65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (2024)

Reviews Learning

Written by Connie Chen and Mara Leighton; edited by Sally Kaplan

Updated

2021-07-15T17:23:54Z

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (1)

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Coursera, edX, and FutureLearn let you take classes from top colleges for free.
Paid options grant access to certificates of completion, feedback, and even final grades.
Course topics vary widely, from business and programming to writing and medicine.

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Every year, US News & Reports releases its ranking of the top universities in the country. The schools included in the rankings are renowned for their rigorous academic programs, high-profile faculty members, and beautiful campuses. But they're not easy to get into, nor are they affordable without scholarships.

Thankfully, online learning platforms like Coursera, edX, and FutureLearn are increasing access to high-quality education for anyone with a computer and internet access. The sites' free and low-priced courses are taught by instructors from the best universities and academic institutions around the world, so anyone can advance their education, pursue new professional goals, or audit a class for fun.

You can browse unlimited free online courses from schools like Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Duke, and The University of Michigan, or pay a fee to earn a certificate of completion that you can display on your LinkedIn profile or resume.

We rounded up the Coursera, edX, and FutureLearn courses from each of the top schools so you can skip directly to your favorite university or browse all that each has to offer.

Note: The following list includes archived courses on edX. They are designated with an asterisk (*).

65 free online classes from the top universities in the country:

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1: Princeton University

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (5)

Browse all courses from Princeton University on Coursera here

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies, 11 weeks, available on Coursera
Algorithms, Part 1, 6 weeks, available on Coursera
Buddhism and Modern Psychology, 6 weeks, available on Coursera

Browse all courses from Princeton University on edX here

Making Government Work in Hard Places, 8 weeks, available on edX
The Art of Structural Engineering: Bridges, 8 weeks, available on edX
Global History of Capitalism, 6 weeks, available on edX*

2: Harvard University

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (6)

Browse all courses from Harvard University on edX here

CS50's Computer Science for Business Professionals, 6 weeks, available on edX
Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science, 16 weeks, available on edX
Masterpieces of World Literature, 12 weeks, available on edX
The Opioid Crisis in America, 10 weeks, available on edX
Contract Law: From Trust to Promise to Contract, 8 weeks, available on edX

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3: Columbia University

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (7)

Browse all courses from Columbia University on Coursera here

Construction Management Specialization, 5 months, available on Coursera
The Age of Sustainable Development, 14 weeks, available on Coursera
Financial Engineering and Risk Management Part I, 8 weeks, available on Coursera

Browse all courses from Columbia University on edX here

Statistical Thinking for Data Science and Analytics, 5 weeks, available on edX
Artificial Intelligence (AI), 12 weeks, available on edX
Introduction to Corporate Finance, 4 weeks, available on edX

4: MIT

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (8)

Browse all courses from MIT on edX here

Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science, 9 weeks,available on edX
Just Money: Banking as if Society Mattered, 16 weeks,available on edX*
Supply Chain Analytics, 15 weeks, available on edX
Design Thinking for Leading and Learning, 6 weeks,available on edX*
Circuits and Electronics 1: Basic Circuit Analysis, 5 weeks,available on edX

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4 (tie): Yale University

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (9)

Browse all courses from Yale University on Coursera here

The Science of Well-Being, 10 weeks, available on Coursera | Read our review of the course
Introduction to Negotiation, 9 weeks, available on Coursera
The Global Financial Crisis, 11 weeks, available on Coursera
Essentials of Global Health, 10 weeks, available on Coursera

6: Stanford University

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (10)

Browse all courses from Stanford University on Coursera here

Machine Learning, 11 weeks, available on Coursera
Algorithms Specialization, 4 months, available on Coursera
Organizational Analysis, 11 weeks, available on Coursera
International Women's Health and Human Rights, 10 weeks, available on Coursera
Child Nutrition and Cooking, 5 weeks, available on Coursera
Social and Economic Networks: Models and Analysis, 8 weeks, available on Coursera

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6 (tie): The University of Chicago

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (11)

Browse all courses from The University of Chicago on Coursera here

Critical Issues in Urban Education, 10 weeks, available on Coursera
Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life, 10 weeks, available on Coursera
Internet Giants: The Law and Economics of Media Platforms, 9 weeks, available on Coursera

Browse all courses from The University of Chicago on edX here

Modeling Climate Change, 4 weeks, available on edX*
Critical Issues in Urban Education, 4 weeks, available on edX*

