Today, a broad number of students across the globe cannot afford the higher tuition of traditional colleges and universities, which has caused many of them to search for alternatives. With nearly three million students currently enrolled in fully online degree programs and six million taking at least one online course as part of their degree program, it seems that online education and free online courses have clearly become one of the most popular higher education alternatives.
There are a number of reputable platforms that offer free online courses and programs regarding architecture. The continually improving reputation of online learning has also helped fuel its expansion, as initial skepticism has faltered in the face of evidence that shows that online learning can be just as effective as face-to-face education.
What Colleges Offer Free Online Courses?
In this article, we tried to gather some free online courses from the world’s leading universities — Stanford, Yale, MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, Oxford, and more. You can download these audio & video courses (often from iTunes, YouTube, or university websites) straight to your computer or mp3 player.
1. Design Courses:
- Cars: Past, Present & Future – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video– Michael Shanks, Stanford
- Everything I Know – Free Online Video – Buckminster Fuller
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2. Architecture Courses:
- Architecture Studio: Building in Landscapes (Video) – Free iTunes Video – Course Web Site – Jan Wampler, MIT
- The Production of Space: Art, Architecture, and Urbanism in Dialogue at MIT
- Architectural Construction and Computation at MIT
- Architectural Design: Intentions at MIT
- Basic Structural Design at MIT
- Theory of City Form offered in audio and video format through MIT OpenCourseWare.
- Dialogue in Art, Architecture, and Urbanism at MIT
- Nature and the Built Environment at University of Notre Dame
- History of Architecture – Free iTunes Video – Jacqueline Gargus, Ohio State
- Roman Architecture – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Audio – Free iTunes Video – Free Video & Course Infos – Diana E. E. Kleiner, Yale
- Structures 2 – Free iTunes Video – Peter von Buelow, University of Michigan
- Theory of City Form – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Julian Beinart, MIT
- Experiencing Architecture Studio at MIT
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Some other helpful links
- MIT OpenCourseWare: Architecture: Launched inIn 2003 by MIT as an online platform through which absolutely anyone can access the same course contents as paying students – for free.
- Harvard Online Learning: A collaborative partnership involving Harvard, the Allston-Brighton community, and the City of Boston
- Delft University of Technology OpenCourseWare: Similar to MIT, TU Delft also has an OpenCourseWare platform – albeit less extensive.
- EdX: Architecture: EdX is a non-profit online initiative founded by MIT and Harvard University, offers free interactive classes from some of the world’s top schools.
- Open Online Academy An online platform similar to Edx, offers a more selective range of courses relating specifically to architecture, art, and design.
3. Environment & Natural Resources Courses
- Adaptation to Climate Change – Free iTunes Video – Charlie Kennel, Cambridge
- Americans and the Global Forest – Free iTunes Audio – Lynn Huntsinger, UC Berkeley
- Australian Environmental History – Free iTunes Audio – Richard Broome & Katie Holmes, La Trobe University-Australia
- Blue Planet: Introduction to Oceanography – Free Online Video – Edwin Schauble, UCLA
- Climate Change: Law and Policy – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Audio – Free iTunes Video – Cymie Payne, Daniel Farber, UC Berkeley
- Education for Sustainable Living: Environment – Free Online Video – Multiple profs, UCLA
- Energy Regulations and the Environment – Free Online Video – Steven Weissman, UC Berkeley
- Environmental Economics – Free iTunes Audio – David Zilberman, UC Berkeley
- Environmental Law and Policy – Free Online Video – Bob Infelise, UC Berkeley, UC Berkeley
- Environmental Politics and Law – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Free iTunes Audio – Free Video & Course Materials – John P. Wargo, Yale
- Food and the Environment – Free iTunes Audio – Free Online Audio– Nathan Sayre, UC Berkeley
- Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast – Free Online Videos – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video & Course Info – David Archer, University of Chicago – David Archer, University of Chicago
- How Climate Works – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Multiple Profs, Princeton
- International Environmental Law – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Free iTunes Audio – Web – Cymie Payne, UC Berkeley
