10 Free Online Courses You Can Study In Harvard University

About Harvard University:

Harvard University is an ivy league university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1936. It’s amongst the most prestigious universities in the world and the oldest university in the U.S. Harvard began online courses in 1977 via radio and television, and in 2012 Harvard university partnered with edX. Harvard offers nearly 1,000 courses online as well as free online courses. The online school is fully accredited by the university and can always be included in your resume.

A major aim of Harvard university is to achieve excellence and inculcate knowledge and skills through teaching globally and this has been realistic not only through physical learning but also through E-learning.  You can access Harvard’s free online courses via edX on LinkedIn, and Google scholar, the courses can be accessed at any time from the comfort of your home. You can earn a certificate for a small fee upon completion of the course.

Harvard Online:

Harvard Online is an initiative of Harvard University. The quest to join the world of Online Education facilitators enjoined them to formulate an extensive catalogue of courses for learners all around the globe. These courses are predicated on qualitative global expertise and research, they have well-curated series of courses that cut across all disciplines and faculties in Harvard, Harvard business school, law school and Harvard School of Medicine inclusive.

Each of these courses was developed by Harvard’s Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning (VPAL). VPAL seeks to shape the future of education by discovering new ways to build the competence, curiosity, and confidence of learners on campuses and around the world. Harvard Online develop engaging and scalable learning experiences to inspire and connect to a global community of learners while developing tools, technologies, platforms, and policies to reduce friction throughout the learning lifecycle.

Here’s a List of Free Online Courses Offered at Harvard University

As stated earlier, Harvard offers hundreds of free online courses, they Include courses in Business, Arts and Design, Computer science, Education, Health and Medicine, Humanities, Culture, History, Mathematics, Programming, Social science, Law, etc.

1. Data Science for Business

Harvard University offers a free online course on Data Science for Business for 4 weeks. This course will expose you to the efficient use of data in making business decisions, unlike the traditional way of using spreadsheets thereby enabling you to become a better manager. At the end of this course, you’ll be able to identify data mistakes and point out missing components, formulate hypotheses and understand how to build a data-driven framework. Also, you will be able to understand data science language across linear regressions, machine learning and forecasting themes. To get your certificate at the end of the course, you will pay a sum of $1600

2. Introduction to Computer Science

Introduction to Computer Science is another free online course that exposes you to the world of computer science and the art of programming. Whether you have an existing knowledge of programming or not, the course would be taught with detailed introductory lessons. This online course is an entry-level course taught by David J. Malan, CS50x teaches students how to think algorithmically and solve problems efficiently. Topics that would be taught include abstraction, algorithms, data structures, encapsulation, resource management, security, software engineering, and web development. Languages include C, Python, SQL, and JavaScript plus CSS and HTML. Problem sets are inspired by real-world domains of biology, cryptography, finance, forensics, and gaming. The on-campus version of CS5, CS50, is Harvard’s largest course.

3. Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies

This course is a business and management course taught by professor Tarun Khanna of the Harvard Business School. The focus of this course is on individual agency, and what can you do to address a defined problem. While we will use the lens of health to explore entrepreneurial opportunities, you will learn how both problems and solutions are inevitable of a multi-disciplinary nature, and we will draw on a range of sectors and fields of study. Through this free online course, you will learn how to tackle complex social problems in emerging economies. Entrepreneurship in emerging economics was formulated by Harvard Business School to help people learn about the various attempts to address social problems, identify points of opportunity for smart entrepreneurial efforts, and propose and develop their creative solutions in this Harvard online course. The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world.

4. Data Science: Machine Learning

With this free online course, you can learn the science behind popular and successful data science and techniques. It is an 8-week online course with topics in machine learning, Algorithms and Data science. You earn a professional certificate upon completing the course.

5. The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking

The art of persuasive writing and public speaking is also one of the free online courses facilitated by Harvard Online. The course will enable you to learn how to analyze to gain communication skills, and skills in writing and public speaking. It is an 8- week course. You’ll learn how to differentiate between argument and rhetorical analysis. You will learn how to construct a compelling argument in this free online course, and how to persuade an audience to align with your point of view.  This ability will help you engage in civil discourse and make effective changes in society. Even outside the political sphere, conveying a convincing message can benefit you throughout your personal, public, and professional lives.

6. Exercising Leadership Foundational Principles

Through Online Education, this Harvard Online course focuses on implementing digital health care by adopting innovative frameworks and implementing digital transformations. The general belief is that the future of health care is digital because digital technologies and big data offer tremendous opportunities to improve health care. Digital Health is taught by Harvard Medical School faculty.

8. Justice

This free online course is taught by the famous Harvard professor Michael Sandel. The course critically examines the classical and contemporary theories of justice, as well as how to incorporate them into everyday activities. Justice will feature topics like affirmative action, income distribution, the role of the market, sex, marriage, human rights and property rights. Additionally, the course will touch on the arguments for and against equality, and dilemmas of loyalty in public and private life.

The principal readings for the course are texts by Aristotle, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, and John Rawls. Other assigned readings include writings by contemporary philosophers, court cases, and articles about political controversies that raise philosophical questions. The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world. At the end of the course, online learners would be able to have a deeper understanding on:

• The fundamentals of political philosophy.
• An understanding of social justice and criminal justice, and the roles they play in the modern justice system.
• A deeper sense of the philosophy that underlies modern issues such as affirmative action same-sex marriage, and equality.
• The ability to better articulate and evaluate philosophical arguments and ask philosophical questions

9. Introduction to Game Development

Here you explore game designs such as Super Mario, Pokémon, Angry birds, Dread halls, etc. The duration of the course is 12 weeks. It involves programming, game designs and development and animation.

10. Contract Law: From Trust to Promise to Contract

This course is for 8 weeks. It covers specific areas of law and the law of contract. You learn how to form a valid contract in this course and remedies for a breach of Contract and the ability of a third party to enforce a contract. It is taught by a professor at Harvard law school who has been teaching for more than half a decade. This contract law course, with new materials and updated case examples, is designed to introduce the range of issues that arise when entering and enforcing contracts. It will provide an introduction to what a contract is and also analyze the purpose and significance of contracts. Then, it will discuss the intent to create legal relations, legality and morality, and the distinction between gifts and bargains. The course also investigates common pitfalls: one-sided promises, mistakes, fraud, and frustration. With the knowledge of what makes contracts and how they can go wrong, Professor Fried will discuss remedies and specific performance. Finally, Professor Fried will introduce how contracts can create rights for third parties.

In Conclusion

It is worth noting that Harvard Online provides a great avenue to learn with qualified professors from the comfort of your home for free, all that is required of you is to braze yourself and absorb every knowledge you are given. It is certainly a good thing to be able to learn the online course above for free, all you have to pay for is your certificate and dedicate time to attend scheduled classes.