Here are the 20 most popular free online university courses and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) starting in October 2022, based on Class Central learners’ activity.

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Most Popular Courses

Global Marketing: Building Iconic Brands
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign via Coursera
The course introduces the key steps for developing a global marketing plan, starting with an environmental analysis of the new markets to be developed, which provides insights into the cultural preferences of target consumers in these new markets.

How to Make a Short Film: An Introduction to Filmmaking
The British Film Institute via FutureLearn
Do you have a passion for film? Learn the key skills of filmmaking in this practical course from the BFI.

Engineering of Structures: Response of Structures
Dartmouth College via Coursera
This course explores the impact of different forces on the construction of bug buildings. It provides an overall understanding of how buildings respond to different forces that impact their designs.

Leading Oneself with Self-Knowledge
University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera
Before we can lead others well, we must first learn to lead ourselves well. Knowing thyself is the starting point on this journey. In this course, you will come to understand the importance of three forms of awareness, craft a personal identity, gain understanding of how you work best, learn to be strategic with your time and energy, manage cognitive biases, mental models and better understand your worldview.

Statistics Using Python
University of Wisconsin–Madison via edX
Learn the fundamentals of statistics using Python.

Odessa: Jews in the Modern World
University of California, Santa Cruz via Coursera
In this course, Peter Kenez and Murray Baumgarten, both emeritus professors at UC Santa Cruz, tell the story of the Jews of the Black Sea port of Odessa. Kenez and Baumgarten include music, literature, and history in their analysis of a city like no other. The course is for anyone with an interest in the history and culture of the Jewish people.

Room for Rivers: River basin Management in Times of Climate Change
Delft University of Technology via edX
Learn from the experience of the Netherlands-based “Room for a River” program devising river and delta solutions in times of climate change.

Introduction to Social Determinants of Health
University of Minnesota via Coursera
This first of five courses introduces students to the social determinants of health, and provides an overview of the definitions and theoretical perspectives that will form the foundation of this specialization.

Project Management: Foundations and Initiation
University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera
Project Management: Foundations and Initiation provides students the foundational knowledge of how engineering projects are managed and initiated. Project managers are responsible for project scope, stakeholder management, effective communication, and team leadership. In this course, you will develop introductory skills needed to manage traditional engineering projects, along with tools needed to engage stakeholders and build diverse teams.

Climate Change and Human Rights
New York University (NYU) via Coursera
This course is primarily aimed at anyone interested in learning about the growing field of climate change and human rights. It will discuss the history of the field, key actors and cases, as well as emerging trends and takeaways.

GRASP Best Practice Advice and Exercise Programme for Shoulder Pain
University of Exeter via FutureLearn
Unlock treatment strategies for rotator cuff related shoulder pain and improve your patients’ quality of life.

Governing Diverse Cities in Europe and Asia
National University of Singapore via edX
Explore emerging models of diversity governance in cities of Europe and Asia

Management Foundations in the Hospitality Industry
University of North Texas via Coursera
This course is an introduction to motivation, leadership, communications, decision making, and leading people through effective management of human resources (HR), ethics, social responsibility, and managing consumer experiences in the hospitality industry by examining service-driven management foundations.

Transformative Citizen Science for Sustainability
Wageningen University via edX
Transformative Citizen Science (TCS) addresses global sustainability challenges locally by actively engaging citizens in their resolution using different forms of research. This course is hosted by Wageningen University & Research, one of the most experienced universities in the world in both sustainability science and the design of MOOCs. You will learn about key principles and practices of TCS.

Introduction to Comparative Indo-European Linguistics
Leiden University via Coursera
Build your knowledge of Indo-European languages, how they changed through time, and how to reconstruct ancient languages. Every language belongs to a language family; a group of languages that are genetically related to each other. Indo-European is the name of the language family to which English belongs, along with many sub-families such as Germanic languages and Romance languages.

Structural Racism: Causes of Health Inequities in the U.S.
University of Michigan via Coursera
Racial health disparities – differences in health outcomes based on race – are rampant in the U.S., and many incorrectly assume these are due to differences in behavior or genetics. To understand these differences, and ultimately identify solutions to eliminate these disparities, we need to dig deeper and look at the root causes.

Solar Energy: From Fundamentals to its Role in the Energy Transition
Delft University of Technology via edX
Learn about the leading role of solar energy in rural electrification and climate change mitigation. Introduce yourself to the physical principle of the photovoltaic energy conversion of solar cells.

Exploratory Data Analysis for the Public Sector with ggplot
University of Michigan via Coursera
Learn about the core pillars of the public sector and the core functions of public administration through statistical Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA). Learn analytical and technical skills using the R programming language to explore, visualize, and present data, with a focus on equity and the administrative functions of planning and reporting.

Python Packages for Data Science
University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera
How many times have you decided to learn a programming language but got stuck somewhere along the way, grew frustrated, and gave up? This specialization is designed for learners who have little or no programming experience but want to use Python as a tool to play with data.