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Course Report

[2023] 800+ Online Courses with Real College Credit that You Can Access for Free

We scoured the Class Central database to find free online courses that are part of for-credit programs.

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More and more universities are offering online courses for credit by using MOOCs. Class Central has already compiled 70+ MOOC-based master’s degrees. Many of the courses in these online degree programs are publicly available: anyone with an internet connection can take them.

Some of these courses are “freebies”, meant to give prospective students a taste of what the full online degree would be like. Others, like edX’s MicroMasters, are essentially partial degree programs, equivalent to about one semester of university. And others, like Illinois’ iMBA and Georgia Tech’s OMSCS, are full degree programs that can be audited for free online.

The catch (yes, there’s a catch) is that in order to convert MOOC coursework into university credit, you have to enroll in the corresponding university. And that usually means going through an admissions process and paying tuition.

That said, by making these courses free-to-audit, universities are giving online learners the same learning opportunities afforded to students taking the courses for credit.

At Class Central, we’re constantly updating our catalog of over 50K courses. Searching through our database, we compiled a list of more than 800 free online courses that are part of a for-credit online program.

Subjects

To make the list easy to navigate, we’ve grouped the courses by subject and program. Click on a subject to jump to the corresponding section:

By mix-and-matching these courses, you can even build your own pseudo-degree. Here’s a Class Central guide on how to build an MBA using free online class from Top 10 Business Schools.


Business

Master’s degrees

Master of Science in Management

Online Master’s of Accounting (iMSA)

Master of Business Administration (iMBA)

Master’s Degree in Supply Chain Management

Master’s Degree in Leadership: Service Innovation

Master of Business Administration (Artificial Intelligence)

Master of Business Administration (Cyber Security Management)

Master of Business Administration (Marketing)

MBA International Human Resource Management

Master of Business Administration (Sustainable Tourism)

Master of Business Administration (Health Care Sector)

MSc Global Logistics

MA Management (Advanced Standing)

MSc Construction Management with BIM

MSc Business and Organisational Psychology

Master of Business Administration

MSc Construction Project and Cost Management

Masters Degree in Leadership

Global Master of Business Administration (GMBA)

MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Master’s Degree in Accounting

Master of Business Administration

MSc Project Management

Bachelor’s degrees

BA International Business (Top Up)

BA Management and Leadership

Bachelor of Science in Marketing

MicroMasters

Business Analytics

Business Management

International Hospitality Management

Finance

Supply Chain Management

Business Fundamentals

Global Business Leadership and Management

Corporate Innovation

Business Leadership

Digital Leadership

Digital Transformation Leadership

Digital Product Management

Entrepreneurship

MBA Core Curriculum

Liderazgo y trabajo en equipo en grupos de mejora continua

Innovación y emprendimiento

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Project Management

Design Thinking

Management

Marketing in a Digital World

Managing Technology & Innovation: How to deal with disruptive change

Accounting

Gestión de servicios: diseño de experiencias exitosas

Marketing Analytics

Organizational Psychology

MicroBachelors

Marketing Essentials

Business Analytics Foundations

Financial Accounting and Analysis

Computer Science

Master’s degrees

Master of Computer and Information Technology

Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS)

Online Master of Science in Cybersecurity (OMS Cybersecurity)

Master of Computer Science

MSc Cyber Security

Masters Degree in Information Technology Leadership

Master’s Degree in IT Management

Maestría en Ingeniería de Software

Bachelor’s degrees

Bachelor of Computer Science

MicroMasters

Predictive Analytics using Python

Artificial Intelligence

Algorithms and Data Structures

Quantum Technology: Detectors and Networking

Quantum Technology: Computing

Cybersecurity

Internet of Things (IoT)

Information Systems

Software Development

Software Testing and Verification

Cloud Computing

MicroBachelors

Computer Science Fundamentals

Cybersecurity Fundamentals

Programming & Data Structures

Introduction to Information Technology

Introduction to Databases

Full Stack Cloud Application Development

Data Management with Python and SQL

Engineering

Master’s degrees

Master’s Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

MicroMasters

Principles of Manufacturing

Nanoscience and Technology

Structural Design

Materials Engineering for Intelligent Infrastructure

Reliability and Decision Making in Engineering Design

Solar Energy Engineering

Emerging Automotive Technologies

Data Science

Master’s degrees

Online Master of Science in Analytics (OMS Analytics)

