Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, offers a selection of free online courses in which you can enroll right now. It offers courses in a variety of subjects such as technology, art, history, business, statistics, social sciences, programming among others. While most courses are self-paced, some require completion in a select time frame in order to be passed. Students who earn a satisfactory score on a set pre-determined course related programs are eligible for a certificate from Harvard University itself:
Here are 8 of the best courses you can enroll in right NOW:
1) Super-Earths and Life:
Super-Earths and Life is among the top free courses offered by Harvard in 2024. It is a course about alien life, how we search for it, and what it teaches us about our place in the universe. Super-Earths and Life is all about how these two fields together – astronomy and biology – can answer one of the most powerful and primal questions: are we alone in the universe?
2) Introduction to Computer Science
The 11-week course 'Introduction to Computer Science' helps students understand intellectual enterprises and the art of programming. An entry-level course taught by David J. Malan, CS50x teaches students how to think algorithmically and solve problems efficiently. Topics include abstraction, algorithms, data structures, encapsulation, resource management, security, software engineering, and web development. Languages include C, Python, SQL, and JavaScript plus CSS and HTML. Problem sets inspired by real-world domains of biology, cryptography, finance, forensics, and gaming. The on-campus version of CS50x , CS50, is Harvard's largest course.
Students who earn a satisfactory score on 9 problem sets (i.e., programming assignments) and a final project are eligible for a certificate.
3) Systematic approaches to policy design
Systematic approaches to policy design from Harvard Kennedy School introduce approaches to analytical decision-making for policy design. This course will help senior officials make greater use of data and evidence in their everyday decision-making. This unit presents a few over-arching frameworks that are helpful in approaching complicated decisions. You will learn how to orgnaize your thinking, how to break a problem down into parts, and how to figure out where evidence can be most useful in making a decision.
4) Big data solutions for social and economic disparities
Harvard also offers Big data solutions for social and economic disparities in which you will understand how big data can be used to measure mobility. It’s likely you’ve wondered what factors influence one’s success, but it’s more likely you’ve never considered that such small changes in geographical location have a statistically significant impact. In this course, you will examine the historical evidence identifying the characteristics that lead to improved outcomes. Specifically, you will explore the effects of race and access to quality education, highly invested teachers, and family support—all of which lead to higher levels of upward mobility and increased earning potential.
5) Managing happiness
In the social media age, Harvard offers a Managing Happiness course that teaches diverse definitions of happiness and understand its function in everyday life. This is a class that answers questions like ‘what is happiness’ and ‘what makes you happy’ and shows you how you can use the answers to build a happier life. It introduces you to the modern science of human well-being and shows you how to practice it. Unlike other happiness courses, Managing Happiness goes a step further and demonstrates how you can share the ideas with others, thus bringing more happiness and love to the world and supercharging your own well-being efforts.
6) Introduction to Artificial Intelligence using AI:
Introduction to Digital Humanities is another free Harvard online course that develops skills in digital research and visualisation techniques. AI is transforming how we live, work, and play. By enabling new technologies like self-driving cars and recommendation systems or improving old ones like medical diagnostics and search engines, the demand for expertise in AI and machine learning is growing rapidly. This course will enable you to take the first step toward solving important real-world problems and future-proofing your career.
7) Introduction to game development
With increasing opportunities in gaming sector, Harvard's Introduction to Game Development will help you learn about the development of 2D and 3D interactive games using the Unity engine and LÖVE 2D. In a quest to understand how video games themselves are implemented, you'll explore the design of such beloved childhood games as: Super Mario Bros., Pong, Flappy Bird, Breakout, Match 3, Legend of Zelda, Angry Birds, Pokémon, 3D Helicopter Game, Dreadhalls, and Portal.
8) Introduction to Technology:
This is CS50's introduction to technology for students who don’t (yet) consider themselves computer persons. Designed for those who work with technology every day but don’t necessarily understand how it all works underneath the hood or how to solve problems when something goes wrong, this course fills in the gaps, empowering you to use and troubleshoot technology more effectively. Through lectures on hardware, the Internet, multimedia, security, programming, and web development, this course equips you for today’s technology and prepares you for tomorrow’s as well.