Princeton free online courses and the certificate question
None of Princeton's open courses offers a certificate, free or paid. Princeton's own FAQ states that no certificates, statements of accomplishment or other credentials are offered for its open online courses, and every Coursera course page listed here repeats that no certificates, credentials or reports are awarded. There is nothing to upgrade to and nothing to buy.
What you get instead of a certificate
You get the whole course. Each Coursera page states that all the features of the course are available for free, and that includes the assessed work: Algorithms, Part I runs weekly exercises, weekly programming assignments, weekly interview questions and a final exam, and Algorithms, Part II sets weekly programming assignments and interview questions. The textbooks the courses are based on are optional.
If a credential matters to you, free certifications lists providers that issue one at no cost, and free online courses with certificates compares paid and free options.
Princeton on edX: free audit with no paid track
Constitutional Interpretation is Princeton's PrincetonX course on edX. It is taken in the audit track, which edX describes as limited access without a certificate. Because Princeton offers no verified certificate, there is no paid track to move to; the only limit is time, since edX audit access ends when the course run does. Several older PrincetonX runs are archived or no longer published, so check the run dates on the edX page.
How to enrol in a Princeton course on Coursera or edX
Princeton hosts its open courses on Coursera and edX rather than on its own site.
- On Coursera, create a free account and open the course page. Because Princeton offers no certificate there is no paid option to decline; the free route is the complete course, including assignments.
- Every Princeton course listed here is labelled flexible schedule on Coursera, so you set your own pace. Coursera also states an estimated effort for each course.
- On edX, create a free account, open the Constitutional Interpretation page and enrol in the audit track at no cost.
- Plan to finish an edX course inside its run, because there is no way to extend audit access by paying.
What you can study with Princeton for free
The listed courses fall into computer science, mathematics, ethics and society, science and law. No Princeton course in data science, AI, languages or marketing is listed here.
Computer science and programming in Java
Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose is the beginner entry point: Java from variables and loops to recursion and data types. Its sequel, Computer Science: Algorithms, Theory, and Machines, is intermediate level and moves from sorting and searching to Turing machines and how a processor executes programs. Coursera estimates two weeks for it.
Algorithms, Part I and Algorithms, Part II are Robert Sedgewick and Kevin Wayne's intermediate-level course on sorting, searching, graphs and strings with Java implementations. Part I runs five weeks and Part II six weeks. Computer Architecture is advanced, assumes an undergraduate background in processor design, and runs five weeks. Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies explains how Bitcoin works technically; no level is given. More options sit under computer science and programming.
Mathematics behind algorithms
Analysis of Algorithms is labelled advanced and covers recurrences, generating functions and asymptotics. Its companion Analytic Combinatorics is intermediate and teaches the symbolic method and complex-analysis asymptotics in full. Both assume a strong mathematics background rather than an introductory one, and both are short: Coursera estimates two weeks for the first and two weeks for the second. See also free mathematics courses.
Ethics, philosophy and society
Effective Altruism is Peter Singer's beginner-level course on doing the most good; its first module includes a refresher for people without philosophy, and Coursera estimates 1 week. Food Ethics applies four ethical theories to what we eat, with an interest in food or philosophy as its only prerequisite, over five weeks. Paradoxes of War is a conceptual course on why societies fight, and Global Systemic Risk is a beginner-level course on globalisation, networks and risk with no technical background required.
Science and law
Imagining Other Earths covers planets, stars and the search for life in twenty-five short modules, with no prerequisites, estimated at three weeks. Constitutional Interpretation is intermediate level, on judicial review, federalism and the courts' role in securing rights; it is Princeton's only entry in the law hub, and the only entry here with a stated weekly effort: seven weeks at 2 to 5 hours a week.
How long do Princeton's free courses take?
The Coursera courses are short by Coursera's own estimate. Effective Altruism is the briefest at 1 week and Algorithms, Part II the longest at six weeks; most of the rest are estimated at two weeks to five weeks. Every Coursera course is self-paced, so treat these as planning figures; on edX the run end date applies.
Difficulty is uneven. Analysis of Algorithms and Computer Architecture are labelled advanced; the two Algorithms parts, Algorithms, Theory, and Machines, Analytic Combinatorics and Constitutional Interpretation are intermediate; Programming with a Purpose, Effective Altruism, Food Ethics and Global Systemic Risk are beginner level. Bitcoin, Paradoxes of War and Imagining Other Earths carry no level label.