21 Free Online College Courses for Credit

This article provides full details on how you can take part in free online college courses for credit and also featured a number of these free online courses you can obtain college credit from with their direct application links.

Modern-day technology has really contributed to the education sector, from teaching with projectors and computers to offering webinars and full-time degree programs online. With the proper gadgets, which consist mainly of an internet connection and a PC you can access various disciplines on any level of study online and get a recognized certification after completing the course.

Also, online courses come with a whole lot of advantages over going to the regular class, and several institutions out there are adopting this new style of imparting knowledge.

Online classes are flexible, convenient, faster to complete and the interaction is amazing!

To offer these online classes, universities are partnering with different online learning platforms to make use of their services in sharing online degree programs to any interested students anywhere in the world, that is another benefit of online learning, everyone, anyone, anywhere in the world can participate in any course of their choice.

These amazing provisions from these universities didn’t end here, now more and more universities are offering for-credit programs via massive open online courses (MOOCS). This means if you are enrolled in a university that has partnered with an online learning platform you can take online courses there for credits.

However, the online course will be provided by your university so that the credit you have will count but if you aren’t enrolled in a university and still want to take the online college courses that are fine too, it will act as “testing waters” for you before you are officially enrolled in the university.

These for-credit programs are usually paid for, but there are many out there that are free to access, meaning you won’t pay a dime to take the college courses for credit, this article provides various free online college courses for credit spanning across different level of study, undergraduate, masters, doctoral, and field of studies such as technology, business, the arts, and the humanities.

The free online college courses for credits are amazing in that they are online thus self-paced, flexible and are available 24/7. There are no tuition fees or fees for learning materials, no due dates and no way to fall behind, it is the easiest and fastest means of earning college credits but the benefits don’t end here.

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Benefits of Taking Free Online College Courses for Credit

There are many benefits attached to taking online college courses and I have mentioned a few of them above but there are yet more exciting ones as I have listed out below;

  • Taking online college courses is considerably cheap and in some cases is free. This lessens tuition fee expenses as you get to accumulate credit to transfer into a degree program prior to enrolling.
  • Students can take free online college courses for credit while enrolled in a college degree program which helps to accelerate the completion of your degree and prepares better for the job force.
  • Taking an online college course prior to enrolling in a college degree program will give you experience, develop your study skills and discipline.
  • Students gain advanced standing and complete prerequisites which make them start college with advanced standing.
  • Students get to explore a wide array of different academic options.

What is college credit?

According to Wikipedia, college credit is a recognition for having taken a course at school or university, it is used as a measure to know if enough hours have been made for a student’s graduation.

Are there free online college courses?

Yes, there are several free online college courses for undergraduate and graduate levels across various fields of study. You will learn about most of these free online college courses through this article and their application links will be made available too.

Do you get college credit from free online courses?

This article provides full information on free online courses for real college credit for students. You have to be enrolled in a program at a university to convert the online course work into college credit.

How can I get free college credits?

To get free college credits, students enrolled in a program at a university should take and complete a free online college course for credit which includes taking the exam related to that program and transferring the credit to their course work.

With these questions and confusion cleared out of the way, I will go ahead to list out and explain each of the free online college courses for credit.

20 Free Online College Courses for Credit

After extensive research, I was able to find the following free online courses that students can take to obtain college credits.

  • Advanced Operating Systems
  • Introduction to Computer Vision
  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Principles of Marketing
  • Introduction to Mechanics
  • Introduction to Sociology
  • Information Technology Foundations
  • Introduction to Networking
  • Probability: The Science of Uncertainty and Data
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Computational Photography
  • Media Law
  • Luxury Management
  • Operations Management
  • Project Management
  • World Regional Geography
  • Introduction to Psychology
  • Introduction to Critical Thinking and Logic
  • Calculus
  • College Success

Advanced Operating Systems

You’ve certainly heard of iOS, Android, Windows and others or at least used one of them. They are operating systems utilized in smartphones, computers, parallel systems, cloud computing, multi-core, distributed systems and other variety of platforms.

In this free online college courses for credit, Advanced Operating Systems, offered by the Georgia Institute of Technology, in just five weeks, you will learn all about the advances that have led to the various state-of-the-art operating systems that are being used today.

Introduction to Computer Vision

This is an introductory level to computer vision where you will learn the fundamentals of image formation, camera imaging geometry, feature detection and matching and also learn to develop basic methods for an application that includes finding known models in images, camera calibration and lot more concerning computing system visions.

Anatomy and Physiology

This course has been evaluated and recommended for 3 semester hours and may be transferred to over 2,000 colleges and universities thus making it one of the free online college courses for credit that students can take part in.

The course, Anatomy and Physiology explains in detail the application of foundational principles of biology including ecology, evolution, genetics and cell division.

Principles of Marketing

This course introduces you to the fundamental principles of marketing, you get to learn about the marketing process and examine different marketing decisions that will produce effective results. You will also learn to think like a marketer and understand the needs of a consumer.

Introduction to Mechanics

This is the first course in the introduction to physics sequence, participants will learn the basic principles of physical laws, their application to the behaviour of objects, and the use of the scientific method in driving advances in this knowledge.

Introduction to Sociology

Sociology happens in life daily and it is very important for human growth and you must be engaged in a social activity even once a day.

Through this free online course, you will learn how sociology applies to everyday life and how it can help you better communicate and understand people and your environment.

