How to Achieve a Free University Education in Just About Any Field

This trick will change your self-education forever

If you’re like me, you probably have at least half a dozen university degrees you wish you’d had time to do. After all these years, you still wish you’d done the physics degree, or the computer science degree, or the medieval history degree one of your friends did.

But, in the end, it doesn’t really make sense for most of us to pay for several bachelor’s degrees and a few masters degrees. What we really want is the knowledge gained by doing that degree, and the extra pieces of paper are just novelties that probably won’t be used in our careers.

That’s why this trick is so good. It’s all information, no student loans. And no assignments.

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself“ — John Dewey

Also, I previously shared how to get an MBA for free, and this next tip is all about expanding on that idea. And as I said in that article, even if you’re planning on doing a certain degree later, it’s actually a really good idea to do some thorough reading before you start.

You never know — this trick might help you discover what you really want to study and which university offers the best degree for you!

Start With a Search

A good start is to throw your course keywords into Google with “reading list” tagged onto the end. That will get you many articles about ideal reading lists for first-year students to read in advance. Some of these lists will be from reputable universities who are trying to prepare their students. All of these lists, however, are great lists of books to read to build your overall knowledge on the topic, usually with popular non-fiction titles that are really interesting to read. However, they’re not usually the deep, structured education you’re looking for from a university degree.

The Keyword With The Golden Ticket

Now try that search again, but this time add “Talis” to the end of it.

Boom.

Now the party starts.

You see, Talis is a resource list maker used by universities worldwide, and most of the lists these universities make using the Talis service are made public to view by anyone anywhere.

So now, instead of finding blog posts about popular non-fiction on the topic you’re finding details of the exact textbooks and academic journal readings assigned to classes studying that course.

Hint: Another keyword to try is “Leganto”. Same deal.

Find Reading Lists with Downloadable .ris Files

If you’re academic enough to have spent a lot of time using Zotero, Mendeley, Endnote or Paperpile, the idea of getting a .ris file for this reading list you just found is probably already making you salivate just a little. This is because those neat little .ris files can be imported directly into the programs above and stored in a folder with the course name on it ready to be read later.

If you’re still connected to an academic institution, you can then use your own library access to read the books and papers on the list in your own time. If not, you can try to source the textbooks second-hand and see if Google Scholar has links to PDFs of the journal papers (as it often does).

And Now For Some Real Fun

Now, don’t navigate away from that Talis list just yet… because this is your lucky day. Finding that first Talis list was just step one.

Next, you want to visit that university’s Talis home page (the link will be in the top left), which has a browsable directory of ALL of their Talis lists on every subject they offer (click the “browse hierarchy” link). From the one keyword Talis list you found, suddenly you’ve opened up their entire department structure, including whatever they have from Science, Engineering, Medicine, Humanities, Law, or Business. Sometimes you have to dig around a bit under unfamiliar department names to find the lists, but it’s really worth looking!

On a hyper-focused level, this means you can find introductory courses for your topic, and then progress to higher level courses on that topic, being sure to label your folders so you know which order to study them in.

On a macro level, you’ve just hit the jackpot and found hundreds of university courses you can study for free.

And if you also happen to browse the Talis reading list hierarchy of the university you’re currently studying with, you can be fairly sure you’ll have access to most of the books and papers.

Check Out The Library Lists

While you’re there, don’t skip the library lists. Librarians have been playing with Talis every day since they first had access to it, and they’ve usually created really interesting lists around various themes, such as International Women’s day, Halloween, Critical Thinking, Black History Month, Pride, and World Environment Day. Even if they were created a few years ago, these lists are still a curated gift to whoever is interested in reading them.

Search the Lists

Just because you can browse Talis doesn’t mean that it’s the best way to find things. Be sure to use the search tool as well, as some courses get so buried in folders that you might never find them.

And Now, The Ultimate List of University Reading Lists

As you may have guessed, I’ve been crawling my way through the Talis reading lists of many universities. So, as a little bonus for you, here are a few links to some great Talis directory collections from universities all over the world.

