Free Online Courses for Seniors
- 32 courses
- 25 free
- 7 free to audit
- Certificates available
Sources: Yale, Coursera, Harvard, Oxford and more · Verified
This page is not a subject. It is an editorial selection drawn from every other page on this site, chosen for older learners who want to study for interest, to stay mentally active, or to keep up with the tools their families and communities use. Every course here is self-paced, so there are no deadlines or cohort dates, and every course states no prerequisites, so you can start from where you are. The subjects reflect what older learners most often search for and enrol in: history, art and art history, languages, writing, psychology, nutrition and the humanities, alongside practical courses on computers, email, smartphones, spreadsheets and staying safe online. Free means the same here as elsewhere on the site.
University lecture archives are free in full with no certificate; university courses on edX are free to audit, which opens the videos and readings while the certificate costs money; non-profit and company courses are free in full and sometimes offer a certificate. Few learners in this group need a credential, so the selection favours quality of teaching over certification. When reading a syllabus, look for clear audio and captions, for the pace of the lectures, for whether readings are available free, and for a discussion forum if you would value contact with other learners. If you are helping a parent or grandparent choose a course, the courses ranked highest on this page are the ones we would suggest first, and each course page explains exactly what is free before you leave this site.
Our three picks
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| # | Course | Provider | Cost | Certificate | Level | Duration | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moral Foundations of Politics Moral Foundations of Politics is Ian Shapiro's Coursera course asking when governments deserve our allegiance and whe… | Yale | Free | PaidPaid certificate | — | — | |
| 2 | Death Death is Shelly Kagan's Spring 2007 philosophy course PHIL 176, available on Open Yale Courses as 26 lectures of abou… | Yale | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 3 | Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics is Charles Bailyn's Spring 2007 course ASTR 160, recorded for Open Yale C… | Yale | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 4 | Introduction to Political Philosophy Introduction to Political Philosophy is Steven Smith's Fall 2006 course PLSC 114, videotaped for Open Yale Courses as… | Yale | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 5 | Effective Altruism Effective Altruism is Peter Singer's Princeton course on the idea that living a fully ethical life involves doing the… | Princeton | Free | NoneNo certificate | Beginner | 1 week | |
| 6 | Frontiers of Biomedical Engineering Frontiers of Biomedical Engineering is Mark Saltzman's Spring 2008 course BENG 100, published on Open Yale Courses as… | Yale | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 7 | Food Ethics Food Ethics is Andrew Chignell's Princeton course on how concerns about animals, workers, the environment and communi… | Princeton | Free | NoneNo certificate | Beginner | 5 weeks | |
| 8 | Imagining Other Earths Imagining Other Earths is David Spergel's Princeton course on the question of whether we are alone. | Princeton | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | 3 weeks | |
| 9 | Power and Politics in Today's World Power and Politics in Today's World is Ian Shapiro's Fall 2019 Yale lecture course, published by Yale Online as a You… | Yale | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | 33 hours | |
| 10 | Introduction to Philosophy Introduction to Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh surveys the main areas of contemporary philosophy, with a… | Coursera | Free | PaidPaid certificate | — | 2 weeks | |
| 11 | Mountains 101 Mountains 101 is the University of Alberta's interdisciplinary introduction to the mountain world, looking at the phy… | Coursera | Free | PaidPaid certificate | — | 2 weeks | |
| 12 | Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology is a twelve-lesson course from the University of Alberta on non-avian dinosaurs. | Coursera | Free | NoneNo certificate | Beginner | 1 week | |
| 13 | Bugs 101: Insect-Human Interactions Bugs 101: Insect-Human Interactions is a University of Alberta course on insects and other arthropods and the many wa… | Coursera | Free | NoneNo certificate | Beginner | 5 weeks | |
| 14 | How to Learn Online How to Learn Online is edX's own short course on being an effective online learner, and the techniques apply on any p… | edX | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 1 week | |
| 15 | Basics of Touch Typing A short course on typing without looking at the keyboard, which Alison estimates at 1.5 to 3 hours. | Alison | Free | PaidPaid certificate | Advanced | — | |
| 16 | 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 | |
| 17 | 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 | — | — | |
| 18 | Approaching Shakespeare Approaching Shakespeare is Emma Smith's open lecture series from Oxford's Faculty of English Language and Literature. | Oxford | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 19 | Critical Reasoning for Beginners Critical Reasoning for Beginners is a six-lecture course by Marianne Talbot, published under Oxford Lifelong Learning… | Oxford | Free | NoneNo certificate | Beginner | — | |
| 20 | General Philosophy General Philosophy is Peter Millican's lecture course for first-year philosophy undergraduates at Oxford, released as… | Oxford | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 21 | Listening to Music Listening to Music is Craig Wright's introductory Yale course for musical novices, published by Yale Online as a YouT… | Yale | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | 22 hours | |
| 22 | Online Safety Training: Cybersecurity Basics for Everyone Rather than preparing you for a security job, this course teaches personal online safety. | Udemy | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | 1.6 hours | |
| 23 | Personal finance Personal finance is a ten-unit course in Khan Academy's Life skills section, aimed at people making financial decisio… | Khan Academy | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 24 | Philosophy for Beginners Philosophy for Beginners is a series of five introductory lectures by Marianne Talbot of Oxford's Department for Cont… | Oxford | Free | NoneNo certificate | Beginner | — | |
| 25 | US history Khan Academy's US history course covers the country's past in nine chronological units, followed by three supporting… | Khan Academy | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 26 | World history World history on Khan Academy is a nine-unit survey from the first humans to the present day. | Khan Academy | Free | NoneNo certificate | — | — | |
| 27 | Computer Science 101 Computer Science 101 is Nick Parlante's StanfordOnline course on edX for people with no prior experience of computer… | Stanford | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 6 weeks | |
| 28 | Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology explores the Giza Plateau, with its Pyramids, Great Sphinx and… | Harvard | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 8 weeks | |
| 29 | Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science (chemistry) Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science (chemistry) pairs chefs with Harvard scientists. | Harvard | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | — | |
| 30 | Shakespeare’s Hamlet: The Ghost Shakespeare's Hamlet: The Ghost, led by Stephen Greenblatt, takes a single figure, the Ghost of the dead King of Denm… | Harvard | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 4 weeks | |
| 31 | Tangible Things Tangible Things uses objects from Harvard's museums, libraries and collections to teach how historians, curators, arc… | Harvard | Free to audit | PaidPaid certificate | Beginner | 10 weeks | |
| 32 | 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 |
Courses for Seniors courses by provider
Questions about free courses for seniors courses
Is there an age requirement for these courses?
No. The selection is for older learners, but the courses are open to anyone. Age appears nowhere in enrolment, and no provider listed here asks for it beyond the standard account terms.
Do I need to be good with computers?
You need to be able to open a web page, create an account and play a video. Several courses on this page teach the rest, and those are marked as beginner-friendly.
Are these courses free, or free to start?
Every course listed is either free in full or free to audit, and each course page states which. Nothing here is a trial that later charges you. Where a certificate costs money, that is stated separately and is optional.