Free Courses

Learn about Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, one of the first operas ever written.

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.

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

Top chefs and Harvard researchers explore how everyday cooking and haute cuisine can illuminate basic principles in chemistry, physics, and engineering. Learn about food molecules and how chemical reactions can affect food texture and flavor.

Learn the principles guiding humanitarian response to modern emergencies, and the challenges faced in the field today.

Reimagine global health problems with some of the leading global health thinkers and actors through a case-based biosocial framework.

Happiness is within your control. Write your own ending.

Learn about the rich and diverse beliefs and practices of Buddhists across time and place. Experience Buddhism through its scriptures, both relationally as well as academically.

Learn how to protect children from violence, exploitation, and neglect through law, policy, and practice in a human rights framework.

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

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

Examine how great modern writers capture the intricacies of our globalized world and how their works circulate within that world to find their own audiences.

An introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming.

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

An overview of divination systems, ranging from ancient Chinese bone burning to modern astrology.

Explore the ethical controversies of financial markets.

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

Learn how to create, read, update, and delete data with relational databases.

Join Harvard University instructor Pavlos Protopapas in this online course to learn how to use Python to harness and analyze data.

Apply tools of single-variable calculus to create and analyze mathematical models used by real practitioners in social, life, and physical sciences.

Learn fundamental principles of architecture — as an academic subject or a professional career — by studying some of history’s most important buildings.

Learn about successful collaborations between families and educators and why they lead to improved outcomes for students and schools.

Explore the impact of the conquest dynasties and the world of the Ming.

An in-depth look at the 1854 London cholera epidemic in Soho and its importance for the field of epidemiology.

Learn advanced approaches to genomic visualization, reproducible analysis, data architecture, and exploration of cloud-scale consortium-generated genomic data.

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

Access to healthcare services is critical – but is it enough?

Learn to deliver high-quality primary health care at scale through national community health worker programs.

Explore acts of storytelling in Shakespeare’s Othello alongside world-class artists who interpret Othello’s story in new forms and contexts today.

Learn skills and tools that support data science and reproducible research, to ensure you can trust your own research results, reproduce them yourself, and communicate them to others.