Here are the forty most popular free online university courses and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) starting in April 2021, based on Class Central learners’ activity.

You can find the entire catalog of 30,000 online courses offered by close to 1000 universities around the world on Class Central’s subject page.

Analysis of Transport Phenomena II: Applications
Massachusetts Institute of Technology via edX
Mathematical modeling of fluid dynamics, convection, conduction, and phase transformations.

Financial Accounting
Massachusetts Institute of Technology via edX
How do investors, creditors, and other users analyze financial statements to assess corporate performance. Learn financial accounting, how to read financial statements, and input valuation models for better corporate finance decision-making.

Comfort and Health in Buildings
Delft University of Technology via edX
Learn how to realize thermally comfortable and healthy buildings and how energy technologies impact comfort.

Songwriting: Writing the Music
Berklee College of Music via Coursera
Led by award winning songwriter and Berklee College of Music professor Scarlet Keys, you’ll learn to construct strong, expressive melodies that your audience will remember as well as experiment with new chords to break out of any harmonic rut.

Everyday Excel, Part 3 (Projects)
University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera
It is hoped that this project-based courses will dramatically reinforce the application of Excel tools, techniques, and functions to real-world projects.

Calculus through Data & Modelling: Integration Applications
Johns Hopkins University via Coursera
This course continues your study of calculus by focusing on the applications of integration. The applications in this section have many common features. First, each is an example of a quantity that is computed by evaluating a definite integral. Second, the formula for that application is derived from Riemann sums.

Reconceiving Space: Installation and Performance Art
University of Cambridge via edX
Learn to deepen your dramaturgical practice in the experimental world of installation and performance art, as well as continue to develop professionally transferable writing skills and communication expertise. This course will broaden your understanding of how to engage in creating innovative art work with a performative basis.

Leading Diverse Teams
University of California, Irvine via Coursera
This course addresses the leadership skills and competencies that are requisite for leading across cultures in a global business environment. Participants will learn from frameworks, principles, and practices regarding how to leverage their cross-cultural business experiences for greater influence and effectiveness across cultural contexts (teams, organizations, regions, countries, etc.

AI for Legal Professionals (II): Tools for Lawyers
National Chiao Tung University via FutureLearn
Discover programming with Python, and the AI tools that lawyers, legal educators, and regulators can use to deliver services.

Operations Research (1): Models and Applications
National Taiwan University via Coursera
Operations Research (OR) is a field in which people use mathematical and engineering methods to study optimization problems in Business and Management, Economics, Computer Science, Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, etc.

Health, Society, and Wellness in COVID-19 Times
University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera
In this class, we will explore perspectives on disease and society and on systemic racism and inequality with scholars in the natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities, education, communications and media, and engineering. Engaging these disciplines to examine the complex problems of the global pandemic and systemic racism will help you build conceptual and practical skills that you will use throughout college and beyond.

Communication and Leadership during a Public Health Crisis
State University of New York via Coursera
This course emphasizes why it is important to build leadership skills in public health positions and work with diverse teams while immersed in a crisis. The course is designed to help develop effective communication skills necessary to lead a team through conflict and crisis, and build strategies to reach a common goal.

Fashion Values: Nature
London College of Fashion via FutureLearn
Understand biodiversity in the context of fashion and create a plan for fashion that protects our earth’s systems.

Introduction to Relational Databases
IBM via Coursera
In this course, you will learn the essential concepts behind relational databases and Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS). You’ll study relational data models and discover how they are created and what benefits they bring, and how you can apply them to your own data. You’ll be introduced to several industry standard relational databases, including IBM DB2, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.

Excel Power Tools for Data Analysis
Macquarie University via Coursera
In this course, we will learn how to use Power Query to automate the process of importing and preparing data for analysis. We will see how Power Pivot revolutionises the actual analysis process by providing us with an analytical database inside the Excel workbook, capable of storing millions of rows, and a powerful modelling language called DAX which allows us to perform advanced analytics on our data.

