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Cornell is one of the most prestigious schools in the world. To set foot on campus as a student, you need to be in the 11% of applicants who had the test scores, extracurriculars, and je-ne-sais-quoi-factor to be accepted.
But, thanks to partnerships with e-learning companies like edX, you can also take a handful of Cornell courses for free — without relocating, adhering to strict class times, or spending a dime. You can also do the same with other Ivy League institutions and top schools including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, MIT, Johns Hopkins, the University of Michigan, Duke, Stanford, NYU, and more.
Below, you can find 14 of the best free Cornell courses available online. Some have the option to pay a small fee for certificates of completion that you can show potential employers or add to your LinkedIn or resume.
Length: 6 weeks
This hands-on intermediate engineering course teaches you how to analyze common problems involving different physics — structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer — using ANSYS simulation software.
Length: 5 weeks
Learn how to create inclusive, student-centered learning environments with tools such as inclusive course design and student-centered pedagogical practices. Students listen and reflect on lived experiences — including their own — as well as explore key research on learning and diversity and its importance in education.
Length: 4 weeks
Learn about what makes sharks fascinating through activities — tracking the movements of a wild shark, observing shark habitats and behavior, diving into the fossil record — as well as their functional anatomy, biology, ecological role, impact on human behavior, and conservation efforts among other things.
Length: 4 weeks
This course combines relativity and astronomy to give students insight and quantitative skills to better understand the universe — from analyzing paradoxes in special relativity to pinpointing daily instances in which relativity is important.
This class is archived, which means you’ll have access to course materials but you won’t be able to upgrade for graded homework or earn a certificate of completion.
Length: 5 weeks
Learn the laws, principles, and guidelines needed to structure business agreements and assess the merits and challenges of different choices.
This class is archived.
Length: 4 weeks
This course leads students into an exploration of the ethical issues at play every time we consume or purchase food. Using insights from a diverse group of philosophers, food scientists, activists, industry specialists, and farmers, you’ll consider the morality of food: how it’s produced, distributed, marketed, and consumed.
This class is archived.
Length: 8 weeks
Future STEM faculty, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows learn about effective teaching strategies and supporting science, specifically for STEM classrooms, in this course. Students consider expertise from experienced STEM faculty, educational researchers, and university staff as they tackle course design, teaching strategies, and key learning principles.
This class is archived.
Length: 8 weeks
This course prepares current and future STEM teachers in effective teaching strategies and accompanying research to create active, impactful classrooms — including the import of diversity and how to incorporate it into a classroom. This course builds upon the introductory course above.
This class is archived.
Length: 4 weeks
Take a close look at how economic development fueled the US’ rise to power In the end, you should be able to recognize and criticize public policies that interact with American capitalism and have a solid understanding of it as an ever-changing system, even if basic features remain unchanged.
This class is archived.
Length: 10 weeks
To understand the interconnectedness of modern life, students get into game theory, the structure of the Internet, social contagion, the spread of social power, and information cascades.
This class is archived.
Length: 5 weeks
Learn the basics of genetic engineering and biotechnology in this introductory Food and Nutrition course. Students delve into the political debate surrounding GMOs, evaluate how social science concepts affect biotech development and usage, and learn to form good research questions and assess research reports, among other things.
This class is archived.
Length: 10 weeks
Explore the powerful computer processor that enables smartphones to be so indispensable. Students start with the fundamentals of computing technology and then move into advanced performance techniques and details of processors.
This class is archived.
Length: 6 weeks
In this course, you use many lenses — psychological, sociological, political, educational, and ecological — to examine how people care for nature and their communities. Among other things, students learn how civic ecology can enable communities with limited resources to cope with disaster and struggle.
This class is archived.
Length: 6 weeks
How does cellular technology enable massive surveillance? Do users have rights against surveillance? This social sciences course grapples with these big questions surrounding privacy issues in modern life and introduces students to related issues in WiFi and Internet surveillance.
This class is archived.
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