Are there ANY free courses in anything?

bundly

I loved being an OU student and miss it terribly. I've got my degree now but I don't want to give up studying. However, to carry on with the OU will cost me thousands. (Grants and loans only apply to your first degree - and I self-financed mine.)

So my question is (and I am expecting the answer "no") is there anywhere at all that I can study for free, or for very little cost, but which awards some kind of diploma or certificate? And this would be distance learning not attending.

I don't really mind what I study as I have a very wide range of interests. This would not be vocational, just for the love of learning.

Thanks for any replies

Bundly.

agrinnall

You need to check out MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), many of which are free, and some are offered by prestigious universities such as MIT. Try this for starters.

http://www.mooc-list.com/

mrcow

Why do you need a certificate or diploma?

That's not going to show or prove anything. As long as you are learning, isn't that the point?

Assuming that it is, then this is the the type of place you are looking for:

https://www.futurelearn.com/

bundly

Wow! Thanks so much! I had no idea such a list existed. This is the beauty of this forum - you doubt such a thing exists, but you ask anyway. On MOOC I immediately saw four courses I would love to do and have already signed up for two of them.

mrcow I don't like your comment about certificates one bit. But thanks for the link.

DomRavioli

Hi OP,

You're unlikely to get anything free as you have a degree - saying that, you may find coursera useful (there are courses from such places as MIT, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge and others, in any subject you could think of!) but they don't do certificates.

unfortunately funding is limited to those who have few or no qualifications; as you have a degree you may find it difficult.

bundly

DomRavioli wrote: »

Hi OP,

You're unlikely to get anything free as you have a degree

Thanks to the links above, I've found hundreds. Wish I'd started a couple of years ago... SO many interesting courses. I've signed up for Richard III and also introduction to forensics already!

SeduLOUs

Open University do loads of free courses aswell. http://www.open.edu/openlearn/about-openlearn/try

lazer

Here is more free ones

http://alison.com/

vivatifosi

bundly wrote: »

Thanks to the links above, I've found hundreds. Wish I'd started a couple of years ago... SO many interesting courses. I've signed up for Richard III and also introduction to forensics already!

Good luck bundly! Sorry, have only just discovered this thread.

I've done five MOOCs (with certificates). They are great fun. The only advice I would give is to take your time and not sign up for everything at the same time, that way you don't get stressed out by deadlines. Or don't be afraid to drop a course you know will be offered again later if you struggle doing more than one at once.

The other interesting thing is that you start seeing the same people in other courses and make new aquaintances from all over the world with similar interests. I've taken three Coursera and two EdX courses. Personally I prefer the Coursera courses, I find their format slightly better.

If it is important to get a certificate, then you may want to try the verified route if it is very important. There is a small cost, but nothing compared to doing the course at college. They are about £25 for a verified course, though you can get the same course for free if you don't mind an unverified certificate. Please note that not all courses are verified.