Summary

This webpage lists free online courses from Ivy League universities on various topics such as programming, psychology, languages, and human behavioral biology.

Abstract

The webpage titled "My Favorite Ivy League Online Courses That Are Free" discusses the availability of free online courses from prestigious universities like Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and Princeton. The courses cover a wide range of subjects, including programming, psychology, languages, and human behavioral biology. The author mentions that while attending these universities is expensive, anyone can now access the same lectures and materials for free. The courses are available worldwide and can be started at any time. Some of the featured courses include Human Behavioral Biology from Stanford University, Understanding Medical Research: Your Facebook Friend is Wrong from Yale University, CS50 and CS50’s Web Programming from Harvard, Game Theory from Stanford University, The Science of Well-Being from Yale University, Buddhism and Modern Psychology from Princeton University, and English for Career Development from the University of Pennsylvania. The author encourages readers to try out these courses and provides links to the course descriptions and registration pages.

Bullet points

The webpage lists free online courses from Ivy League universities.
The courses cover a wide range of subjects, including programming, psychology, languages, and human behavioral biology.
The author mentions that attending these universities is expensive, but anyone can now access the same lectures and materials for free.
The courses are available worldwide and can be started at any time.
Some of the featured courses include Human Behavioral Biology from Stanford University, Understanding Medical Research: Your Facebook Friend is Wrong from Yale University, CS50 and CS50’s Web Programming from Harvard, Game Theory from Stanford University, The Science of Well-Being from Yale University, Buddhism and Modern Psychology from Princeton University, and English for Career Development from the University of Pennsylvania.
The author encourages readers to try out these courses and provides links to the course descriptions and registration pages.

My Favorite Ivy League Online Courses That Are Free

Learn programming, psychology, languages, human behavioral biology, and more

A photo by **Vadim Sherbakov** on Unsplash

There were times when attending Harvard University only cost $75 a year. Almost 200 years later, the cost of tuition has grown to nearly $70,000. And it happened not only in Harvard but in all prestigious (and not so prestigious) schools in the US. While going to an Ivy League school became an unachievable dream for many, attending their courses became easier than ever.

Today, you don’t have to apply for scholarships, get a loan, or save money to attend the same lectures as other students. While getting a degree is still necessary to become a lawyer or, say, a doctor, it’s amazing how nowadays, we don’t have to pay even $75 to attend a full lecture by a famous Harvard professor.

I attended most of these courses myself and enjoyed them immensely. While the university degree remains too expensive for me, an opportunity to enjoy the same material as top students around the world for free and on my own is something I’m truly grateful for.

All of these courses are available worldwide and can be started anytime. While Coursera offers their certificates of completion for a small fee, just pick an option Audit the course to watch any course for free.

Human Behavioral Biology

Stanford University

Once upon a time, the first lecture of this amazing course just popped up in my YouTube recommendations and I was hooked ever since. I liked the professor and his teaching style so much that I also read two of his books. I can’t recommend them enough to anyone who wants to learn more on this topic:

Understanding Medical Research: Your Facebook Friend is Wrong

Yale University

This course came just in time during the pandemic and hot debates about vaccinations. In my humble opinion, it offers more useful information than angry posts by your Facebook friends.

CS50 and CS50’s Web Programming

Harvard

I know that I already mentioned CS50 in my other article but this is just the best course ever. Period. The second course in this series, CS50’s Web Programming picks up where CS50 leaves off and features the same high-quality materials, lectures, and exercises.

Game Theory

Stanford University

While we are still on the topic of programming, here is a more advanced course by Stanford on a more advanced topic. I have to admit that it’s harder than many programming courses on Coursera (and not beginner-friendly!) but completing this course is definitely a rewarding experience.

The Science of Well-Being

Yale University

Whether you are interested in programming, arts, or creative writing, well-being is a universal topic. I would say that anyone can benefit from this little course, feel better, and pick up a few useful habits along the way.

If you are not ready to commit to a whole course, picking up the right book might be a good alternative.

Buddhism and Modern Psychology

Princeton University

Isn’t it amazing how Buddhism and Spirituality became mainstream topics nowadays? I recently discovered this course and just added it to my to-do list but the description and reviews look very promising!

Let me know in the comments if you took this course or also just starting. I’m really curious to learn more about it.

English for Career Development

University of Pennsylvania

I’m not a native English speaker so I had to take quite a few language learning programs. I don’t have as much time for learning English as I used to have, but I know that there is still a lot to learn so I’m trying to fill the gaps whenever possible. This course from the University of Pennsylvania was a big help back in the day and I’m hoping to take it again soon.

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