Harvard University free online courses | Top 5 courses for students!

Harvard University free online courses | An overview

Harvard University has introduced free online courses that allow students from all parts of the world to access high-quality education and study under an esteemed panel of faculty. The University offers courses on all subjects like Social Science, Humanities, Business, Mathematics, Programming, and Computer Science, to name a few.

Why Harvard University?

Often touted as the best university globally, the students of this university have access to top-notch research institutes and faculty. The courses enable students to explore unknown terrains, ask pertinent questions, and better themselves every day. 

A degree from Harvard is highly sought after in the professional world, and it is easier to get a high-paying and secure job. 

While financial aid and scholarships make education affordable, the costs of living in Massachusetts are high, not to mention often tricky. Additionally, it might not always be possible for students to visit or live in the United States of America.

Hence, Harvard University has introduced free online courses, and and we have listed 5 of them-

5 best Harvard University free online courses

1. CS50 Introduction to game development

This free course is from the field of Computer Science and teaches students about 2D and 3D game developments. Lectures are on animation, sound, and 2D and 3D graphics, and languages like Lua and C# as well. Students also learn by examining popular games like Pokemon, Super Mario Bros, and Angry Birds. By the end of the course, students will have designed their personalized games.

• Course duration: 12 weeks
• Time commitment: 6-9 hours a week
• Course language: English
• Difficulty level: Intermediate
• Fee: Free for all. However, $199 for a Harvard-verified certificate 

2. Leaders of learning

The Leaders of Learning is pertinent to the field of Business and aims to inspire future leaders. Students have tools to explore and form their theories of learning and leadership. Students learn about what leadership looks like in various sectors. They learn things like how the learning structure reflects an organization, how to define their theory of learning, why physical and digital learning is essential, how neurosciences will eventually influence the future of learning, how we learn, what we learn, why we learn, and where we learn all influence our leadership skills.

• Course duration: 10 weeks
• Time commitment: 2-4 hours a week
• Course language: English
• Difficulty level: Introductory
• Fee: Free for all. But $139 for a Harvard-verified certificate 

3. The health effects of climate change

One of the most important courses to learn in today’s world- The Health Effects of Climate Change. It educates students about how human health is influenced and impacted by global warming and how these impacts can be mitigated. The course also tackles the impact climate change has on nutrition, migration, and the research methods used to identify the same. Additionally, strategies adopted to help humans adapt to the changes in the climate are also discussed and taught.  

• Course duration: 7 weeks
• Time commitment: 3-5 hours a week
• Course language: English
• Difficulty level: Introductory
• Fee: Free for all. However, $149 for a Harvard-verified certificate 

4. Religion, conflict, and peace

Under this Harvard University free online course, students are taught about the role that religion plays in both maintaining peace, and in inciting violence. Religion is deeply embedded and rooted in all human cultures, and students learn how to interpret religion’s role in modern conflicts. All religions are internally diverse, and students of the course learn how to identify religion’s changing and evolving aspects. The students will study and examine the conflicts and assess the impacts on other areas like education, commerce, and public health.

Religion has played a critical role in fostering violence and promoting peace, and religious institutions also play a role in this. Also, students will study the media dimensions and whether the stimulated thoughts are accurate. Countries like Egypt, France, Brazil, Israel, Nigeria, Turkey, Syria, Somalia, Palestine, and the United States of America are studied.

The course is open to all and is ideal for journalists, public healthcare workers, government officials, and foreign service officers who wish to understand religion’s role. 

• Course duration: 8 weeks
• Time commitment: 4-8 hours a week
• Course language: English
• Difficulty level: Introductory
• Fee: Free for all. In case of a Harvard-verified certificate, $99.

5. CS50 For Lawyers

Under the field of Computer Science, CS50 for Lawyers is an important course that teaches them about cybersecurity, cryptography, data structure and algorithms, computational thinking, challenges faced due to law and technology, and even programming languages. These topics and theories enable students to prepare legal arguments from a technical perspective. Students learn the legal implications of their clients’ technological decisions and languages like SQL and Python. 

• Course duration: 10 weeks
• Time commitment: 3-6 hours a week
• Course language: English
• Difficulty level: Introductory
• Fee: Free for all. $199 for a Harvard verified certificate 

Key takeaways

• Harvard is one of the most premier universities in the world.
• You don’t have to travel to the US and shell out a fortune to get an educational degree from Harvard.
• Harvard offers free courses online that are available to anyone and everyone.
• These courses include purely academic as well as vocational courses.
• The course duration spans 7-12 weeks, and students must dedicate 4-6 hours a week to their studies.
• In case you want a certificate, you would have to pay a specified fee.

We hope you enjoyed reading this blog. In case of any related queries, reach out to us or drop a comment below!

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FAQs

Q1. Are Harvard University free online courses free of charge?

Answer- Yes, the courses offered by Harvard University are free of charge. However, if you wish to get a verified certificate from the university, there is a small sum of money that must be paid for. The amount is mentioned in the course details for every course.

Q2. How is the faculty of the Harvard University free online courses?

Answer- Like all the other courses, the faculty teaching the free courses are world-renowned, having earned many accolades in their respective fields of work. Students need not worry about their credentials, as they are all experts in their respective fields.

Q3. How much time do I have to give to the course?

Answer- The course details contain all information regarding the course duration. Students must give time and also pay attention to gain maximum benefit and knowledge from Harvard University free online courses.