Did you know you can take Ivy League courses but without the Ivy League price tag? By offering free online classes through platforms like Coursera and edX, top colleges are making higher education more accessible than ever before.
For example, edX—co-founded by Harvard and MIT—provides both free and paid courses on everything from computer science to humanities, often with options to earn certificates. Coursera, started by Stanford professors, works similarly but partners with universities like Yale and Princeton to offer free courses, professional certificates, and even full degrees.
Most of the courses on Coursera and edX are available to anyone regardless of age, location, or education level, and as long as you have internet access, they can be taken anywhere in the world. While some advanced courses may recommend a foundation of background knowledge, it’s not always necessary, and even if a course is free, earning a certificate or having assignments graded may cost extra.
Here are a few sample offerings from several prestigious universities:
Harvard – CS50: Introduction to Computer Science
Harvard’s CS50 is one of the most popular computer science courses that teaches the fundamentals of programming, algorithms, data structures, and problem-solving using C, Python, and SQL. A beginner-friendly course, it’s available for free on edX and is perfect for anyone interesting in learning about coding.
MIT – Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python
Free on MIT’s OpenCourseWare site as well as on edX, this course is designed for beginners with little or no programming experience. It covers the basics of Python, computational problem solving, and algorithmic thinking, making it a great choice for aspiring programmers.
Stanford – Machine Learning by Andrew Ng
Taught by AI expert Andrew Ng, this is one of the most famous online courses in artificial intelligence. Covering fundamental machine learning concepts that include supervised learning, neural networks, and deep learning, interested students can find this for free on Coursera with an option to earn a certificate for a small fee.
Princeton – Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies
Curious about how Bitcoin works? This free Princeton University course on Coursera dives into the technical side of blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and cybersecurity. It also delves into Bitcoin’s potential economic impact as well as its limitations as a store of value.
Yale – The Science of Well-Being
Called “Yale’s most popular class ever,” Professor Laurie Santos explores the psychology behind happiness and the habits that improve our well-being. This course also provides research-backed techniques to boost mental health and personal happiness. With lectures filmed in Santos’s very own living room, will you finish this free Coursera offering happier than when you started it? There’s only one way to find out!
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