Free Courses

Learn about the Earth, life, and how we can search for life elsewhere in the universe.

Explore how entrepreneurs build successful businesses by moving technology from lab to market.

Discover Handel’s Messiah in this installment of First Nights, which will explore five masterpieces of western music.

Explore the roles that microbes play in the production, preservation, and enhancement of diverse foods in a variety of culinary traditions, and learn about the history of food fermentations.

Explore the underlying structures of everyday arguments and develop the tools to communicate effectively.

Study Baroque and Classical opera through Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Mozart’s Don Giovanni

Gain an understanding of history, museum studies, and curation by looking at, organizing, and interpreting art, artifacts, scientific curiosities, and the stuff of everyday life.

Understanding the context for the Ebola outbreak: What went right, what went wrong, and how we can all do better.

Learn about the opioid epidemic in the United States, including information about treatment and recovery from opioid addiction.

Learn to use machine learning in Python in this introductory course on artificial intelligence.

An introduction to programming using Python, a popular language for general-purpose programming, data science, web programming, and more.

Learn about the forces in American politics that seek to influence the electorate and shift the political landscape.

A gentle introduction to programming that prepares you for subsequent courses in coding.

Embark on a global journey to explore the past, present, and future of world literature.

Explore the birth of modern China with a focus on the time between the fall of the Qing and the end of World War II.

How can we eradicate malaria? Explore cutting-edge science and technology, and examine policies needed, to control and eliminate malaria.

Learn about the rich diversity of Hindu sacred texts – hymns, narratives, philosophical thought – and their interpretations.

Learn to use R programming to apply linear models to analyze data in life sciences.

Learn about Christianity through a study of its sacred scriptures. We will explore how diverse Christians have interpreted these writings and practiced their teachings over a 2000 year, global history.

An exploration of the haunting figure at the heart of one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays.

Top chefs and Harvard researchers explore how traditional and modernist cooking techniques can illuminate basic principles in chemistry, physics, and engineering. Learn about elasticity, viscosity, mayonnaise, baking, and more!

Learn about the key beliefs and practices of Judaism through an examination of its sacred texts and their interpretation.

Learn the significance of electrochemistry, understanding how electrical, chemical, and mechanical energy are linked.

Why should we care about Confucius? Explore ancient Chinese philosophy, ethics, and political theory to challenge your assumptions of what it means to be happy, live a meaningful life, and change the world.

Explore the Maoist period of China, from the Communist Party to the death of Mao and the reopening of China.

Use the case study method to study China from the rise of Deng Xiaoping to the present.

Learn about the Quran, the central sacred text of Islam, through an exploration of the rich diversity of roles and interpretations in Muslim societies.

Develop skills in digital research and visualization techniques across subjects and fields within the humanities.

Explore and understand your own theories of learning and leadership.

Learn the fascinating history of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, one of the most challenging and rewarding ballets ever written.