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8: The University of Pennsylvania

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (12)

Browse all courses from The University of Pennsylvania on Coursera here

Business Foundations Specialization, 7 months, available on Coursera
Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content, 4 hours, available on Coursera
Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society, 6 weeks, available on Coursera

Browse all courses from The University of Pennsylvania on edX here

Programming for the Web with JavaScript, 4 weeks, available on edX*
Intellectual Property Law and Policy: Part 1, 6 weeks, available on edX
Hollywood: History, Industry, Art, 4 weeks, available on edX

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9 (tie): The California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (13)

Browse all courses from Caltech on Coursera here

The Science of the Solar System, 10 weeks, available on Coursera here
Getting Started in cryo-EM, 8 weeks, available on Coursera here

Browse all courses from Caltech on edX here

The Evolving Universe, 4 weeks, available on edX here*
Principles of Economics with Calculus, 10 weeks, available on edX here

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9 (tie): Johns Hopkins University

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (14)

Browse all courses from Johns Hopkins University on Coursera here

Mastering Software Development in R Specialization, 6 months, available on Coursera
Systems Thinking In Public Health, 4 weeks, available on Coursera
Major Depression in the Population: A Public Health Approach, 6 weeks, available on Coursera
Health for All Through Primary Health Care, 5 weeks, available on Coursera
Toxicology 21: Scientific Applications, 6 weeks, available on Coursera

Browse all courses from Johns Hopkins University on FutureLearn here

COVID-19: Effective Nursing in Times of Crisis, 2 weeks, available on FutureLearn
Planning and Managing Global Health Programmes: Promoting Quality, Accountability, and Equity, 5 weeks, available on FutureLearn
The Monday Campaigns: Lessons in Public Health Promotion, 6 weeks, available on FutureLearn

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9 (tie): Northwestern University

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (15)

Browse all courses from Northwestern University on Coursera here

Content Strategy for Professionals Specialization, 4 months, available on Coursera
Social Media Marketing Specialization, 7 months, available on Coursera
Career 911: Your Future Job in Medicine and Healthcare, 9 weeks, available on Coursera
Scaling Operations: Linking Strategy and Execution, 5 weeks, available on Coursera
Modern Robotics, Course 1: Foundations of Robot Motion, 4 weeks, available on Coursera

12: Duke University

65 free online courses from the best US colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and more (16)

Browse all courses from Duke University on Coursera here

Excel to MySQL: Analytic Techniques for Business Specialization, 7 months, available on Coursera
Behavioral Finance, 5 hours, available on Coursera
Think Again IV: How to Avoid Fallacies, 4 weeks, available on Coursera
Dog Emotion and Cognition, 8 weeks, available on Coursera
Sports and Society, 7 weeks, available on Coursera

Connie Chen

Connie Chen is a former senior reporter on the Insider Reviews team, where she led coverage of home textiles, home entertaining, and food and drink. While at Insider, she specialized in all the things that enhance life at home, from the most comfortable bed sheets and fluffy pillows to cool online wine clubs and bartender-approved co*cktail shakers. She combined rigorous testing methods, conversations with professionals, and active knowledge of the home and kitchen space to help readers get the most out of their money. When she's not changing duvet covers or washing towels twice a day for articles, she loves talking about and trying the newest snacks, drinks, andfood gifts. You can see more of her testing process and other behind-the-scenes of being a product journalist on her Instagram @connayreviews. Connie joined Insider Reviews as an early member in 2017 and has also reported on products and services in the style, tech, fitness, travel, and e-learning spaces, with a particular interest and expertise in emerging startups. She has represented the team at CES and moderated panels on media business and the future of retail. Connie graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in media studies and business administration, which help inform her perspective on and coverage of industry trends, as well as the competitive e-commerce landscape at large. Read some of her work: The 4 best co*cktail shakers in 2021 The 7 best women's bathrobes in 2021 The 5 best wine openers and corkscrews we tested in 2021 The 5 best bed sheets we tested in 2021 The 5 best cordless vacuums we tested in 2021 12 direct-to-consumer kitchen startups that are changing the way we shop for cookware and knives 8 tableware startups changing the way we shop for dishes Even chefs experience cooking burnout — here's how they get re-inspired in the kitchen How businesses create successful virtual experiences 50 cookbooks from famous restaurants across the US that will help you recreate their best dishes at home Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Learn more about how we test kitchen products.