Individual Course
Harvard Bok Center Higher Education Teaching Certificate
Course Length
9 weeks
8–10 hours a week
Featuring faculty from:
Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Enroll as Individual
Certificate Price:
$ 2,911
Enroll by Sep 29, 2026
Enroll NowEnroll as Individual
Certificate Price:
$ 2,911
Enroll by Sep 29, 2026
Enroll NowFacilitate Learning in the Age of AI
Prepare for the modern classroom by connecting people, technology, and pedagogy in the age of AI. The six-week Harvard Bok Center Higher Education Teaching Certificate will prepare you to integrate AI as a pedagogical tool, manage challenging classroom dynamics with authority, and deliver memorable lessons rooted in proven frameworks.
Designed for experienced higher education practitioners, this program will help you utilize proven instructional frameworks to make lessons more accessible, inclusive, and engaging in diverse classroom environments.
Critically, this course emphasizes responsible and effective AI integration. You'll learn how to harness generative AI to streamline teaching and professional workflows; set clear and effective policies for AI use; and adapt your rubrics and assessments to be more AI-resilient.
You’ll study approaches for engaging diverse viewpoints in the classroom and learn practical strategies for classroom management and mediation. You’ll learn different approaches for encouraging active learning among your students, and you’ll practice implementing these techniques during live sessions. By the end of the course, you’ll have the confidence to lead discussions with authority.
Through live sessions with fellow educators, you’ll explore how learning strategies can be applied in different real-world scenarios and participate in in-depth discussions. You’ll also have the opportunity to connect with education practitioners from around the world and build your professional network.
The course will be delivered via Get Smarter.
Instructor-Paced
Get Smarter
Certificates:
- Individual Certificate
Global Learning Community
- Learning Outcome
Utilize AI responsibly and effectively
- Learning Outcome
Foster inclusive learning environments
- Learning Outcome
Build your communication skills
About the certificate
Hone your teaching skills and earn a premier certificate from Harvard's Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, in association with HarvardX.
Assessment is continuous and based on a series of practical assignments completed online. In order to be issued with your digital certificate, you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the course handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the course.
Your digital certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you upon successful completion of the course, as per the stipulated requirements.
Faculty
Your Instructor
Adam Beaver
Director of Pedagogy and Practice, The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learningat Harvard University Read full bio.
Your Instructor
Pamela Pollock
Director of Professional Development, The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University
Read full bio.
Your Instructor
Robert A. Lue
Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University
Robert A. Lue, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and the Richard L. Menschel Faculty Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University, passed away in November 2020. Rob fostered innovative teaching in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), elevating its profile on campus. Rob taught in undergraduate courses from 1988 until his death, garnering recognition as one of Harvard’s foremost leaders in undergraduate education. Prior to his teaching career, Rob earned his Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University, creating a longstanding passion for and commitment to interdisciplinary teaching and research. From 2004 to 2015, he served as the director of Life Sciences Education at Harvard, where he led a complete redesign of the introductory curriculum leading to some of the most popular science courses on campus. In 2012, Rob became the faculty director of HarvardX due to his extensive work in using technology innovations in learning. At HarvardX, Harvard’s university-wide initiative that includes the edX partnership in online education with MIT, he helped define the university’s engagement in online learning in a way that reinforces its commitment to teaching excellence. He also served as the UNESCO Chair on Life Sciences and Social Innovation; and as faculty director and principal investigator of LabXchange, an online science education platform. In addition to his final role as the faculty director of the Harvard Ed Portal, Rob worked on integrating undergraduate education with community outreach on Harvard’s Allston campus.
Your Instructor
Rebecca Nesson
Executive Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Rebecca (Becca) Nesson became Executive Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning in September 2025, bringing to the role her experience in academic leadership and teaching innovation across Harvard.
As Dean of Academic Programs at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), she oversaw undergraduate concentrations, Ph.D. programs, professional master’s programs, and executive education while guiding major academic policy and program reviews.
She had previously served as Associate Dean of the Harvard College Curriculum and as the inaugural Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning at the Division of Continuing Education, where she advanced active and hybrid learning at scale. A dedicated teacher as well as an administrator, she continues to teach courses ranging from large-scale classes in discrete mathematics to first-year seminars on justice and deliberation.
The course was a genuinely life-changing event for me. I gained a solid understanding of contemporary teaching methods and the evolving higher education scene thanks to the course's broad, thorough, and very relevant content.
Harry M.
Dental Technology Lecturer
Thanks to the Harvard Bok Center, I now feel prepared and confident for my first day in the classroom, despite starting with little to no knowledge of teaching methods. I'm eager to apply what I've learned to create a supportive and engaging classroom.
LaTonya A., MA LPC