For many adult learners, the decision to pursue higher education is not just about earning a degree—it’s about honoring the journey that’s shaped them.
At Antioch University, we understand that education doesn’t only happen in the classroom. That’s why we conduct an individualized, holistic view of your prior learning and life experience during our admissions process. Through our Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) program, you can receive life experience credits that apply your real-world experience toward your degree.
Acknowledging Your Journey: Life Experience Credits at Antioch
Antioch University believes that your education should reflect the full scope of your life experience. Maybe you’ve spent years in the workforce, served in the military, engaged in community leadership, or developed professional skills through volunteer opportunities. All these experiences (as well as many others) hold academic value, and we intend to honor that value for all students.
Our life experience credits allow you to translate your hands-on learning into college credit, accelerating your degree path and making your pursuit of higher education more accessible and affordable. Some examples of prior learning that qualify for life experience credits include:
- Work experience and job skills
- Employer-sponsored training programs
- Military service
- Independent study
- Volunteer or community service
- Open-source courseware study
- Many other types of training and acquired skills
The best part: The opportunities for earning life experience credits are endless! At our Seattle campus, Antioch students have gained credit for a wide variety of life and work experiences, ranging from event planning to in-home dementia care to postpartum doula practices, art exhibition curation, healing from trauma, and so much more!
Prior Learning Assessment: What You Can Expect
The PLA process at Antioch is designed to be both rigorous and reflective of your experience. You can demonstrate your knowledge through portfolios, essays, and documentation that showcases how your experience aligns with our academic coursework.
Not sure where to start? We have a course for that! Antioch University has partnered with the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL) to provide guidance and structure as you compile your portfolio of experience.
Through our accelerated, online PLA 1000: Prior Learning Assessment Theory and Practice course, you’ll be able to identify areas of learning and experience for evaluation. Then CAEL faculty will assess your portfolio and make recommendations for the college equivalent credits you should receive for your work.
You can even earn college credit for the PLA course that can go toward your bachelor’s degree!
The Power of Life Experience for Your Degree
Earning life experience credits is more than a cost- and time-saving strategy. It’s an opportunity to make your education more connected and meaningful to you.
By integrating your real-world experience into your academic studies, you can cultivate a learning journey that’s relevant, empowering, and perfectly aligned with your career goals.
Life experience credits are a testament to the value of experiential learning, ensuring that every student’s path is as unique as their story. And it’s one of the many ways Antioch celebrates the diversity of our student body and the wealth of knowledge you bring to the classroom.
Ready to turn your experience into a degree? Explore our PLA process and other ways you can apply your life experience credits toward your degree!
