Coursera free courses with certificate: which listed courses qualify
None of the fully free Coursera courses listed here gives a certificate for nothing. They split into two cases: courses where a shareable certificate can be bought as an optional extra, and courses that issue no certificate at all. The course is free either way.
Free courses that sell a certificate separately
On these courses every module and assessment is open without payment. A shareable certificate for a LinkedIn profile is a paid option; Coursera does not print the price on the course page. Financial aid is listed on each and can reduce or remove the fee on eligible courses.
- Learning How to Learn: study technique, four modules.
- Learn to Program: The Fundamentals: University of Toronto, Python, seven modules.
- Code Yourself! An Introduction to Programming: Scratch, five modules.
- English for Career Development: job search in English, five units.
- Writing in English at University: academic writing, free electronic textbook.
- First Step Korean: Yonsei University, five lessons.
- Introduction to Philosophy: University of Edinburgh, peer-reviewed assignment.
- Mountains 101: University of Alberta, twelve lessons.
- Management of Fashion and Luxury Companies: Bocconi, case-based, final test.
- Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop: CalArts, peer critique.
Free courses with no certificate at all
Some courses state in their own FAQ that all features are free and that no certificates, credentials or reports are awarded: Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology, Bugs 101: Insect-Human Interactions and Private Equity and Venture Capital. Princeton's Coursera courses work the same way under university policy, for example Algorithms, Part I and Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies.
Is there any Coursera course with a free certificate?
Not among the courses listed on this site. If a free credential is the point, the free certifications pages cover providers that issue one at no cost, such as Google, IBM and the CS50 family on the Harvard hub.
How to find the free option on a Coursera course page
The free option sits behind the same button as the paid choices. English for Career Development spells the steps out in its own description, and the Learning How to Learn page also shows a Partner-supported free access link beside its FAQ; Coursera's help centre has no article on that label.
- Open the course page and click the Enroll now button; Coursera asks you to sign in or create an account first.
- When the enrolment options appear, choose Full Course, No Certificate.
- You now have the lectures, readings, required assessments and a final grade.
- The certificate, if the course has one, is a separate paid option; Coursera's FAQ notes that the no-certificate route does not let you buy one later, so apply for financial aid first if you want the certificate.
- If the only free choice is a preview of the first module, the course is not fully free and is not listed here.
Why the label alone is not proof a course is free
Coursera's generic FAQ mentions the Full Course, No Certificate option on every course page, including courses that only give a first-module preview, and its help centre says the option exists only for select courses. What confirms a course is free in full is the free-course flag in the page data, or a course-specific FAQ answer that says all features are free, which every record here was checked against.
What you can study free on Coursera
The fully free courses cluster around programming, English and writing, business, psychology and general-interest science, the last through the University of Alberta's Dino 101, Bugs 101 and Mountains 101. Data science and artificial intelligence have no fully free course on Coursera listed; the data science hub and the AI certifications page list other providers.
Programming and computer science
Learn to Program: The Fundamentals is a university-style first course in Python. Code Yourself! uses Scratch for people who have never written code. Princeton goes further: Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose teaches Java, and Algorithms, Part I and Part II are intermediate. See the programming hub and Python hub.
English, writing and languages
English for Career Development is written for non-native speakers applying for jobs in English. Writing in English at University covers academic structure and citing sources. First Step Korean starts with the alphabet. Sharpened Visions is a poetry workshop with peer feedback. More on the English hub and languages hub.
Business and finance
Private Equity and Venture Capital is a Bocconi course of 9 hours on how investors finance companies at each stage. Management of Fashion and Luxury Companies is a business overview, not a design course. Princeton's Global Systemic Risk is also free. See the business hub.
Psychology, philosophy and study skills
Learning How to Learn is about how to study and needs no background. Introduction to Philosophy surveys morality, knowledge, minds, free will and time travel. Yale's The Science of Well-Being and Moral Foundations of Politics are free in full with a paid certificate; Yale Online notes that the certificate price of the first varies by location. See the psychology hub.
Coursera free courses for teachers
No fully free course made specifically for teachers is listed here. Code Yourself! is aimed at younger learners and teachers as well as adults, and Learning How to Learn covers study technique. Cornell's Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom is for educators, but it runs on edX as a free audit, not on Coursera.
How long do the free courses take?
Coursera states a flexible, self-paced schedule for all of them. The shortest listed are Sharpened Visions at about 8 hours and Private Equity and Venture Capital at 9 hours. Most others are estimated in weeks rather than hours: Bugs 101 is five weeks at 10 hours a week, and Princeton's Algorithms, Part II is estimated at six weeks. Unlike the edX audit track, no time limit on free access is stated.
