The Open University offers 900+ free online courses via their OpenLearn platform. And these include free certificates of completion, and sometimes, badges.
Having completed a bachelor’s degree with the Open University, I (Manoel) can attest to the quality of their courses, which cover a wide variety of subjects, ranging from arts and language to science and technology.
In this Class Central article, we discuss OpenLearn, their free online course offerings, and how you can earn free certificates and badges.
Platform
Launched in 2006, OpenLearn is the OpenCourseWare (OCW) platform of the Open University, the world’s first distance-learning university and one of Europe’s largest academic institutions, founded in 1969 following a push by the UK government to make higher education more accessible.
OpenLearn takes the form of a catalog of open educational resources (OER), including articles, podcasts, videos — and more than 900 free online courses.
Since the platform focuses on openness, you don’t actually need to create an account to access the learning materials. That said, if you do create an account, you’ll be able to save your progress, and upon finishing a course, you’ll unlock a free certificate of completion.
Courses
OpenLearn offers a wide variety of courses, as you can see above.
All the courses are on-demand, meaning they don’t have specific start and end dates. And they’re released under the Creative Commons license, meaning you can freely use the course materials in non-commercial contexts.
These can be broken down into three levels (introductory, intermediate, and advanced) and a range of subjects. Reference on the shortcuts for a selection of courses:
- Information Security (InfoSec)
- Education & Teaching
- Computer Science
- Science
- Business
- Personal Development
- Health & Medicine
- Social Sciences
- Engineering
- Humanities
- Art & Design
- Mathematics
- Data Science
- Programming
Courses interleave readings, video, and audio materials, and they supplement them with auto-graded assignments, such as quizzes comprising multiple choice questions, as you can see above.
You can find the full list of free OpenLearn courses here. While most courses are in English, 36 courses are in Welsh and 4 in Ukranian.
Free Certificates: How to Earn One
The online courses offered on OpenLearn include a free certificate of completion like the one above. And some courses also include a free badge.
Here’s how to take a course on OpenLearn and earn free certificates and badges:
- Create an OpenLearn account here
- Find an an OpenLearn course here
- Enroll and finish the course.
As you work your way through the course materials and assignments, you’ll tick items off your course to-do list, and upon reaching 100% completion, you’ll unlock your free certificate.
Information Security (InfoSec)
- Introduction to cyber security: stay safe online ★★★★★(19)
- Information security ★★★★★(11)
- Digital forensics ★★★★★(4)
- Network security ★★★★★(3)
- Learning from major cyber security incidents ★★★★★(2)
Education & Teaching
- Learning to teach: mentoring and tutoring student teachers ★★★★★(12)
- Learning to teach: making sense of learning to teach ★★★★★(2)
- Developing Reading for Pleasure: engaging young readers ★★★★★(2)
- Accessibility of eLearning ★★★★★(2)
- Learning to teach: becoming a reflective practitioner ★★★★★(1)
Computer Science
- IT in everyday life ★★★★★(11)
- Introducing ICT systems ★★★★★(2)
- Successful IT systems ★★★★★(2)
- Astronomy: images of the Universe ★★★★★(2)
- Introducing computing and IT ★★★★★(1)
Science
- Forensic science and fingerprints ★★★★☆(11)
- Microbes – friend or foe? ★★★★☆(8)
- Discovering chemistry ★★★★★(5)
- Climate change: transitions to sustainability ★★★★★(3)
- Social construction and social constructionism ★★★★☆(3)
Business
- Project governance and Project Management Office (PMO) ★★★★★(9)
- Developing your skills as an HR professional ★★★★☆(9)
- Step up to leadership ★★★★★(9)
- Supply chain sustainability ★★★★★(7)
- Data analysis: visualisations in Excel ★★★☆☆(6)
Personal Development
- Sure, I know how to talk to people! ★★★★★(8)
- The importance of interpersonal skills ★★★★★(6)
- Exploring anxiety ★★★★★(1)
- Justice, fairness and mediation ★★★★★(1)
- Translation as a career ★★★★☆(1)
Health & Medicine
- Public health approaches to infectious disease ★★★★☆(8)
- Drug development process: combating pain ★★★★★(6)
- Birth of a drug ★★★★☆(5)
- Exploring issues in women’s health ★★★★★(3)
- Introduction to adolescent mental health ★★★★★(2)
Social Sciences
- Introduction to child psychology ★★★★★(7)
- Psychological research, obedience and ethics ★★★★☆(6)
- Critical criminology and the social sciences ★★★★☆(4)
- Software and the law ★★★★★(4)
- The body: a phenomenological psychological perspective ★★★★★(3)
Engineering
- Energy resources: solar energy ★★★★★(7)
- An introduction to electronics ★★★★★(2)
- Digital communications ★★★★★(2)
- The science of nuclear energy ★★★★★(2)
- Engineering: environmental fluids ★★★★★(2)
Humanities
- Getting started with French 1 ★★★★☆(6)
- The business of football ★★★★★(6)
- Everyday English 1 ★★★★★(5)
- Language and creativity ★★★★★(4)
- Getting started with Spanish 1 ★★★★★(3)
Art & Design
- An introduction to music theory ★★★★★(3)
- Dance skills ★★★★★(2)
- Sound for music technology: An introduction ★★★☆☆(1)
- Musée du Louvre ★★☆☆☆(1)
- Approaching plays ★★★★★(1)
Mathematics
- Introduction to linear equations and matrices ★★★★☆(3)
- Mathematics for science and technology ★★★★★(1)
- Geometry ★★★★★(1)
- Number theory ★★★★★(1)
- Introduction to number theory ★★☆☆☆(1)
Data Science
- Visualisation: visual representations of data and information ★★★★★(2)
- Learn to code for data analysis
- Learn to code for data analysis
- Diagrams, charts and graphs
- Digital thinking tools for better decision making
Programming
- An introduction to software development ★★★★★(2)
- An introduction to web applications architecture ★★★☆☆(1)
- Software development for enterprise systems ★★★★★(1)
- Getting started with SPSS ★★★★★(1)
- Approaches to software development
More Free Certificates
If you don’t find what you need in the course lists above, browse Class Central’s catalog of 250K courses or visit our thematic collections: You can find all the Class Central free certificate articles here.
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