• Victoria University of Wellington: Latin, Architecture, Law, Health, Education, Research, Humanities, Science, Business, Government, and Social Science.
• Imperial College London: Medicine, Business, Chemistry, Humanities, Engineering, Computing, Earth Science, Physics, Education, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Environment, Infectious Disease, Aeronautics, Genome-Based Therapeutics, Bioinformatics, and Genomics.
• University of Essex: Humanities, Social Science, Business, Art History, and Theatre.
• UWE Bristol: Arts, Education, Business, Law, Environment, Technology, Health, and Applied Sciences.
• University of Leicester: Arts, Humanities, Law, Science, Engineering, and Social Sciences.
• University of Leeds: Mathematics, Engineering, Philosophy, Linguistics, Geography, Classics, Communications, Science, Biology, Physics, Astrophysics, Business, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, and Psychology.
• Kings College London: Law, Dentistry, Humanities, Arts, Mathematics, Science, Nursing, Midwifery, Social Science, Psychiatry, Psychology, Neuroscience, Public Policy, Palliative Care, and Business.
• Manchester Metropolitan University: Accounting, Finance, Economics, Banking, Architecture, Business, Biomedical, Chemistry, Education, Computing, Mathematics, Contemporary Arts, Professional Development, Design, Engineering, Life Sciences, Media, Sports, Food, Natural Sciences, History, Hospitality, Tourism, Business, Management, Marketing, Economics, Health, Politics, Human Resources, Fashion, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Law, Social Work, Psychology, Philosophy, Sociology, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship.
• University of Bristol: Arts, Biomedical, Engineering, Health Sciences, Science, Social Sciences and Law.
• University of Tasmania: Arts, Law, Education, Business, Health, Medicine, Science, and Engineering.
• University of Queensland: Business, Economics, Law, Medicine, Health, Humanities, Social Science, Architecture, and Information Technology.
• York St John: Education, Language, Psychology, Humanities, Science, Technology, Health, Arts, and Business.
• La Trobe University: Education.
• Sheffield Hallam University: Business, Technology, Engineering, Health, Life Sciences, Science, Arts, Business, Social Science, and Humanities.
• University of Oxford: Search for lists.
• University of Dundee: Art, Health, Business, Dentistry, Education, Social Work, Humanities, Life Sciences, Medicine, Science, Engineering, Social Science, Accounting, Psychology, Geomechanics, Architecture, Design, and Geography.
• University of Glasgow: Arts, Medicine, Veterinary, Life Sciences, Science, Engineering, and Social Sciences.
• Edge Hill University: Arts, Science, Health, and Social Care.

This list is getting pretty long. Here’s a cute puppy.