Furthermore, the course will teach you basic sociological theories and concepts, enhance your critical writing and thinking skills, and improve your professional and personal communication skills.

Information Technology Foundations

Information technology foundations are offered by top professors from Western Governors University, examining the different roles and functions of IT including systems and services, network and security, programming, data management and the business of IT.

Through this free online college credit course, you will learn the functions of basic computer hardware components and how IT can be utilized to produce effective innovation to drive an organization to success.

Introduction to Networking

This is a self-paced college course from NYU that explains the principles of network security, cryptography, identification and other forms of networking.

Probability: The Science of Uncertainty and Data

This free online college course for credit is offered by MIT, introducing learners to probability and developing your foundational knowledge of data science including random processes and the basic elements of statistical inference.

You will learn the various inference methods, calculations relating to probability, the basic structures and elements of probabilistic models and lots more.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is now being integrated with almost every modern gadget, devices in our homes, offices and schools. You can take part in this course to learn the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and how to apply them to solve real-world problems.

Following the spike in digital technology, this is one of the most popular free online college courses for credit and it is offered by the Columbia University. Through this course, you will gain skills in machine learning, algorithms, coding and programming.

Computational Photography

This is one of the best free online college courses you can find around for college credit and it is offered by the Georgia Institute of Technology and explores how computation impacts the entire workflow of photography, which is traditionally aimed at capturing light from a 3D scene to form a 2D image.

You will learn about the technical issues involved in photography and how to solve them also new forms of cameras and imaging paradigms will be introduced.

Media Law

This free online college course for credit is offered by NYU and teaches students how to build their expertise in legal frameworks and ethical issues surrounding design and digital media.

Through this course, you will learn the difference between ownership, sharing, borrowing, etc, and the relevant concepts of intellectual property as they apply to various creative practices and other legal ethics relating to the digital media.

Luxury Management

Luxurious business places such as hotels always boom as a result of the right kind of management. If you were treated right at a hotel you would love to come again and wouldn’t want to if you weren’t treated right. No one willingly goes to where he or he gets hurt or treated poorly.

Through this free online college course, you will not just gain college credit but you will also gain business strategy skills and marketing techniques needed in managing luxury brands within the hotel and tourism industry which will produce effective results and better position your services.

Operations Management

In this free online college course for credit, you will learn the fundamentals of operations management as they apply to both production and service-based operations.

After completing the course and passing the satisfactory score you can transfer the credit to your college course and also get to earn a certificate of completion.

Project Management

Project managers are considered the most important persons in the HR department, with the sole purpose to begin a project and execute it to produce positive, effective results that require a great deal of knowledge, skills and techniques.

You too can learn these project management skills by getting your hands on this free online college course for credit, you will understand the life cycle of a project to set priorities and expectations toe controlling expenses and reporting results.

World Regional Geography

This is an introductory course into geography where you get to study world regions by comparing their physical and cultural landscapes and studying other physical factors like location, climate, and terrain, and human factors like traditions, ethnicity, language, religion, economics and politics.

Taking this free online college courses for credit will make you get an understanding of geography before you enroll into college or if you are already enrolled you can do a credit transfer.

Introduction to Psychology

Through this free college course, you will possibly gain a college credit and as well gain basic knowledge of psychology, its fundamentals and principles.

You will through several topics including the history and methods of psychology, personality, social psychology, psychopathology, industrial and organizational psychology and many more topics on the subject matter that will give you a better understanding.

Introduction to Critical Thinking and Logic

This free college course provides an introduction to critical thinking, informal logic and a small amount of formal logic, providing you with the basic tools of analytical reasoning.

The course touches upon a wide range of reasoning skills, from verbal argument analysis to formal logic, verbal and statistical reasoning, and creative thinking.

By being part of this course, you will gain a distinctive edge in a wide variety of careers and courses which would help you to become a more perceptive reader, listener, writer and presenter, researcher, and scientist.

Calculus

Calculus can be thought of as the mathematics of change. The world is constantly changing and calculus helps to track those changes making it among the most important and useful developments of human thoughts.

You can start learning this course online now and also prepare yourself for it as you will come across the course over and over again in future mathematics courses and in all of the sciences.

College Success

This course offers new students an orientation to the college environment, equipping students with the skills, tools and resources for a successful, healthy, and happy college experience.

You will also understand how to apply various concepts you have learned from this course to your personal goals, and practice the skills you have learned by testing them in the college course you plan to take or are already taking.

This brings an end to my list of free online college courses for credit. Though this list should be kinda inexhaustible as new college-credit worthy free online courses creep out from time to time.

Conclusion

I decided to feature just about 20 of these courses on my list and the details of each of them have been given here as well.
These courses are free thus you don’t need to pay a dime for them and you can decide to take part in more than one.

These free online courses for college credit will give you first-hand experience on the course you are about to study in college or university so that when you finally enroll in the program it won’t be difficult for you to understand and advance quickly.

You can also take part in any of these free online college courses while enrolled in your degree program in college and do credit transfer of your course work.
Anyway, you have to note that credit transfer has various requirements and varies by institution, level and program of study.

Thus it is necessary that you make more research concerning credit transfer for your institution, and program and level of study. You can get information on that by talking to your lecturers or the dean of your faculty.

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One comment

  1. Thanks for this enlightenment, but they should include links to access the free course and also the college offering the free college credit. Thanks once again.

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