Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is critically important to a student's ability to successfully navigate the world.

Luckily, it can be learned.

Our emotions guide our decisions. Learning practical skills and actionable strategies to become more aware of, in tune with, and in control of our emotions helps us to thrive—in our daily lives, inside the classroom, and in our careers.

Versatile, Adaptive, and Entirely Online

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to understand your own emotions and the emotions of others, and to use that understanding to effectively solve problems and make wiser decisions. 

In practice, people with high EQ are associated with better physical and mental health, social relationships, adaptive coping skills, and academic/job performance.

Our Emotional Intelligence Certificate Program is designed to help students at every stage of their higher education journey understand themselves—and those around them—better.

Embeddable Topics & Engaging Activities

Update and upskill your existing programming for students or staff. Embed powerful bitesize EQ topics, skills, and exercises to energize and engage your audience. Contact: jwoo@mindbrainemotion.com

  • First-Year Experience Seminars & Transfer Support

  • Residential Life Icebreakers & Workshops

  • Mental Health Education & Prevention

  • Experiential Learning for Educators/Counselors/Trainers

  • Professional Development & Team-Building

Online Course Overview

Gain the knowledge, skills and strategies to succeed.

This flexible and interactive Online Certificate program features:

  • Self-assessments on EQ, resilience, and belonging,
  • 100 prerecorded lectures,
  • Real-world experiences and examples,
  • Applicable exercises to improve your life,
  • Clever strategies to build good habits (see 52 Essential games).


The course is organized around the pillars of:

  • Self-Awareness
  • Self-Management
  • Social Awareness
  • Relationship Skills
  • Personal Branding


Students walk away understanding:

  • The art and science of emotions
  • How to stand out in a job interview
  • How to harness their emotions for purpose and resilience


A Program Certificate will be awarded upon completion.

See how this course is used by educational institutions:

  • Free

    FreeEmotional Intelligence for School & Job Success (Sponsored by Center for Educational Partnerships)

    Hear What Students Say

  • Free

    FreeEmotional Intelligence Certificate Program for Graduate Students (Sponsored by University of California, Irvine)

    View Curriculum Outline

What Students Say

Helped Me to Build More Meaningful Relationships

Jamir, Civil Engineering

“The class has been really beneficial to me since it helped me understand what my emotions are and how to deal with them. This class also helped me build confidence, which improved my communication skills and how I can communicate those emotions to the people around me, which in turn helped build more meaningful and deep relationships.”

Helpful for Self-Discovery

Suzzy, Criminology and Law

"This program really helped with a lot of self-reflection and personal growth, especially since I sometimes feel lost in my personal identity. This program helped me rediscover myself and figure out what works for me.”

How to Make Emotions "Work for Us" Not "Against Us"

Alba Chavez, EMBA

It is my sincere pleasure to highly recommend Professor Jenny Woo. I just completed her Emotional Intelligence course and found it to be invaluable. Among other things, she taught how we can recognize and understand emotions in ourselves and others AND how we can use this knowledge to make our emotions "work for us," instead of "against us." This knowledge allows one to better manage our behavior and our relationships by learning the skills to respond in a more effective and intelligent way. Jenny's teaching method is very genuine and inclusive. She created an environment where we felt comfortable sharing real-life experiences and going over coping mechanisms on how to better handle difficult situations."

Essential Tools for Overcoming Negative Emotions

Damian, Computer Science and Engineerin

“I was going through a pretty rough time and this course gave me the tools to overcome a lot of the negative emotions I was feeling. It helped me really put myself out there. I started becoming a lot more involved in clubs, I started making a lot more friends. I was just doing so much better overall, especially compared to the previous quarter, and I really attribute that to this course. I cannot recommend it enough.”

Strategies to Build My Social Support

Ku, Biological Science

“As a transfer, I really appreciated that this course gave me the space to learn to label, identify, and be reflective about the various emotions I experienced while moving to a new place and trying to rebuild a social support network. After you talk to people in the class, you come to realize that a lot of people share the same vulnerabilities, which helps you learn to connect to others in a more authentic way. I really recommend you take the course just to learn how you can relate your emotions to others and take that skill out into the world.”

