
Note that although we refer to seasonal academic quarters for reference, UCSC Extension doesn't schedule courses on a strict quarter system. Courses may begin in any week during the quarter.
If you're an international student, view the F-1 visa deadlines.
View the UC Santa Cruz schedule here.
The UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus is closed for the following holidays.
