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General Discussion

Certificate of Completion

How can I get a Certificate of Completion for proof of course education like lynda.com ??

34 Answers

Dan Ridley
PLUS
Dan Ridley
Courses Plus Student 14,839 Points

I do not think that Treehouse offers certificates of completion but I definetly pass this on to the staff because I think it would be a great idea too. I would love to hang mine up in my office!

Elizabeth Fawkes and Faye Bridge Please check out this idea.

Bob McKay
Bob McKay
5,814 Points

Dan Ridley, do you know if the Treehouse Team considered this?

Hey Team!

At the moment we don't issue certificates, but we have plans to in the future. The way learning at Treehouse works is you'll earn badges when you complete courses and progress through the Library. http://www.teamtreehouse.com/library

Those badges will land on your profile which is public. Sharing your profile is a great way to share what you've learned at Treehouse because you can link others to it. :) Here is Jim Hoskins 's profile, he is one of the Teachers at Treehouse: http://teamtreehouse.com/jim

Let the Treehouse Support Team know if you have any questions. Our direct email is help@teamtreehouse.com :)

Best,

Elizabeth

Bob McKay
Bob McKay
5,814 Points

Hi Elizabeth,

You mentioned that there are plans to issue certificates in the future - do you know if there is any update on this?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Bob

Heather Gray
Heather Gray
6,225 Points

"we have plans to in the future" ?

It's been 3 years. Do you still have plans? This doesn't seem really hard to add... Just something simple we could print out after finishing a track...

Badges are fun and great and profiles are nice but many employers like to see things they are used to. Like certificates of completion. It would be beneficial to us job seekers to have final completion certificates for a full path like JavaScript etc. I will keep poking at treehouse for a little longer because I really like their videos but unfortunately without a certificate of completion for the things I am doing, I won't be able to continue with treehouse.

I like the way this site does "bites" of information vs. Lynda.com but it isn't fruitful really for traditional institutions to see skills and progress. Badges just don't appear professional.

James Barnett
James Barnett
39,199 Points

Catherine Hinners - In my opinion the only certificate that matters is the site you build yourself. A client doesn't care if you "earned" every "badge" on Treehouse if you can't create them a professional web site.

Just my 2 cents

George Offley
PLUS
George Offley
Courses Plus Student 7,386 Points

I agree with James Barnett , anyone can get a certificate, but if you make something really original that shows you can do the skills they're looking for is a lot more important.

Guil Hernandez
STAFF
Guil Hernandez
Treehouse Teacher

Like James Barnett and George Offley mentioned, the best kind of certification is designing / developing something really awesome using your skills, then releasing it for the world to use.

Making it open source helps, too :)

that's great sir but would it be better to get certified at the list for each track? That would help us if we are applying for any job ...

Cheers, Mahdi

George Offley
PLUS
George Offley
Courses Plus Student 7,386 Points

Contributing to open source projects also helps it really gets your name out there. Or like Guil Hernandez says come out with open source projects yourself.

Thanks for all the info and suggestions. I am refreshing my skills and hoping to acquire a job with the local university so I don't have time to build an awesome site, etc. Conservative organizations, such as this university and the government institutions are often less interested in pretty pictures and such. They generally want credentials - or demonstrations of "official" types of learning.

However, no guarantees I will meet their criteria so I did grab a domain and a free hosting site to play with. Thanks!

I was a Java/ColdFusion/Flex/Web developer until 2008 and then focused on the requirements and testing phases of the SDLC and I am finding that without the very very very most current skills -- that long gap of non-programming kinda kicked me out of the field and I'm left with scrambling to update my skills to get a new job :(

James Barnett
James Barnett
39,199 Points

Catherine Hinners - You might be interested in checking out coursera & edx.

There online teaching style is very different, it's more like a college class that is broadcast over the web. I believe you can get an electronic certificate of completion for some of their courses.

kyle rees
kyle rees
1,480 Points

sounds good to me

Bob McKay
Bob McKay
5,814 Points

Just my two cents but I'd like to be able to produce a basic certificate. While obviously in many respects your work stands for itself:

1) This doesn't really work for all courses - for example the business courses.

2) Most people taking the courses are less likely to have really interesting projects to work on or they may be excellent at coding but poor at design so their current online projects aren't as polished.

