Stackable credentials: Building your skillset with LEGO-like academic steps

For generations, our view of learning was firmly set. After high school, you enrolled in college and spent the next four years working toward a degree. If you were especially ambitious, you would later apply for a graduate degree, perhaps an MBA or an MS in another field.

But that way of thinking about higher education has come to an end. An ever-changing global economy now requires on-demand education. Debt loads often hold students back from pursuing advanced degrees. And life in the fast lane, with demanding jobs and personal lives, often makes it difficult, if not impossible, to put one’s career on hold to return to school. 

“The idea that one can earn a degree at the age of 22 and be set for a career — with maybe a single break for a graduate degree — has become as antiquated as a pocket watch,” points out Jeff Brown, who served as dean of the University of Illinois' Gies College of Business from 2015-2024. “Instead, the educational journey should look less like a structured pipeline and more like a braided river, with multiple entry points and distinct routes that repeatedly join and separate.” 

Stackable courses & credentials provide great flexibility and immediate ROI

Enter the idea of stackable credentials, single courses or packages of courses that can be stacked into a graduate degree. Think of it as the academic equivalent of LEGO building sets. Just as these sets are designed to encourage open-ended exploration and problem- solving, stackable courses provide the flexibility for students to learn at their own pace. They foster the exploration of new ideas and subjects that lead to problem-solving.

Early studies on stackable credentials find that they can open doors to new career opportunities, particularly in business and healthcare, according to the Brookings Institution.

A student might complete a short-term certificate in business analytics, complete a trio of online courses, and later return to apply some or all of those credits to earn a master’s in management, an MBA, or a master’s in accounting. The certificate allows students to immediately gain academic know-how in the field that can be applied at work immediately. It also gives students a credential that can help them advance their careers. 

'You can start anywhere in our online portfolio and earn credentials along the way'

At Gies College of Business, the stackable portfolio is the most extensive of any business school in the world. Gies offers more than 40 online courses for credit, and 14 certificates (typically composed of three courses each), including a new partnership certificate with the University of Illinois’ College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environment Sciences focused on agribusiness and food sustainability. Graduate certificates range from accounting data analytics to value chain management. In 2025, Gies expects to launch a 15th certificate focused on healthcare innovation, design, and entrepreneurship in partnership with Carle Illinois College of Medicine. All of the courses and certificates are then stackable toward three different online degree programs: an MS in Management, an MBA, or an MS in Accountancy.

No less important, the courses and certificates are highly affordable. The for-credit courses typically cost $1,388 for an eight-week course, while most three- course certificates are priced at $4,146. That pricing makes higher education accessible and affordable to a vast range of students worldwide. Put another way, the cost of a graduate business course delivered online by Gies faculty is less than one-sixth the cost of an in-person class at the Wharton School.

The single biggest advantage to stackable credentials and degrees? Flexibility. “Flexibility is key,” explains Nerissa Brown, associate dean of graduate programs and chief learning & innovation officer at Gies College of Business, a true pioneer and leader in stackable courses and credentials. “You can start anywhere in our online portfolio and earn credentials along the way as you determine your career goals and what you want to specialize in.” 

Unlocking the higher education ROI before completing a degree

Our stackable content is designed so that you can choose coursework as you learn more about your career goals. “You might choose to pursue a business analytics certificate, but then realize that you want a better understanding of broader business concepts,” Brown adds. “You can then opt to do a second graduate certificate in areas such as strategic leadership, entrepreneurship, or financial management. If you decide to pursue a degree, you can take the credits you've earned in certificates or courses and apply them toward your degree. So you get credit for all the work you've done along the way. In fact, up to half the credit hours for the degree can be stacked into the iMBA and our other online programs.”

Unlike a full degree, a certificate takes less time to earn and provides a more immediate credential on your resume or LinkedIn profile. Picking up certificates while working toward a graduate degree – what Gies calls an embedded graduate certificate – lets a learner earn a graduate credential while earning their degree. These graduate certificates are transcripted and learners are awarded a separate certificate upon completion. “It allows you to unlock the ROI of a degree journey in slices. You can earn up to two certificates at the same time you are completing your degree,” says Brown, who adds that close to 30% of the iMBA students who graduated this May took that option.

“The iMBA or our other degrees take time to complete,” she points out. “It takes two-and-a-half years on average to complete the iMBA. But you can earn an embedded graduate certificate as soon as you finish the courses. So you have a credential that you can use to get a promotion or that next job, especially if the role you are seeking requires a graduate credential. Your ROI is more immediate. Stackability provides options for learners based on where they are in their career journeys and having options is a game-changer."

Brown cites the example of a current student in the Chicago area who was unsure about committing to a full degree program. “She wanted to try out our courses so she enrolled in our strategic leadership and management certificate, our most popular certificate,” says Brown. “A lot of our learners are mid-career professionals who are starting to lead their own teams, and that certificate is attractive because it allows them to build leadership skills right off the bat. That is what this learner saw as an immediate value-add. She loved the coursework so much that she decided to stack into the iMBA after completing two of the three courses in the certificate. She is now an iMBA candidate who is set to graduate this year with both a degree and a certificate.”

Performance-based admissions help enhance access

For prospective students who would otherwise find it difficult to gain admission to a degree program, stackability offers yet another advantage. Under what Gies calls a “performance-based admissions track,” learners can be admitted to a degree program by completing a three-pack of courses and earning a threshold GPA. “Because of our commitment to access,” explains Brown, “we see learners who may have had a disappointing GPA in their undergraduate work or learners who don’t have an undergraduate degree at all but have extensive work experience or certain industry certifications. The performance-based admission track allows learners to prove themselves  through a prescribed set of three courses. Learners who apply and earn the required GPA to matriculate into one of our graduate degree programs have been tested. It also boosts their confidence that they can be successful in a graduate degree program.”

Gies has gone all in on the stackable model. Even the school’s residential degrees can be stacked into its iMBA. “If you completed a master’s degree in management, analytics, or accounting in person, we will stack that into the iMBA and waive up to 24-36 credit hours,” says Brown. “We are seeing residential graduates come back to us to pursue the iMBA and stack in their in-person degree. We’re fully integrated across both modalities. If you completed an on-campus graduate degree with us, we would love to have you back to pursue an MBA if that is part of your career goal. We are not going to have you start from scratch in earning your iMBA.”

While the stackable model of higher education is new, Brown says more and more students are taking to it. “It has taken time for learners to understand how it works but the demand is there,” she says. “We are seeing strong interest in stackable credentials. Since launching across the portfolio in the fall of 2022, we have close to 200 students who have stacked a certificate or a degree into the iMBA or our online master’s in management or accounting. We expect to see much greater numbers over time.”