#talkmentalillness
University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera
#talkmentalillness curates the interviews from the Mental Health Experts series into an accessible learning experience that will help you have conversations about mental health. Talking about mental illness is both the content and desired outcome of this course, as you will use what you learn from my interviews with mental health experts to guide your own discussions about mental health challenges and treatments with family members, friends, colleagues, and other people in your life.

Numerical Methods for Engineers
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology via Coursera
Numerical Methods for Engineers covers the most important numerical methods that an engineer should know. We derive basic algorithms in root finding, matrix algebra, integration and interpolation, ordinary and partial differential equations. We learn how to use MATLAB to solve numerical problems. Access to MATLAB online and the MATLAB grader is given to all students who enroll.

С/C++ for competitive programming
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology via Coursera
C and C++ are the most popular programming languages in competitive programming, the most convenient and frequently used in competitions. The «C/C++ for competitive programming» online course will introduce the basic concepts of the language, such as variables, data types, conditionals, loops, functions, and others.

Project Execution and Control
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign via Coursera
The focus of this course is on the process of managing projects. This course will focus on how execution and progress evaluation is performed in a waterfall approach, as well as the agile approach to project management. The goal is to learn the tools and techniques offered by both of these approaches and empower the project managers to utilize what works for a given project.

Fundamentals of Materials Science
Shanghai Jiao Tong University via Coursera
An integrated approach of combining metallic, ceramic and polymeric materials will be adopted in this course, for the attendants to attain a deep understanding on the correlation of composition, microstructure, processing and properties in materials science. Let’s gather in this course and explore the wonderland of materials together.

Black Agency: Resistance and Resilience
University of Connecticut via FutureLearn
Explore the history of anti-Black racism and reflect on how Black and non-Black people can build resilience to confront prejudice.

Oralpha: Literacy for new citizens, a course for trainers
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Autonomous University of Barcelona) via Coursera
This course offers insight into international migration today and the real linguistic needs of migrated people in the countries of arrival. Furthermore, throughout the course you can learn about teaching methods and tools in language learning and literacy.

Introduction to Korean Philosophy and Culture
Sungkyunkwan University via Coursera
This course will give you the cultural and historical background to begin your journey into Korean philosophy, and there is no prerequisite knowledge on philosophy required. Anybody who either has an interest in Korean culture, maybe through K-Dramas or K-pop, or an interest in philosophy from a cross-cultural perspective, are all welcome.

Feminism: From Origins to Evolution Teach-Out
University of Michigan via Coursera
In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8th, this Teach-Out presents perspectives on feminism from across generations and professions alongside opportunities for reflection and action. We will discuss what feminism means today and how we can work towards gender equality in our own communities.

Fungal Diagnostics in Critically Ill Patients
The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy via FutureLearn
Understand the role of fungal diagnostics to guide treatment decisions and identify what makes a ‘good’ fungal diagnostic test.

Electrical Industry: Production and Economics
University of Padova via FutureLearn
Understand how the electricity system has developed over time, see what the future holds and the need to move to decarbonisation.

Activism in Sports and Culture
Morehouse College via Coursera
Your professor will be NBA All-Star and TNT Sports journalist and commentator Chris Webber, who leads interviews with iconic activists, including John Carlos and Jemele Hill as they wrestle with the meanings and outcomes of their activism. You’ll read and watch primary source documents about acts of protest, and academic and journalistic work that reckons with the legacies of those acts.

Advanced Understanding of Stocks and Bonds
University of Michigan via Coursera
This final course will cover more advanced aspects of bonds and stocks that will help you make smart personal decisions and develop a keen understanding of how governments and companies borrow from us. You will better understand stocks and bonds valuation and take a deeper dive using real-world problems. For stocks, you will review what you have already learned and understand valuation.

