Grow with Google program offers career certificates for TXST students in flourishing fields

Student Experience

Texas State University | September 13, 2023

Texas State University students, faculty, and staff now have access to free Google career certificate programs that are designed to boost in-demand skills for fields ranging from data analytics to information technology and e-commerce.

Google LLC announced its Grow with Google partnership with the Texas State University System, including TXST, and the University of Texas System in December. Several Texas State faculty have since integrated the certificate programs into their fall undergraduate courses, and the Division of TXST Global has made the certificates directly available to faculty, staff, and students through a dedicated Google Professional Certificates website.

The certifications include Data Analytics, Advanced Data Analytics, UX Design, IT Support, Business Intelligence, Project Management, IT Automation with Python, and Digital Marketing and E-commerce. Each certificate program encompasses multiple classes and typically takes three to six months to complete.

“The Grow with Google program is designed to give our students, staff, and faculty access to credentials that have value in the Central Texas marketplace,” said Dana Willett, TXST Global Assistant Vice President for Academic Initiatives. “I think many students will find that it’s a career enhancer, whether they’re getting ready for their first job or building a career wherever they happen to be already.”

In announcing the partnership, Google and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board said that by 2030, more than 60% of jobs in Texas will require a postsecondary credential, such as a degree or certificate. The career certificates are intended to help fill the gap between employer demands and the state’s workforce.

“Texas employers tell us they need graduates with marketable skills who can hit the ground running when they leave college,” said Brian McCall, TSUS chancellor. “Our seven member institutions do a great job of developing these skills as part of their current degree programs, and we are proud to partner with Google to offer career certificates that evidence the skills and talents that our students develop throughout their college careers.”

Willett said the TXST Global team has worked with interested professors to build the certification programs into their classes. In some cases, students will be able to complete a certificate within the semester’s classwork; in other cases, their courses will cover portions of the program and students will have the option of completing the certification on their own.

To make access easier for students, faculty can integrate Google certificate courses within the Canvas course management. The certifications can apply to multiple degree programs. 

TXST is offering 500 Google career certificates for free. Some of those have been allotted to the classes that include certificates, while the rest are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Program participants face a December 2024 deadline to complete their certification programs for free certificates.

“As they like to say in the TV commercials,” Willett said, “this is a limited time and limited supply offer.”