3) It's well known that prospective employers (and educational entry boards) like to see continued education and if they are old school; ideally backed up by a certificate (course name, provider, date and grade where applicable).

Given that all this really requires is a PDF generation page so we can print them ourselves, I imagine it would only be a days work for one developer (no there's an idea for a course! :-)

Loving the new look for the site by the way and the site in general - I've completed multiple modules while on the bus and/or train to work, now that's a sign of a truly flexible system!

James Barnett
James Barnett
39,199 Points

I agree a certificate with a grade is good. However there are no grades here on Treehouse and certificates of completion don't tend to be worth the paper they are printed as they prove you sat in class for a few hours, not that you learned anything.

Bob McKay
Bob McKay
5,814 Points

Hey James,

Understood but you do have to take quizzes and pass them to complete the course so the grade could simply be 'Pass'. Many industry certifications are only a pass or nothing (Microsoft and Parallels certifications for example). I think 'Certificates of Attendance' aren't worth the paper they are written on but I figure anything requiring proof of knowledge (quizzes, exam, lab sessions, etc) is worthy of a certificate.

Ultimately the way I see it is plenty of people would like the option and those that don't simply don't have to make use of that option and it would cost very little to implement as the achievements system is already in place in the form of badges.

Rodrigo Marquez Domenge
seal-mask
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Rodrigo Marquez Domenge
Front End Web Development Techdegree Student 6,773 Points

A good thing could be a certificate that appears on Linkedin where your CV have the progress you have on Treehouse, that you have finished something great. I think this course needs a lot of time, time that means dedication and good this to say in a CV

I'd like to see track completion badges in a separate section of the profiles.

I'd like to see track completion badges in a separate section of the profiles.

Omh MG
Omh MG
19,233 Points

I work with friends who are using other online programs similar to Treehouse. After completing a track they get a e-certificate of completion with the companies logo on it and information on how many hours of training they have in the that specific track (web development). The certification looks good on their resume, on their professional online profiles and portfolio. It would be nice if this was done here at Treehouse.

Roman Smolkin
Roman Smolkin
969 Points

So this is still not available after 3 years when it was first mentioned? I need to show something to my bosses proving I actually did the courses as they'll be reimbursing my subscription. So a certificate of completion for each course would be very beneficial.

Heather Gray
Heather Gray
6,225 Points

I also would like certificate of completion. How hard would it be to add that? It would be nice to have something tangible that I can print out and be proud of for myself, if nothing else. I would expect this to be par for the course (no pun intended).

Hi, I also would like an certificate of completion, I am just new at threehouse and I like the way of learning, but I want to have something on paper. You pay to learn, but there's no way to let your boss see what you have earned. Maybe I just deactivate ma account...And no, I dont want to spent 490 dollars each mond for the Techdegree..

George Offley
George Offley
Courses Plus Student 7,386 Points

No, same as before (much like degrees) certificates are slightly useless. To be able to show you have the skills needed for web dev and design you need to create personal projects using those skills. Blog about what you make, or problems you've solved using those skills. Certificates won't land you a job, demonstrating you know the skills will.

Kasia Ekiert
PLUS
Kasia Ekiert
Courses Plus Student 13,248 Points

I know it... but... I have to show in office (government stuff) that I can do it on paper :/ - its like you finish school and dont have your diploma for them :(

George Offley
George Offley
Courses Plus Student 7,386 Points

You could always do a print out of the courses you've done. Or just guide your supervisor to your profile and show your badges. The other option you have is that Treehouse does Tech degrees which I beleive give you a certificate of completion upon completion. However they're a little pricey.

I know how you feel.

akira hayashi
PLUS
akira hayashi
Courses Plus Student 49 Points

Treehouse you guys should really pay attention to your visitor/segmented market's needs. A paper cert would be nice it gives people a sense of accomplosgment. It'll give you guys better reccomendation and more traffic to your website in the long run too.Just saying.

please add this as a vet i have decided to derail from law enforcement to do this program to try and change what i am used to doing to something i enjoy doing and to have a paper document showing what i have done just to show my daughter where i started or friends and family would be amazing. Please add this.