- Intro Environmental Science – Free iTunes iOS Course – Brian Lower, Ohio State
- Introduction to Earthquakes, Their Causes, and Effects – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Web – Richard Allen, UC Berkeley
- Introduction to Environmental Economics and Policy – Free iTunes Audio – Free Online Video – Web – Peter Berck, UC Berkeley
- Introduction to Literature and the Environment – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Ken Hiltner, Princeton
- Introduction to Permaculture – Free Online Course Video – Will Hooker – North Carolina State
- Microeconomic Theory with Application to Natural Resources – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Calanit Kamala, UC Berkeley
- Mitigating Agriculture’s Impact – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video – Gordon Geballe, Yale
- Radar – Free iTunes Video – Kevin Kloesel, University of Oklahoma
- Renewable Energy & Alternative Fuels (Law & Policy) – Free Online Video – UC Berkeley
- Sustainable Living – Free Online Video – Multiple profs, UCLA
- The Atmosphere, the Ocean, and Environmental Change – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Audio – Free Online Video & Course Info – Ronald B. Smith, Yale
- Wildlife Ecology – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video – Web – William Bean, UC Berkeley
- Woods Energy Seminar – Free iTunes Audio – Multiple Professors, Stanford
4. Art & Art History Courses
- Aesthetics & the Philosophy of Art – Free iTunes Audio – Free Online Video – James Grant, Oxford University
- Art Through Time: A Global View – Free Online Video – Annenberg Media
- Exposing Digital Photography – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video & Course Materials – Dan Armendariz, Harvard
- Foundations of American Cyber-Culture – Free Online Video – UC Berkeley
- Introduction to Visual Studies – Free iTunes iOS App – Anna Divinsky, Penn State
- Introduction to Visual Thinking – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – John McNamara, UC Berkeley
- Let This Be a Lesson: Heroes, Heroines & Narrative in Paintings at Yale – Free Online Video – John Walsh, Yale
- Lighting Essentials – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video – Simon McIntyre, The University of New South Wales
- Photography – Free Online Video – Free iTunes App – Jonathan Worth & Matt Johnston at Coventry University
- Smarthistory Video Lectures – Free Online Video/Audio – Beth Harris, MoMA & Steven Zucker, Pratt Institute
- The Elements of Drawing – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video –Stephen Farthing, Oxford University
5. Music & Performing Arts Courses
- Basic Concepts of Music Theory – Free iTunes Video – Jamie Henke, U. of Wisconsin
- Dave Conservatoire (Music Theory Lessons) – Free Online Video – David Rees, Royal College of Music, London
- Free Music Courses (Multiple Offerings) – Free Online Video – Berklee College of Music
- Introduction to Theatre and Drama Arts – Free Online Video – Missouri State, Robert Bradley
- Introduction to World Music – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Syllabus – Missouri State, John Prescott
- Jazz and Culture – Free iTunes Audio – Andrew Barnes, Arizona State
- Listening to Music – Free Online Video – Craig Wright, Yale
- Politics in Music – Free iTunes Audio – Free Online Audio – Courtney Brown, Emory Craig Wright, Yale
- The Ethics of Jazz (Lecture Series) – Free Online Video – Herbie Hancock, Harvard
- The Langauge of Music – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video – Amy Muchnick, Missouri State
- The Unanswered Question: 6 Lectures on Music – Free Online Video – Leonard Bernstein, Harvard
6. Engineering (Mechanical, Civil, and Electrical) Courses
- Advanced Analog Integrated Circuits – Free Online Video – Professor Simone Gambini, UC Berkeley
- Advanced Visualization – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video –Bernd Hamann, UC Davis
- Atomistic Computer Modeling of Materials – Free Online Video –Free iTunes Video – Free Video & Course Info – Gerbrand Ceder & Nicola Marzari, MIT
- Basic Electronics – Free Online Video – Free Video Download – Prof T.S. Natarajan, IIT Madras
- Chemical Engineering: Process Dynamics and Controls – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video – Course Info – Peter Woolf, University of Michigan
- Civil and Environmental Engineering – Free iTunes Audio – Marios Agathoklis Panagiotou, UC Berkeley
- Control Systems Engineering – Free Online Video – Benjamin Drew, UWE Bristol
- Convex Optimization I – Free Course in Multiple Formats – Stephen Boyd, Stanford
- Convex Optimization 2 – Free Course in Multiple Formats – Stephen Boyd, Stanford
- Digital Signal Processing – Free Online Video – Prof. E. Ambikairajah
- Direct Solar/Thermal to Electrical Energy Conversion Technologies – Free iTunes Audio – Free Online Video & Course Info – Gang Chen, MIT
- Dynamics of Machines – Free Online Video – Free Video Download – Amitabha Ghosh, IIT
