After struggling to learn Japanese through apps, I enrolled in a formal Japanese course at De Anza College—one of the 116 institutions in the California Community Colleges (CCC) system. For less than $200, I received 50 hours of live instruction, which provided the structure and accountability I needed to finally make progress with hiragana and katakana.

Community colleges offer an impressively diverse range of subjects, from traditional academics to specialized skills. I even know someone who learned to swim at their local community college! However, navigating the various college websites and interfaces can be challenging. That’s why we’ve taken steps to simplify the process.

To help learners like me discover similar, high-quality, and credit-worthy online courses without spending a fortune, Class Central has developed a search engine for California Community Colleges courses. While you’ll need to apply and enroll through the college’s website, our search engine saves you time by showing all your options in one place.

Our CCC Course Finder offers a comprehensive catalog of over 6,000 online courses—from coding and economics to sustainable design and language learning—spanning 25 community colleges. This resource makes it easy to find courses that align with your interests, career goals, and budget.

Class Central has already helped over 100 million learners find their next course, becoming the go-to search engine for online learning. By extending our catalog to include community college courses, we’re bringing the same level of convenience and comprehensiveness to a new domain. I am already using it to find my next Japanese course to continue my Japanese language learning journey.

Keep in mind that course availability varies by semester, and class sizes may be limited, so plan ahead to secure your spot and stay on track toward your learning goals.  For some courses, we couldn’t find a dedicated page, so we linked to search listing pages or the college homepage.

California Community Colleges Online Courses Course Finder

At Class Central, we’ve always focused on making online learning discoverable through our catalog of 350,000+ on-demand courses across 11,000 subjects. While self-paced learning offers flexibility, we recognize that some learners desire the structure, peer interaction, and credentials that traditional college courses provide.

After an initial pilot with 10 California Community Colleges (CCC) in Fall 2024, we’ve now expanded to 25 colleges within the CCC system, cataloging over 6,000 online courses for Spring 2025.

If learners find this resource helpful, our long-term goal is to expand this service to include more community colleges across the country—and perhaps similar institutions worldwide. By doing so, we aim to bridge the gap between the convenience and variety of on-demand courses and the recognized credentials and academic rigor of community college programs.

Here’s a snapshot of some courses we’ve uncovered:

• Market dynamics: Microeconomics, advertising, and behavioral economics
• Coding and tech skills: Python, Java, advanced C++, and JavaScript
• Building a sustainable future: Sustainable design, climate action, and environmental law
• Understanding the human body: Kinesiology, fitness, and anatomy
• Diving into new languages: Vietnamese, French, and Japanese
• Exploring society and culture: Communication, democracy, legal analysis, anthropology, biology, and world history

Why Community Colleges

The California Community Colleges system serves over two million students annually, making it the largest higher education network in the United States. These institutions provide unique learning opportunities both in-person and online that can be hard to find elsewhere.

Many of their courses offer transferable college credits and can be more rigorous than typical online learning platforms. The pricing makes them especially attractive – at my local community college, California residents pay just $31 per unit, while non-residents and international students pay $245 per unit.

Ready to Explore?

Discover what California’s community colleges have to offer. Search the Catalog Now and see how these affordable, credit-worthy courses can help you achieve your learning objectives—whether you’re looking to earn credits, advance your career, or simply satisfy your curiosity.