Alan Arvelo
Alan Arvelo
9,903 Points

Bring the certificates!!

Ronda Wylie
Ronda Wylie
8,379 Points

For as much money as I've spent...I would like a certificate to be honest. I finally finished the Front End Track and was excited because I thought it was one more thing I could add to my resume. Sure I know building a site is really what employers look for, but if you've spent a lot of money with Team Tree House the least they could do is send an email with a digital certificate congratulating me for finished the track. I am a little disappointed because I just assumed we got something like that. I could create my own in under an hour! But that would be extremely silly.

Callum Woodward
Callum Woodward
39 Points

Hmm, doing my trial with teamtreehouse now. I've already got a lynda.com account and I'm very surprised that teamtreehouse does not have a similar certificate program... Similarly freecodecamp has certificates. For something so simple (which people obviously want), I can't understand why you wouldn't implement this. With so many options to learn code, this will likely mean I won't bother renewing my subscription after my trial ends...

Guil Hernandez
Guil Hernandez
Treehouse Teacher

Hi Callum Woodward,

We have a certificate program in the Techdegree. In the program, you complete 12 projects, create a portfolio and earn a certificate. :)

Guil Hernandez Personally, it's unacceptable. I am paying to access Treehouse per month and learning Java from this platform. Techdegrees are expensive and therefore out of budget and the Java techdegree no longer exists. Unfortunately, badges are not a method of stating I have completed a specific track since there are so many badges earned. I would use the badges along side a certificate of completion. I'm debating cancelling my subscription to treehouse for this. All the treehouse competitors udemy, udacity, coursera all give out certificates of completion to put on linkedIn.... im actually quite upset, i wasn't aware of this. i was liking this platform.

Any updates on this - I ve completed the SQL track and would like to put a certificate of it on LinkedIn

Heather Gray
Heather Gray
6,225 Points

I have decided I'll create my own certificates of completion since Treehouse won't give me one without paying $199 a month!! :(

Hi... is there a certificate yet? I 'll like to reactivate my account, but need to be sure I can have something to show to my boss upon completing a track. deactivating my account in the first place was because I couldn't convince my boss enough that I was actually learning on treehouse and I believe he will be ready to sponsor my training if only I can show him something.

Kristen Cordes
Kristen Cordes
807 Points

Treehouse, Come on, this isn't that hard. There are lots of your customers that need a certificate for work that shows they've done something productive, educational with their time. I'm a teacher....this is my staff development exchange. Let me print a certificate at the end of each course saying I spent 10 hours on Introduction to XYZ.

Sundar Maharjan
Sundar Maharjan
6,740 Points

Solo Learn does provide the certificate when you complete. it would be very good if the TeamTree house does the same at least the student will be so glad an proud of themselves when they finish their tracks. Beside that TeamTree house is the best and the teachers are the awesome especially Guil Hernandez. Thank you.

+1 for the suggestion of receiving a certificate of completion for each course.

Often companies encourage professional development but want to see a certificate of completion before any credit is given. Showing a printed screen capture of a badge is not impressive.

Without a certificate of completion to add to the employee file, there is no credit given for professional development. Many co-works use other sites like Udemy that offer a certificate of completion for this reason.

Likewise, companies will not provide any reimbursement for training or the monthly fee unless there is a certificate of completion.

Kristen Cordes
Kristen Cordes
807 Points

Just read your email, don't have time to check Treehouse right this second....are you telling me they now give certificates???

Created my own "Certificate of Achievement" as a PDF with a link back to my profile with all the badges. MS Word has a good "Certificate of Achievement" template and I just added my name and the screen shot.

Kristen Cordes
Kristen Cordes
807 Points

Well Edward those are beautiful certificates, but honestly....I think it is ridiculous that TreeHouse doesn't offer certificates. Lynda.com does!!

Also, thank you for sharing them....much appreciated. K

Agreed. Like you mentioned in your comments, something simple saying what we did, when we did it and how long it took.

Nga Pham Thi
seal-mask
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Nga Pham Thi
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Student 5,616 Points

Can't believe a such request has been there for nearly 10 years and are repeated every year but no one in TeamTreeHouse care about that :(. I want to have a cert too, at least just .pdf file after so much time and effort and money I have spent :(