Ivy League schools are generally viewed as some of the most prestigious, and are ranked among the best universities worldwide. The eight colleges that are considered to be in the Ivy League are Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, and Columbia universities, and the University of Pennsylvania.

All eight universities place in the top fifteen of the U.S. News and World Report 2017 national university rankings.

These Ivy League schools are also highly selective and very difficult to get into. But the good news is that all these universities now offer free online courses across multiple MOOC platforms.

So far they have created over 300 courses, of which around 250 are still active. Class Central has made a collection of all these, which can be found here: https://www.classcentral.com/collection/ivy-league-moocs

This collection gets automatically updated as new courses are added. You can subscribe to receive updates by clicking the blue “follow” button on the collection page linked above, as shown in the screenshot above.

Below, we’re featuring some of the most highly rated (and our favorite!) MOOCs taught by Ivy League schools.

Ivy League MOOCs

Financial Markets
Yale University, via Coursera

Prof. Robert Shiller, 2013 Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences, explores the topic of Financial Markets.
Bookmark | ★★★★☆ (21 ratings)

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies
Princeton University, via Coursera

How does Bitcoin work? What makes Bitcoin different? How secure are your Bitcoins? How anonymous are Bitcoin users? What determines the price of Bitcoins? Can cryptocurrencies be regulated? What might the future hold? After this course, you’ll know everything you need to be able to separate fact from fiction when reading claims about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Bookmark | ★★★★☆ (10 ratings)

Modern and Contemporary American Poetry (“ModPo”)
University of Pennsylvania, via Coursera

Get a fast-paced introduction to modern and contemporary U.S. poetry, with an emphasis on experimental verse.
Bookmark | ★★★★★ (127 ratings)

Justice
Harvard University, via edX

Justice, one of the most famous courses taught at Harvard college, is an introduction to moral and political philosophy, offering an opportunity to discuss contemporary dilemmas and controversies.
Bookmark | ★★★★★ (26 ratings)

Moralities of Everyday Life
Yale University, via Coursera
How can we explain kindness and cruelty? Where does our sense of right and wrong come from? Why do people so often disagree about moral issues? This course explores the psychological foundations of our moral lives.
Bookmark | ★★★★★ (30 ratings)

Introduction to Computer Science
Harvard University, via edX

This is CS50x, Harvard University’s introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming for majors and non-majors alike, with or without prior programming experience. An entry-level course taught by David J. Malan, CS50x teaches students how to think algorithmically and solve problems efficiently.
Bookmark | ★★★★★ (52 ratings)

Vital Signs: Understanding What the Body Is Telling Us
University of Pennsylvania, via Coursera
The vital signs — heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, respiration rate, and pain — communicate important information about the physiological status of the human body. In this six-part course we explore the anatomy and physiology underlying the vital signs so that you will develop a systematic, integrated understanding of how the body functions.
Bookmark | ★★★★★ (33 ratings)

Gamification
University of Pennsylvania, via Coursera
Learn the mechanisms of gamification, why it has such tremendous potential, and how to use it effectively.
Bookmark | ★★★★☆ (51 ratings)

Algorithms, Part I
Princeton University, via Coursera
Learn information that every serious programmer needs to know about algorithms and data structures.
Bookmark | ★★★★☆ (47 ratings)

Introduction to Marketing
University of Pennsylvania, via Coursera
Taught by three of Wharton’s top faculty in the marketing department, consistently ranked as the #1 marketing department in the world, this course covers three core topics in customer loyalty: branding, customer centricity, and practical, go-to-market strategies.
Bookmark | ★★★★☆ (47 ratings)

American Capitalism: A History
Cornell University, via edX
Examine how economic development fueled the United States’ evolution from thirteen backwater colonies to a global power.
Bookmark | ★★★★★ (3 ratings)

Buddhism and Modern Psychology
Princeton University, via Coursera
This course will examine how Buddhism is faring under this scrutiny. Are neuroscientists starting to understand how meditation “works”? Would such an understanding validate meditation — or might physical explanations of meditation undermine the spiritual significance attributed to it? And how are some of the basic Buddhist claims about the human mind holding up? We’ll pay special attention to some highly counterintuitive doctrines:
Bookmark | ★★★★☆ (18 ratings)

Computer Architecture
Princeton University, via Coursera
Learn to design the computer architecture of complex modern microprocessors.
Bookmark | ★★★★★ (4 ratings)

Statistics and R
Harvard University, via edX
An introduction to basic statistical concepts and R programming skills necessary for analyzing data in the life sciences.
Bookmark | ★★★★☆ (13 ratings)

Hamlet’s Ghost
Harvard University, via edX

An exploration of the haunting figure at the heart of one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Columbia University, via edX
Learn the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and apply them.
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The Architectural Imagination
Harvard University, via edX
Learn fundamental principles of architecture — as an academic subject or a professional career — from a study of history’s important buildings.
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Question Reality! Science, philosophy, and the search for meaning
Dartmouth, via edX
What is reality? Explore how physics and philosophy have changed our perspective on the nature of the universe, matter, and mind over time.
Bookmark