Postman Student Programs update: new certification and more

Last year, we launched our free Postman Student Programs with a clear goal: to promote API literacy. We’ve come a long way since then, and thousands of students and educators have joined the Student Expert, Student Leader, and Classroom Programs. APIs are the building blocks of modern software, and with over 20 million developers and 98% of Fortune 500 companies using Postman, we’re proud to be teaching critical API skills that set these community members up for success.

The API landscape is constantly evolving, and when it comes to education, our work is never done. That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’ve updated our programs with new content and features that make API training even more accessible to students and educators around the world.

New API Fundamentals Student Expert Certification

We’ve re-packaged our Postman Student Expert training and added new content that makes it easier to learn the basics of APIs and Postman. This content is accessible in the Student section of Postman Academy, a one-stop education platform focused on the API lifecycle.

The Student Expert Program now contains two courses: “Intro to APIs and Postman” and “API Fundamentals Student Expert Certification.”

• Intro to APIs and Postman: provides hands-on activities that help the learner build a solid foundational understanding of the API landscape, API-first principles, the Postman API Platform, network requests, variables, scripting, and how to make API calls in code.
• Postman API Fundamentals Student Expert Certification: puts the learner’s newly-acquired API skills to the test and awards a digital badge on completion.

Both of these courses include clearer side-by-side instructions that allow students to not only keep their place in the training while doing API activities, but also come back and easily review lessons in the future:

Students who complete both courses will have the option to claim a digital badge (issued by Badgr) that they can share on social media and add to their resumes.

Check out the FAQs at the bottom of this post for more information about joining the Postman Student Program and the updated certification.

Student progress monitoring for educators in the Classroom Program

We’ve made it easier for educators to add API lessons to their curriculums by enabling them to send their students customized invitation links to Postman Academy. Students get automated reminders to complete the courses they’ve started, and educators can opt in to monitor their students’ progress with multiple dashboard views:

In addition to our pre-packaged Classroom Program curriculum, we are continuing to offer API workshops, partnership opportunities, and a free Postman plan to educators. These resources help educators stay up-to-date on the API landscape and empower them to use Postman’s collaboration tools as effectively as possible in the classroom.

If you are an educator who is interested in incorporating APIs and Postman into your curriculum, or if you’d like to learn more about the Postman Classroom Program, fill out this educator form and hop on a 15-minute call with our team.

Bi-weekly livestreams

We’ve started hosting bi-weekly Student Program livestreams on Tuesdays, focused on topics that benefit students and showcase the accomplishments of students in our community. For instance, recent episode topics include ”Pair Programming Best Practices” and “How to Get Started with the Twitter API v2.” To get notified about upcoming streams, join the Postman Student Community Discord or follow the Postman Twitch account. Miss a stream? You can catch past episodes on our YouTube playlist.

More updates are on the way

We’re deeply committed to promoting API literacy, and we’re excited to continue expanding our offerings to support students and educators around the world. For instance, we plan to spend the next six months building a home base that will not only make it easier for students to share their projects and learnings with their peers, but also allow educators to connect and share their best practices for teaching APIs. We also have a few big events up our sleeve, so stay tuned!

Join our community

Learn more about Postman’s Student Programs here. We invite all students to join our Postman Student Community Discord for round-the-clock API and Postman support, tech discussions, fun events, and giveaways.

Frequently asked questions:

Q: I’m already a Postman Student Expert. What will happen to my badge?

A: The Postman Student Expert badge is now known as the Postman API Fundamentals Student Expert Certification. Your Postman Student Expert badge will be automatically re-named and the badge logo will be updated accordingly—with no action required on your part. You are welcome to complete the new course in Postman Academy if you’d like a refresher on APIs, but you will not be able to claim the badge a second time.

If you have included “Postman Student Expert” in your LinkedIn bio, please change it to “Postman API Fundamentals Student Expert.”

Q: Why did “Postman Student Expert” get re-named?

A: We are planning to add more challenging certifications in the future on advanced topics, such as  building and consuming APIs. The name “Student Expert” didn’t give us room to add next-level certifications.

Q: What is the new prerequisite for applying to become a Postman Student Leader?

A: The Postman API Fundamentals Student Expert Certification is the prerequisite for applying to become a Postman Student Leader. If you are currently a Postman Student Expert, you are already eligible to apply for the Postman Student Leader Program. You can learn more about the Postman Student Leader Program and apply here.

Q: Do I need to be a student to take the API Fundamentals Student Expert Certification course?

A: No! Anyone can take the course and get certified. Be sure to indicate your role when signing up for Postman Academy; students are encouraged to sign up with the role of “Student.” They should  also register as a student in Postman Student Programs in order to access our full student ecosystem, which includes specialized support channels and events geared towards students.

Q: I already signed up for Postman Academy on my own, and now my professor is inviting me to be in their group. What should I do?

A: Reach out to studentprogram@postman.com with your professor’s name and email so we can get you included in your professor’s monitoring group.

Q: How much does this cost?

A: It’s free! Our mission is to promote API literacy.

Q: Where can I get help with the training?

A: You can ask general questions in the Training category of the Postman Community Forum. And don’t forget, students are invited to join the Postman Student Community Discord to meet and get help from other students interested in APIs.