Master of Computer Science in Data Science

Master of Data Science

Master of Science in Data Science

MicroMasters

Statistics and Data Science

Data Science

Analytics: Essential Tools and Methods

Big Data Technology

Bioinformatics

Big Data

MicroBachelors

Elements of Data Science

Social Sciences

Master’s degrees

MSc Emergency Management and Resilience

MSc Disaster Management and Resilience

Masters Degree in Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Action

MSc Child and Adolescent Mental Wellbeing

MSc Mental Health

MicroMasters

Sustainable Energy

Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research

Water and Wastewater Treatment

International Legal Studies

International Law

Chemistry and Technology for Sustainability

Business and Operations for a Circular Bio-Economy

Economics and Policies for a Circular Bio-Economy

Health & Medicine

Master’s degrees

Master of Public Health

Global Master of Public Health (GMPH)

MSc Nursing

MSc End of Life Studies

MicroMasters

Certified Lifestyle Medicine Executive

Healthcare Administration

Art & Humanities

Bachelor’s degrees

Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences

MicroMasters

Writing for Performance and the Entertainment Industries

Integrated Digital Media

UX Design and Evaluation

Design et Évaluation UX

Humanities & Soft Skills

Habilidades profesionales: negociación y liderazgo

MicroBachelors

Business and Professional Communication for Success

Science

MicroMasters

Sustainable Agribusiness

Siembra Directa: agricultura productiva sustentable

Water and Global Human Health

MicroBachelors

University Chemistry

Education & Teaching

Master’s degrees

Masters Degree in Digital Learning Leadership

MicroMasters

Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement

Instructional Design and Technology

e-Learning: crea actividades y contenidos para la enseñanza virtual

Dhawal Shah Profile Image

Dhawal Shah

Dhawal is the CEO of Class Central, the most popular search engine and review site for online courses and MOOCs. He has completed over a dozen MOOCs and has written over 200 articles about the MOOC space, including contributions to TechCrunch, EdSurge, Quartz, and VentureBeat.
Bobby Brady Profile Image

Bobby Brady

Bobby has successfully utilized MOOCs in his professional career twice, transitioning from the service industry to IT support and then again to Development. He now works full time as an edtech consultant and contractor helping students from all over the world learn React and JavaScript.
Laurie Pickard Profile Image

Laurie Pickard

I got into MOOCs when I started a project to replicate a traditional MBA using free online courses. My blog at NoPayMBA.com resulted in a book called Don't Pay For Your MBA.

Comments 9

  1. Cory Pavicich

    You can also apply your work in the University of Colorado Boulder’s The Teacher and Social and Emotional Learning Specialization on Coursera toward 3 graduate teacher credits. You do have to pay for credit, but you don’t have to enroll in any campus programs! https://www.coursera.org/specializations/teacher-sel.

    Reply
  2. Richard Caiquo-Arthur

    Please, how do I identify the masters degree programs among the lot?

    Reply
  3. Muvaffak GOZAYDIN

    Richard, be careful . All above are MOOCs providing credits, not towards degrees . Only degree programs are from Georgia Tech and Uni of Illinois . Even MIT provides master degree with 5 courses online free but 5 courses on campus at $ 30.000 Just look up every entry above . I suggest all top universities mujst provide online degrees . But my personal solution is http://www.worlduniversity.london
    You can take 5 masters degrees if you complete 10 courses selected by the world university .All free too .

    Reply
    • CLC

      Careful with this type of university if you want a government job it needs to be on the list… https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/search-results

      Reply
      • Hugh Dee

        Well said. Also, in America, Fortune 500 corporations will only recognize degrees from “accredited” universities. Prospective students should always verify an online school’s accreditation before buying into any online study program.

        Reply
  4. Josh Escobdo

    The courses in this article are moocs, they do not award “college credits”. It’s pretty important for your visitors to not be misled into taking these & thinking they’re going to get college credit. If they want free college credit they should visit onlinedegree.com, they offer 100% free college credits, 44 credits can be obtained. Courses are self paced (no deadlines, no semesters, enroll anytime), no homework or assignments & best of all they just had all their credits approved to be transferred to over 1,000 U.S. college. One other free option is University of the People, an American accredited online university offering 100% free associate, bachelor, & MBAs to anyone with a high school diploma/GED.

    Reply
  5. Kevin Booth

    Don’t go to the links posted by other commenters, as they are for ‘spam’ links…. shady shady people….

    Reply
  6. Cherole

    Good day

    I need to get started with a course I chose under Havard University titled Children’s rights but I have since responded to an email that required that I confirm my email address but can’t reply.The question is what is the next level.

    THANKS
    CT MAKHELE

    Reply
  7. William

    Could we update this with the info for the Masters in Science in Management from Illinois?

    Reply

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