• Exeter University: Anthropology, Drama, Archaeology, Business, Bioscience, Economics, Geography, English, Ancient History, Finance, Accounting, Medicine, Nursing, Philosophy, Sports, Strategy, Theology, Modern Languages, Sociology, MBA, Mathematics, Management, Law, Natural Sciences, Classics, Art History, Humanities, Liberal Arts, Neuroscience, Psychology, Politics, Health Science, and Neuroscience.
• University of Northampton: Medieval Studies, Pharmacology, Teaching, Economics, Midwifery, Photography, Music Studies, Data Analysis, Scriptwriting, Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), Philosophy, History, Storytelling, and Journalism.
• Sussex University: Language Studies, Physics, Astronomy, Politics, Psychology, Science, Technology, Social Work, Strategy, Marketing, Sociology, Philosophy, Pharmacy, Music, Media, Film, Mathematics, Economics, Chemistry, Biosciences, Accounting, Finance, Engineering, Anthropology, Art History, Business, Management, History, Informatics, English, Geography, Law and Philosophy.
• Deakin University: Arts, Health, Education, Science, Business, Law, Engineering, Indigenous Australian Studies, and Languages.
• University of St Andrews: History, Archaeology, Literature, Economics, TESOL, Languages, Geography, Mathematics, Statistics, Neuroscience, Social Sciences, Music, Medicine, Middle Eastern Studies, Information Technology, Legal & Constitutional Studies, Film Studies, and Astronomy.
• Oxford Brookes: Health, Business, Life Sciences, Humanities, Technology, Social Sciences, and Design.
• University of Auckland: Bioengineering, Creative Arts, Maori, Economics, Law, Engineering, Business, Organisational Development, Social Work, Human Resources, Conservation, and Education.
• Royal Holloway, University of London: Economics, European Studies, Geography, Law, Psychology, Music, Sociology, Management, Languages, Organisational Development, Social Work, International Relations, History, Politics, Engineering, Earth Sciences, Drama, Hispanic Studies, Classics, Dance, Theatre, and Criminology.
• University of Portsmouth: Law, Engineering, Science, History, Politics, Engineering, Languages, Linguistics, Education, Mathematics, Health, Pharmacy, Criminology, Art, Sport, Management, Psychology, Digital Marketing, Financial Management, Business, Entrepreneurship, Cosmology, Portfolio Management, and Architecture.
• James Cook University: Science, Arts, Education, Engineering, Healthcare, Society, Governance, Law, Business, Vet Science, Medicine, Dentistry, and X-Ray.
• Bournemouth University: Management, Science, Health, Social Science, Media, Technology, and Communication.
• London School of Economics (LSE): Data Science, Finance, Geography,c Gender, Law, Public Policy, Statistics, Philosophy, Logic, Language, Management, Mathematics, International Development, History, Anthropology, Psychology, European Institute, Behavioural Science, Government, Health Policy, Media, Social Policy, Communications, and Sociology.
• Keele University: Law, Global Studies, Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery, Humanities, Psychology, Life Sciences, Political Studies, Social Studies, Pharmacy, Geography, Physical Sciences, Geology, Chemical Sciences, Computing, Maths, Environment, Social Care, Bioengineering, Health, Language, Business, Liberal Arts, and Veterinary Studies.
• Queen Mary University: Medicine, Dentistry, Humanities, Social Sciences, Science, and Engineering.
• Capilano University: Business, Communication, Kinesiology, Legal Studies, Outdoor Recreation Management, Tourism Management, Social Sciences, Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Motion Picture Arts, Public Administration, Humanities, Childhood Studies, Performing Arts, Education, and Global Stewardship.
• University of Lincoln: Business, Social Science, Science, and Arts.
• Victoria University Of Wellington: Latin, Business, Government, Health, Architecture, Engineering, Design, Sociology, Law, Science, Education, Humanities, and Social Science.
• University of Roehampton: Psychology, Education, Business, Law, Health, and Arts.
• University of Nottingham: Engineering, Health, Arts, Social Sciences, Medicine, and Science.
• University of Southampton: Life Sciences, Engineering, Physical Sciences, Arts, Medicine, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Environmental Sciences.
• Aston University: Mathematics, Languages, Project Management, Engineering, Sustainability, Business, Finance, Human Resources, Computing, Psychology, Python, Science, Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Mathematics, and Marketing.
• Coventry University: Health, Business, Law, Culture, History, Engineering, Computing, and Environment Studies.
• Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh: Nursing, Education, Gastronomy, CIMA Accounting, CIMA Finance, Podiatry, Music Therapy, Physiotherapy, Art Therapy, Hospitality, Tourism Management, Event Management, Festival Management, Drama, Media, Medicine, Communication, Marketing, Sociology, and Psychology.
• University of Warwick: Medicine, Science, Arts, and Social Science.
• Durham University: Business, Arts, Science, Theology, Health, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

Oh, and just about every one of those lists had some great resources for research methods and writing your dissertation. So, if you’re worried about how to write your PHD or how to write a research proposal, there are some very useful tips in these links for you.

What Other University Reading Lists Have You Found?

So, now you know how to find university reading lists from just about anywhere. By all means, please share any more great Talis university reading lists you’ve found in the comments!

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