Skill Paths is a virtual, non-credit career program designed for L&S students to build transferable skills toward a professional path of their choice. Through curated weekly content, reflections, and short assignments, you’ll gain beginner-level skills to use during your job or internship search and share on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
Registration for Fall 2024 has closed.
Program Details
How does it work?
The program will run from May 20 to June 23 2024. Each week of learning will require around 3.5-4 hours of your time, completed on your own schedule. Choose one of three learning paths to gain professional skills and knowledge:
- Digital Marketing
- Coding
- Data Science
Each week, you will work through tailored learning modules, reflections, and short assignments that will allow you to explore new topics and develop skillsets in your chosen field. This program is free for L&S students and does not provide any academic credit.
What will I learn and gain?
Through curated LinkedIn Learning modules, reflections, and completion of short weekly assignments, you’ll gain an understanding of current industry practices and learn how to apply these skills to a new professional path. Participants will also receive a certificate of completion. You can share these skills on your resume, LinkedIn profile, and more!
How do I participate?
Sign up using this form below to reserve your spot in the program by May 19. Read the FAQ below for more details, and please reach out to the program facilitator, Steven Catania, with any questions at steven.catania@wisc.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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What are the types of skills learned on each path?
Digital Marketing
- Creating Marketing Plans
- The Marketing Funnel
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Email & Social Media Marketing
- Image Design Essentials
Coding
- Overview of Web Design and Development
- HTML Essentials
- CSS Essentials
- JavaScript Essentials
Data Science
- Overview of Data Science field
- Python foundations
- SQL foundations
- R foundations
I have a scheduling conflict - can I still participate?
To allow you to be successful in this program, the material is carefully spaced out week-to-week. You can miss up to one week, but will have to make up the material the following week.
Can I work ahead?
No. Each week’s material unlocks on Monday morning. This is intentional so that participants can focus on each week’s material and the subsequent reflection without the temptation to try and keep moving ahead to new content. However, you are encouraged to explore other options to continue your learning and growing until the next week’s material unlocks.
Is there a cost associated with this program?
No, this program is free for any L&S student! You will need to have an active NetID to access the LinkedIn Learning material.
Can I earn course credit for participating in this program?
You cannot earn course credit. This program is designed to help students interested in broadening their skills with the benefit of reflective activities and feedback. This program will not appear on your official UW-Madison transcript. However, upon completion of the entire program, you will receive a certificate of completion you can post on your LinkedIn profile.
What does a typical week look like in this program?
You will receive an email on Monday morning that includes a link to that week’s videos and a link to the assignments you’ll need to complete. Reflection questions are due on the following Monday by 7am central. This is a hard deadline for tracking purposes and ensuring you receive timely feedback.
Who are the facilitators?
The facilitators are learning and career specialists. They are not experts in the respective learning paths, although they have consulted with specialists who work in these fields to make sure that the LinkedIn Learning content is useful for students interested in gaining important skills in the areas.