Timeless Knowledge and Skills

Lukas, Finance

"I would recommend this to not only students but friends, family, and everyone really. It is timeless knowledge that is and will always be relevant. In order for the world to work and for us all to understand each other, these skills are essential. Every human being can take some sort of benefit out of this program, especially in times when technology is on the rise and we unlearn a lot of interpersonal skills.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    1. Emotional Intelligence Overview

    • History of Emotional Intelligence

    • Debunking Emotional Intelligence Myths: Heart vs. Head?

    • Debunking Emotional Intelligence Myths: Do You Have IT?

    • Debunking Emotional Intelligence Myths: Grit (Mental Toughness)?

    • Debunking Emotional Intelligence Myths: Common Sense?

    • The Five Dimensions of an Emotion

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Emotional Intelligence Overview

    • Benefits of Emotional Intelligence

      FREE PREVIEW

    • What Happens Inside Your Brain

    • The Secret to Achieving Balance

    • CAUTION: The Amygdala Hijack

    • Module Takeaways

    • Module Exercises

    • Reality Check: My Emotional Intelligence Skills

    • Module Feedback
  • 2

    2. Self-Awareness

    • Self-Awareness Overview

    • Five Elements of Self-Awareness

    • How to Be an Emotion Scientist

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Emotion vs. Feeling vs. Mood

    • Decoding Bodily Sensations

    • Exercise: Decoding Your Bodily Sensations

    • Understanding Action Tendencies

    • Reality Check: My Coping Strategies

    • Labeling Emotions: How to Improve Emotional Literacy

    • Emotional Barriers and Stigmas

    • Unloading Your Emotional Labor

    • Real People, Real Examples: What Others Say about Their Emotions

    • Module Takeaways

    • Module Exercise Overview

    • Module Exercise

    • Real People, Real Examples: Emotion Gallery Walk

    • Module Feedback
  • 3

    3. Self-Management

    • Self-Management Overview

    • Reframing "Bad" Emotions

    • Identifying Your Goals & Motivations

    • Reality Check: My Goals & Motivations

    • How Emotional Resilience Works

    • When You Get a Knock on the Door

    • Exercise: Growth Mindset for Emotions

    • Exercise: Rewiring Our Brain Challenge

    • What is Coping?

    • Coping Barriers and Exercise Overview

    • Reality Check: My Coping Barriers

    • Ways to Fill Up Your Coping Toolbox

    • Adaptive Coping Strategies

    • Module Takeaways

    • Module Exercise Overview

    • Module Exercise

    • Module Feedback
  • 4

    4. Social Awareness

    • Interpersonal: Reflective Question

    • Social Awareness Overview

    • From Self-Awareness to Other-Awareness

    • Detecting Facial Expressions

    • Exercise: The Face Detective

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Deciphering Body Languages

    • Exercise: Active Listening

    • Decoding Verbal Cues

    • Generating Insights from Emotional Data

    • Reality Check: My Personality

    • Debrief: Your Big Five Personality

    • Understanding Your Social Awareness Goals

    • Uncovering Your Biases & Assumptions

    • Module Takeaways

    • Module Exercise Overview

    • Module Exercise

    • Module Feedback
  • 5

    5. Relationships Skills

    • Relationship Management Overview

    • Elements of a Healthy Relationship

    • Giving and Receiving Feedback

    • Exercise: Feedforward

    • Conflict Resolution

    • Exercise: Establishing Your Relationship Norms

    • Exercise: Clarifying Needs

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Exercise: Goal Sharing

    • Exercise: Just Like Me

    • Power Mentorship

    • Exercise: Conducting an Informational Interview

    • My Take on Networking

    • What Is a Sense of Belonging

    • Reality Check: Diagnosing Your Sense of Belonging

    • Exercise: Understanding Your Boundaries

    • Module Takeaways

    • Module Feedback
  • 6

    6. Putting It All Together

    • Module Overview

    • Uncovering Your Needs and Values

    • Reality Check: Your Needs and Values

    • My Personal Journey: How to Harness Your Emotion for Purpose and Resilience (Keynote)

    • Your Elevator Pitch

    • Exercise: The Brand of #Me

    • Conquering the Imposter Syndrome

    • Reality Check: Beware of the Joy Thief

    • Reality Check: Identifying Your Strengths

    • Module Exercise Overview

    • Module Exercise: Message to My Future Self

    • Real People, Real Examples #1: To My Future Self

    • Real People, Real Examples #2: To My Future Self

    • Real People, Real Examples #3: To My Past and Future Self

    • Real People, Real Examples #4: To My Past Self

    • End of the Course Message

    • Module Feedback