13 Hillsdale College Free Online Courses

Not every institution offers free online courses to students who may not have the opportunity to study on-campus. However, Hillsdale College offers online education to students who fall into this category for free. Thus, this article will list and explain the Hillsdale College free online courses.

Nowadays, online courses serve as a pathway for students and working professionals to pursue a career anywhere anytime. It enables students to study at their own pace while combining work and family commitments.

Meanwhile, Hillsdale College started offering free online courses to students in 2011 with the mission of educating people on civil and religious liberty. The online courses offer studies on politics, history, philosophy, literature, religion, and economics.

Does Hillsdale College offer online courses?

Yes. Hillsdale College offers numerous online courses. Most of the online courses are offered at no cost. You can find the free online courses as you continue reading below.

Hillsdale College Free Online Courses

At Hillsdale College, you will get several online courses that you can enroll for free and even acquire a certificate. Just like we said earlier, these courses teach about history, literature, politics & government in America, education, and religion.

Therefore, the Hillsdale College free online courses include:

  • Introduction to the Constitution
  • Constitution 101
  • The Presidency and the Constitution
  • Congress: Why It Worked and Why It Doesn’t
  • Great Books 101
  • Great Books 102
  • The Young Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey
  • Classic Children’s Literature
  • A Proper Understanding of K-12 Education
  • American Heritage
  • The Second World Wars
  • Theology 101
  • Economics 101

Introduction to the Constitution

The founders of the United States of America believed that the principles of the Declaration and the Constitution were not just mere preferences, however, they were truths that the sovereign and morals people of America could depend on as guidelines in their quest for happiness through ordered liberty.

As one of the Hillsdale College free online courses, Introduction to the Constitution features the principles of the American Founders. These principles are explained very well in the Declaration of Independence and key features of the American government based on those principles.

Additionally, the course explores the major challenges caused by Progressivism to American constitutionalism. It is administered by Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn.

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Constitution 101

In this course, you will learn about the meaning and history of the United States Constitution. It will also explore several original source documents from the Founding period such as the Declaration of Independence and The Federalist Papers.

You will also learn the challenges that the United States Constitution faced during the Civil War including the institution of slavery and the rise of Progressivism. The course will tell you how the limited government under the Constitution can be revived.

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The Presidency and the Constitution

The Presidency and the Constitution is one of the Hillsdale College free online courses. In this course, you will learn the structure and functions of executive power in the American constitutional order.

The course starts with the role of the president in the constitutionalism of the Founding Fathers and explores how the president’s role has changed with the rise of the modern Progressive administrative state.

It is administered by the Faculty of Politics, Hillsdale College.

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Congress: How It Worked and Why It Doesn’t

At the beginning of the 20th century, Progressives introduced new conceptions of Congress and the legislative power. This led to a huge and ceaseless transfer of legislative authority bureaucratic agencies that were not accountable.

Consequently, this course will help you to understand how Congress has been transformed over the past century, the legislative power and how Congress should work, the Progressive rejection of that understanding, and how that rejection has affected American politics.

This course is offered by Kevin Portteus (a professor of politics at Hillsdale College) and Larry P. Arnn (President of Hillsdale College).

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Great Books 101

In this course, you will learn about the great books from antiquity to the medieval period. The course also examines the writings of Homer, St. Augustine, Dante, etc. Through this course, you will be able to learn human nature, virtue, self-government, and liberty in the pages of the great books.

Contained in this course are eleven lectures and they include Literature and the Liberal Arts, Homer’s Iliad, Homer’s Odyssey, Sophocles – Oedipus Rex, Virgil – the Aeneid, The David Story (1 and 2 Samuel & 1 Kings 1-2), The Book of Job, Saint Augustine – Confessions, Dante – Inferno, Chaucer – Canterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

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Great Books 102

Great Books 102, one of the Hillsdale College free online courses, explores the great books from the Renaissance through the modern era. The course will examine the writings of Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Austen, Twain, etc.

