Free Online Psychology Courses
- 18 courses
- 9 free
- 9 free to audit
- 4 with a free certificate
Sources: Stanford, UC Berkeley, Harvard, MIT and more · Verified
A free psychology course typically begins with the scientific method as applied to behaviour and the mind, then surveys the main areas: perception, learning, memory, development, personality, social psychology and psychological disorders. More focused courses take one area further, such as positive psychology, the psychology of decision-making, child development or the science of well-being. Universities dominate this subject. Recorded lecture courses are published free in full under open licences without certificates, and courses on edX are usually free to audit, meaning the videos and readings are open while graded assessments and the certificate are paid, and access can lapse. Coursera hosts many psychology courses but most now offer only a first-module preview, which this site does not count as free; the ones that remain free in full are marked.
Non-profit platforms have self-paced psychology courses free in full with an optional paid certificate. When reading a syllabus, look for whether the course is a survey or a specialised topic, for named reading material you can access without a paywall, and for a clear statement that it is not clinical training. Psychology suits students considering the degree, professionals in education, health and management who want to understand behaviour, and readers with a personal interest. None of these courses qualifies anyone to practise; the credential routes for counselling and clinical work run through accredited degrees and licensing.
Our three picks
Filters
| # | Course | Provider | Cost | Certificate | Level | Duration | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Science of Well-Being The Science of Well-Being is Laurie Santos's Coursera course, built from her Yale class on psychology and the good life. | Yale | Free | PaidPaid certificate | — | — | |
| 2 | Introduction to Psychology Introduction to Psychology is Paul Bloom's Spring 2007 course PSYC 110, recorded for Open Yale Courses as 20 lectures… | Yale | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 3 | Introduction to Psychology 9.00SC is the OpenCourseWare Scholar version of MIT's survey course in psychology, built on John Gabrieli's fall 2011… | MIT | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 4 | The Science of Happiness The Science of Happiness is an eleven-week BerkeleyX course taught by Dacher Keltner and Emiliana Simon-Thomas of UC… | UC Berkeley | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 11 weeks | |
| 5 | Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom is a five-week CornellX course from Cornell's Center for Teaching Innova… | Cornell | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 5 weeks | |
| 6 | Empathy and Emotional Intelligence at Work Empathy and Emotional Intelligence at Work is a four-week BerkeleyX course from Dacher Keltner and Emiliana Simon-Tho… | UC Berkeley | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 4 weeks | |
| 7 | Mindfulness and Resilience to Stress at Work Mindfulness and Resilience to Stress at Work is a four-week BerkeleyX course taught by Dacher Keltner and Emiliana Si… | UC Berkeley | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 4 weeks | |
| 8 | Bridging Differences Bridging Differences is an eight-week BerkeleyX course from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, taught by Rodo… | UC Berkeley | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 8 weeks | |
| 9 | Managing Happiness Managing Happiness, taught by Arthur Brooks of Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, introduces the mod… | Harvard | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | — | |
| 10 | Science of Learning and Memory 9.00.1x Science of Learning and Memory is a short, self-paced MITx Online course from MIT's Department of Brain and C… | MIT | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | — | 3 weeks | |
| 11 | Building Personal Resilience: Managing Anxiety and Mental Health Building Personal Resilience: Managing Anxiety and Mental Health applies psychology to the everyday experience of str… | Harvard | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 6 weeks | |
| 12 | Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects Learning How to Learn is a short course on study technique from Deep Teaching Solutions, offered through Coursera. | Coursera | Free | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 2 weeks | |
| 13 | Introduction to Psychology A wide-ranging survey of the discipline, organised around why people differ from one another. | Alison | Free | PaidPaid certificate | Intermediate | — | |
| 14 | Identifying Early Signs of Psychosis in Adolescents and Young Adults Identifying Early Signs of Psychosis in Adolescents and Young Adults is a two-hour continuing-education course from S… | Stanford | Free | IncludedCertificate included | Advanced | 1 week | |
| 15 | Communicating with Presence Communicating with Presence is a one-hour Stanford Medicine course on the Presence 5 model, a set of five practices f… | Stanford | Free | IncludedCertificate included | Advanced | 1 week | |
| 16 | Unconscious Bias in Medicine Unconscious Bias in Medicine is a one-hour online activity run directly on Stanford Center for Continuing Medical Edu… | Stanford | Free | IncludedCertificate included | — | 1 hour | |
| 17 | Empowering Teens with Healthier Sleep Empowering Teens with Healthier Sleep is a recorded Stanford Medicine talk, originally given on March 16, 2023 and of… | Stanford | Free | IncludedCertificate included | — | 1.5 hours | |
| 18 | Marketing Psychology: How We Decide Marketing Psychology: How We Decide is a four-week OxfordX course taught by Andrew Stephen, Associate Dean of Researc… | Oxford | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 4 weeks |
Psychology courses by provider
Questions about free psychology courses
Can a free psychology course lead to a job as a psychologist?
No. Practising as a psychologist, counsellor or therapist requires accredited degrees, supervised hours and licensing in your jurisdiction. Free courses are useful for exploring the field and for professionals who want the background.
Do university psychology courses give free certificates?
Rarely. Lecture archives issue none and audit tracks charge for theirs. A few self-paced platforms include or sell one.
Which psychology course should I take first?
An introductory survey course, so that you meet each subfield before choosing one. If you already have that background, pick a course on the specific area you want, such as development or social psychology.