Your experience taking courses as an audit learner or as a Verified (Paid) learner will be very similar.
The primary difference between the two enrollment statuses is that only learners on the Verified (Paid) learners will have access to the Proctored Exam; therefore, only paid learners can work to earn the MicroMasters Course Certificate. For a more detailed comparison, please continue reading below.
All learners are welcome to enroll in and take any DEDP courses for free, as an Audit learner. Audit learners experience the same course material, assignments and assessments as Paid learners, but Audit learners are not eligible to sit for the Proctored Exam at the end of the course. Audit learner cannot earn a MicroMasters Course Certificate. This means that Audit learners cannot earn the DEDP MicroMasters Program Credential. A learner would have to upgrade to a Verified (Paid) status to complete the course requirements and earn the DEDP MicroMasters Program Credential.
DEDP Program allows audit learners to complete the coursework during a given semester, but in a future semester submit payment and take the Proctored Exam to earn the MicroMasters Course Certificate. For more information about taking a course as an audit learner first and upgrading to a paid status in a future semester, please refer to this FAQ article.
For a full explanation of the eligibility criteria for earning a MicroMasters Course Certificate, including course score calculation examples, please refer to the FAQ article How do I earn the Course Certificate for a DEDP MicroMasters course? For more information about DEDP Proctored Exams, please refer to the About Proctored Exams section of our FAQ.
| Audit Track | Verified Track | |
Price |
Free | Variable Pricing |
Unlimited access to course materials |
✔️ | ✔️ |
Access to course work and assignments |
✔️ | ✔️ |
MITx Online support |
✔️ | ✔️ |
Shareable certificate upon completion |
- | ✔️ |
Access to proctored exam |
- | ✔️ |