Through this course, you will be able to learn human nature, virtue, self-government, and liberty in the pages of the great books.

The course contains eleven lectures and it takes an average of forty (40) minutes to complete one lecture.

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The Young Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey

This course examines Jane Austen’s first novel, Northanger Abbey. The novel was published after her death and it imitates the romanticized fiction popular in Austen’s day.

A close study of Jane Austen’s ebullient writings reveals timeless truths about human nature and illuminates the beauty of everyday life.

This course contains six lectures and each lecture takes an average of twenty-nine (29) minutes to complete.

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Classic Children’s Literature

This course gives both the young and old insight into the world and human nature. Through beautiful narratives and vivid characters, the course uses stories to prepare young people in order to accept the truth and encourage them to embrace virtue.

The course has nine lectures including Aesop’s Fables, the Moral Imagination, Beauty and the Beast, the Snow Queen, the Wind in the Willows, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Stories of Beatrix Potter & A.A. Milne, and Treasure Island. It takes an average of twenty-three (23) minutes to complete each lecture.

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A Proper Understanding of K-12 Education

The Founders of America realized that education is very important because it offers the knowledge required to maintain a free government. As a result, this course will examine the ancient understanding of the aim of education, the modern Progressive approach of education that has dominated presently, and some fundamental elements of K-12 education.

This course comprises twelve lectures with an average of thirty-five (35) minutes for each lecture.

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American Heritage

The United States of America declared its independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. They did so while acting under the authority of “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”. America was founded on the principle that “all men are created equal”.

Hence, this free online course will explore America’s history from the period of the colonial masters to the modern era including major challenges to the founders’ principles.

The course contains ten (10) lectures including the study of American history, colonial settlement, enlightenment & great awakening, American Founding, Jacksonian Democracy, the crisis of the union, Western expansion, Progressivism, Post-1960s America, and America as World Power.

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The Second World Wars

World War II happens to be the greatest armed conflict in the history of the world and it comprised fighting all over the world in extraordinary ways.

In this course, you will get to know the Allied and Axis investments and tactics employed by one side to win and the other side to lose during World War II. Additionally, the course explores how the war’s diverse theaters, belligerents, and ways of fighting

This course analyzes Allied and Axis investments and strategies that led one side to win and the other to lose. It also considers how the war’s diverse theaters, belligerents, and fighting strategies defined a single war.

The course contains seven lectures including the Stakes of World War II, Air, Water, Earth, Fire, People, and Ends. It takes an average of forty-nine (49) minutes to complete each lecture. 

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Theology 101

The Western theological tradition dates back to the time of the ancient Hebrews many years ago. Consequently, the theological tradition has made a huge effect on the development of Western Civilization.

In this course, you will learn about the origins and development of Western religious theology from the Old Testament through the twentieth century.

This course contains ten (10) lectures and it takes an average of 36 minutes to complete each lecture. The lectures in the course include:

  • Theology at Hillsdale College
  • The God of Grace in Judaism and the Hebrew Bible
  • The God of Grace in Christianity and the New Testament
  • God and Grace in Trinitarian Controversy
  • The Life of Grace and the Pelagian Controversy
  • Thomas Aquinas on Nature, Grace, and Life in God
  • Martin Luther on Justification
  • The Council of Trent on Justification
  • Christianity and the Enlightenment
  • Knowing God in the Twentieth Century

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Economics 101

In this course, you will learn about the basic principles of the free market. The course will explore the relationship of supply and demand, the information problem behind the failure of central planning, the rise of macroeconomics under the influence of John Maynard Keynes, and the 2008 financial crisis.

Contained in this course are ten (10) lectures with an average of thirty-three (33) minutes for each lecture. The lectures include Free Market Economics and the American Founding, How Markets Work, Understanding Demand, Supply & Equilibrium, the Role of Profit, Incentive and the “Information Problem”, Keynesianism & Macroeconomics, Monetary Theory, Case Study: The Great Recession, and Restoring Economic Liberty.

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