11 Best Places to Learn for Free Online (& Get a Certificate of Completion)

Here are 11 places you can go to study for free, online – now go on, feed your brain…

1. MIT Open Courseware

MIT OpenCourseware is run by the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and they offer materials from 2340 courses and (by now) boast with more than 200 million visitors to date.

The idea behind OpenCourseware, according to Dick K.P. Yue from the MIT School of Engineering, is simply to make their course materials widely available – and they have.

Sample courses include The Anthropology of Sound and even Playwriting I and an Advanced Essay Workshop.

Topics: Business, Energy, Engineering, Fine Arts, Health & Medicine, Humanities, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Society and Teaching & Education

2. Coursera

Coursera co-operates with some of the world’s top universities, including Stanford, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Michigan and UC San Diego – and more.

Sample courses include Strategic Leadership & Management, Investment Management, and even Cryptography.

Topics: Arts & Humanities, Business, Computer Science, Data Science, life Sciences, Math & Logic, Personal development, Physical Science & Engineering, Social Sciences and Language Learning

3. edX

Like Coursera, edX partners up with great universities to bring the courses directly to you. Some of their partner universities include Harvard, Berkeley, and Boston University.

Some sample courses listed on their homepage include English Grammar & Style, Programming with C#, Introduction to People Management and Hollywood, History, Industry, Art.

You have the option to pay for the Verified Certificate, which you might want to do if your course will be included in your resume.

See here for a full list of subjects, ranging from Food & Nutrition to Law and Electronics.

4. DAI Institute

The DAI institute is focused on faith-based leadership courses, so if that’s what you’re looking for, this is your place.

Sample courses listed on their homepage include Fund-Raising for Ministry and Servant Leadership.

They give you the option to purchase a completion certificate after you finish – providing you score 75% and up on their tests.

5. University of the People

University of the People offers completely legit online degree programs, tuition-free. They do charge an application fee and exam fee – but at $60 and $200 respectively they’re still cheaper than paying for a degree.

They have admission requirements for the three categories (Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, and Graduate Degree), which can be checked out here.

Briefly, their requirements include:

1. Being able to prove that you graduated high-school.
2. Being fully proficient in English, as it’s the language their courses are offered in.

For those looking for a serious degree, the University of the People seems like the most solid option on the list.

6. Harvard Online Learning

Harvard Online Learning splits courses up into FREE and PAID.

Of the free courses, some give no credential, while some are listed as “open certificate (no fee)”.

Since Harvard partners with sites like edX, many of the courses seem to link back.

Some examples courses from Harvard’s homepage includes Introduction to Family Engagement in Education and International Marketing.

A little more digging unearthed courses like Principles of Biochemistry and Harvard Law School Collection.

7. Open Yale Courses

Unfortunately, courses offered through Open Yale Courses don’t come with any kind f accreditation or certificate – but if used with any of the other options as a supplement it could be intensely useful.

The information available comes directly from Yale classrooms and can be downloaded in either audio, video or text formats.

Their focus is broad, and they offer courses in everything from Economics to History and English.

See a list of their courses currently on offer over here.

8. Magicka School

Magicka School has an esoteric, faith-based focus – go here if you want to study topics like reading and interpreting the Tarot, crafting spells, Wicca and Alchemy.

Lessons range from 7, 000 to 11, 000 words in length, and are sent to you on a monthly basis.

You qualify for the certificate once you score 65% to 75% on the exam, depending on the course.

9. Open2Study

Open2Study gives you a total of 48 courses to pick from after you sign up, and if you score 60% or upwards on the exam you qualify for the certificate.

Their free certificates aren’t, unfortunately, accredited – but it remains a powerful resource and it could still be a great addition to your resume.

Courses run a standard time of four weeks.

A plus is the fact that you get to interact with teachers and other students as you go along – so you’ll never be left in the dark.

Some Open2Study courses include Basic Physics and Becoming Human Anthropology.

10. The Open University

Not all of Open University is free – go to OpenLearn for their list of free course material offered.

What they offer is given as a taster of their full courses, but still stand solidly on their own if you’re looking to refresh your memory or pick up a new skill.

Sample short courses from OpenLearn include An Introduction to Music Theory (8 hours) and Starting with Psychology (5 hours).

11. Alison

Alison.com offers several categories for learning, including Diploma Courses, Languages, Business & Enterprise Skills, Digital Literacy & Skills, Personal Development & Soft Skills, Schools Curriculum, Health & Safety Compliance, Health Literacy, Financial & Economic Literacy and Health & Safety (Irish Legislation Only).

Under Diploma Courses, options like a Diploma in Web Design and a Diploma in Human Resources are on offer

Alison looks great for enriching yourself, picking up a new skill or two – but it might not match up in terms of course content with the other additions on the list.

Final Words

There you have it, 11 fantastic places you can get your free education on.

Again, some of these places even give you a certificate which can be used on your resume as a powerful tool.

Of course, you don’t always get education for the sake of a paper. Some of us just like learning new things.

And what can be better than learning for free!