Why pay for college when you can take college courses for free?
WeLl, there is one good reason. Universities may be willing to give away courses but not degrees. You want the piece of paper, that’ll cost you. But, that doesn’t negate the real benefit that can be had from all the free courses that are available.

So, what kind of courses are available?
Far more than we can list here and more than you can imagine, from hard science like Computational Mathematics for Aeronautical Engineering to business and finance classes to history and philosophy. Some are full college courses and some are more like short seminars.

Which universities offer the free class?
Thanks in large part to (but not entirely) the OpenCourseWare Consortium, there are a number of prestigious schools offering their courses for free including:

Carnegie Mellon University

Kutztown University’s Small Business Development Center

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Notre Dame

Stanford University

Tufts University

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Irvine

Utah State University

 

If you’re interested in courses from schools outside the U.S.A., check out the list of OpenCourseWare Consortium members. There are universities from well over a dozen nations from all over the world that participate.

 

WAYS TO BENEFIT FROM FREE ONLINE COURSES:

1. Brush up on skills or knowledge you already have

2. College jump-start for high school students

3. Certification preparation

4. Pre-enrollment taste of major or minor courses

5. Between semesters education

6. Preparation for job advancement or lateral move

7. Impress your friends with your incredible knowledge

8. Keep your mind sharp after retirement

9. Explore career change

When you consider the things you usually do with your free-time, there are few things that can be doing that are as potentially advantageous as taking a free online course.