nanodegree
n. An educational certification obtained by taking quick, highly-focused courses over a short time.
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2015
"Bootcamps" and "nanodegree" courses are fast gaining popularity among students as they look to avoid the heavy debt burden that usually accompanies a degree program.
—Abinaya Vijayaraghavan, “Short courses offer hope to U.S. education companies,” Reuters, January 13, 2015
2014
Another development related to Moocs is the emergence of nanodegrees.

"Nanodegrees are at the other end of the scale from the traditional university degree," Professor Sharples said. "For a degree, you spend three years gaining all the skills you need from a broad area. Nanodegrees are focused on what skills you need to learn for a very specific task."
—Chris Parr, “Making Moocs social is the next challenge,” The Times Higher Education, November 13, 2014
2014
In a quickly shifting economic landscape, it is understandable that some parents and pundits are calling for streamlined learning to train people quickly. But gearing education only to meeting current economic conditions is a ticket to conformity — and also to economic and cultural mediocrity. We need intellectual cross training of the whole person — not nano-degrees in commercial codes and tactics (no matter how digital) sure soon to become obsolete.
—Michael Roth, “Declaring Our Independence Through Education,” The Huffington Post, July 03, 2014
2014 (earliest)
Focusing on entry-level software skills, Udacity says its new "NanoDegree" will be offered online, involve less than a year of coursework, and cost about $200 per month. AT&T in turn will offer paid internships to some NanoDegree graduates.
—Rolfe Winkler, “Udacity, AT&T Team Up in Online Ed,” The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2014
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