- Dynamics and Control I – Free iTunes Video – Multiple staff, MIT
- Electrical – Digital Signal Processing – Free Online Video – Free Video Download – S.C Dutta Roy, IIT
- Electro-Magnetic Fields – Free Online Video – Harishankar Ramachandran, III
- Electronics & Communication Engineering – Signals and Systems – Free Online Video – Free Video Download – K.S. Venktesh, IIT Kanpur
- Electronic Feedback Systems – Free Online Video – Free Video & Course Info – Prof. James Roberge, MIT
- Electronic Techniques for Engineering – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video – Web – Vivek Subramanian, UC Berkeley
- Electronics – High-Speed Devices & Circuit – Free Online Video –Free Video Download – K. N. Bhat, IIT Madras
- Elementary Fluid Mechanics – Free iTunes Audio – Mark Stacey, UC Berkeley
- Engineering Dynamics – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Free Video & Course Info – Kim Vandiver and David Gossard, MIT
- Engineering Ethics – Free Online Audio – Taft Broome, MIT
- Engineering Statics – Free Web Course – Carnegie Mellon
- Environmental Air Pollution – Free Online Video – Free Video Download – Mukesh Sharma, IIT
- Fluid Mechanics – Free Online Video – Free Video Download – T.I.Eldho, IIT
- Fundamentals of Photovoltaics – Free iTunes Video – Tonio Buonassisi, MIT
- Groundwater Hydrology – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Course Materials – Charles Harvey – MIT
- Image Processing – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Owen Carmichael, UC Davis
- Information and Entropy – Free Online Video & Course Materials – Paul Penfield and Seth Lloyd, MIT
- Information Theory and Coding – Free Online Video – Free Video Download – S.N.Merchant, IIT Bombay
- Integrated Circuit Devices – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – UC Berkeley
- Introduction to Chemical Engineering – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Channing Robertson, Stanford
- Introduction to Digital Integrated Circuits – Free iTunes Audio – Elad Alon, UC Berkeley
- Introduction to Digital Integrated Circuits – Free Online Video – Professor Jan M. Rabaey, UC Berkeley
- Introduction to Engineering – Free iTunes Video – Tod Laursen, Duke
- Introduction to Engineering – Free iTunes Video – Multiple presenters, Duke University
- Introduction to Lean Six Sigma Methods – Free Online Video & Course Info – Free iTunes Video – Multiple staff, MIT
- Introduction to Linear Dynamical Systems – Free Course in Multiple formats – Stephen Boyd, Stanford
- Introduction to Microelectronic Circuits – Free iTunes Video – Chang-Hasnain, UC Berkeley
- Introduction to Modeling and Simulation – Free Online Video & Course Info – Markus Buehler and Jeffrey Grossman, MIT
- Linear Integrated Circuits – Free Online Video – Professor Clark Tu-Cuong Nguyen, UC Berkeley
- Mechanical Engineering: Introduction to MEMS Design – Free iTunes Audio – Free iTunes Video – UC Berkeley
- Microelectronic Devices and Circuits – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Sayeef Salahuddin, UC Berkeley
- Microcontroller Design – Free Online Video – Beuce Land, Cornell
- Microcontroller and System-on-Chip Construction Using Verilog and Altera FPGA – Free Online Video – Beuce Land, Cornell
- Nano-to-Macro Transport Processes – Free iTunes Audio – Free Online Video & Course Info – Gang Chen, MIT
- Nanomanufacturing – Free iTunes Video – Free iTunes Audio –Course Info – John Hart, U Michigan
- Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis – Free Online Video – Klaus-Jürgen Bathe, MIT
- Nuclear Engineering – Free Online Audio – Eric Norman, UC Berkeley
- Nuclear Engineering 101 Nuclear Reactions and Radiation – Free Online Audio – Lee A. Bernstein, UC Berkeley
- Optimization Models in Engineering – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Laurent El Ghaoui, UC Berkeley
- Pre-Engineering: Intro to Microcontrollers – Free iTunes iOS Course – Steve Dickie, Michigan MI Learning
- The Structure and Properties of Materials – Free Online Video –Free iTunes Video – JW Morris, UC Berkeley
- The Engineering Profession – Free iTunes Video – Course Info – University of Michigan
- The Fourier Transform and its Applications – Free Online Video –Free iTunes Video – Free Course in Multiple Formats – Brad Osgood, Stanford
- Technology Entrepreneurship – Free Online Video – Free iTunes Video – Chuck Eesley, Stanford
- Understanding Lasers and Fiberoptics – Free iTunes Video – Free Online Video – Free Course Info & Free Online Video – Prof. Shaoul Ezekiel, MIT
References:
* Openculture “1100 Free Online Courses from Top Universities”. Accessed 18 Feb 2015.
* Education Portal “List of Free Online Architecture Engineering Courses & Programs” Accessed 17 Feb 2015.
* Archdaily Whelan, Jennifer. “Four Ways to Learn About Architecture for Free” 16 Jun 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed 20 Feb 2015.