Cultural impact of housing displacement gentrification
University of Glasgow via Coursera
This course provides an introduction to gentrification and to the cultural impacts of housing displacement for people in cities and neighbourhoods across the world.  In this course we will learn how the term gentrification originated and the way in which the term has developed since its first sighting in the 1960s. We will consider different theoretical explanations for processes of change and ask questions about who wins and loses.

Pioneers of Medicine and Medical Breakthroughs in Taiwan
National Taiwan University via Coursera
In this course, we are going to show you some common diseases and its current management. At the same time, we will also show you how modern medicine has developed and what breakthroughs are specially made in Taiwan.

Reimagining Blackness and Architecture
The Museum of Modern Art via Coursera
The course is structured around five themes: Imagination, Care, Knowledge, Refusal, and Liberation. Each week, through original films, audio interviews, and readings, you’ll expand your understanding of architecture as a practice that reaches across time, place, and form. Creative activities and prompts for reflection will encourage you to consider your own role in shaping your communities.

Design of bulk nanostructured metal materials
St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University via Coursera
After mastering the program of our course, YOU will know and understand the methods of obtaining bulk nanostructured metallic materials, as well as analyze their properties and structure. YOU will gain knowledge about the features of the behavior of nanostructured carbon steels under deformation and thermal effects. YOU will learn about the design features of innovative technological processes for obtaining bulk nanostructured metallic materials.

The exposome: cracking the science about what makes us sick
Utrecht University via Coursera
In this course, 7 researchers from Utrecht University and/or the NWO Gravitation programme Exposome-NL will offer their expertise. We will introduce you to the Exposome concept; why it’s important; how we measure the exposome; and the data sciences steps needed to establish associations with health outcomes. This course will conclude with reflections on what is needed to advance this nascent and transformative field of research.

Public Involvement in Research
Imperial College London via Coursera
This course focuses on participatory approaches in research, known as ‘public involvement’ in the UK. You’ll specifically, consider why citizens and patients would be involved in research and explore participatory approaches across and within the research cycle in more detail, diving into questions such as:
– what kinds of participation can be undertaken at each of the 7 stages of the cycle?
– how can you utilise participation in research?
– what examples of using participatory approaches exist in research?

A Bridge to the World: Korean Language for Beginners Ⅰ
Sungkyunkwan University via Coursera
This course is an introductory course to Korean language that aims to cultivate basic communication skill for those that are interested in learning Korean language. The course is composed of essential expressions that are often used in everyday life, and designed to teach grammars using basic dialogues which reflect colloquial characteristics of Korean language so by end of this course, a student will be able to express him/herself on ordinary topics.

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Organization Planning and Development for the 6 σ Black Belt
University System of Georgia via Coursera
This course is designed for professionals interested in learning the principles of Lean Sigma, the DMAIC process and DFSS. This course is number 1 of 8 in this specialization dealing with topics in Organization Planning and Development

Data Analysis with R Programming
Google via Coursera
This course is the seventh course in the Google Data Analytics Certificate. These courses will equip you with the skills needed to apply to introductory-level data analyst jobs. In this course, you’ll learn about the programming language known as R. You’ll find out how to use RStudio, the environment that allows you to work with R.

Your Body Inside and Out: Using Exercise Physiology to Slow Aging
Stanford University via edX
This online class will present the latest scientific information on the interaction between aging and physical activity. In an approachable style, you will learn how your physiology changes with age and how different types of movement can impact that trajectory of aging.

Health, Safety and Wellness in Mining
University of Queensland via edX
Welcome to Health, Safety and Wellness in Mining where you will explore key concepts in the management of health, safety and wellness in mining workforces and communities, including the impacts of new technologies and the importance of human factor considerations.

Math for MBA and GMAT Prep
Emory University via Coursera
This course gives participants a basic understanding of statistics as they apply in business situations. A fair share of students considering MBA programs come from backgrounds that do not include a large amount of training in mathematics and statistics.