Canadian universities offer free courses and you can learn online without being a student
There are classes about marketing, coding, psychology, dinosaurs, and more!
Students on the University of Toronto campus. Right: University of Alberta building.
A few Canadian universities offer free courses that you can take online.
You don't need to be a student at these post-secondary schools to learn about marketing, coding, psychology, dinosaurs, and more topics.
As students go back to school, you might want to learn something too, but without spending a lot of money on tuition.
Well, the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta and Université de Montréal have free online courses available through EdX and Coursera.
You can enroll for free and learn from the provided course materials at your own pace.
If you want graded assignments and a certificate at the end of the course, you have to pay a fee.
There are no prerequisites to enroll for free, which means you can take these courses even if you've never been to university or college.
So, here are some of the free courses being offered by universities in Canada right now.
Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology
This course from the University of Alberta offers an overview of non-avian dinosaurs.
You'll learn about the anatomy, eating habits, locomotion, growth, environmental and behavioural adaptations, origins and extinction of dinosaurs.
Even though the course is online, lessons are delivered from museums, fossil-preparation labs and dig sites.
Introduction To Swift Programming
This course from the University of Toronto is the first installment of a four-part specialization that will provide you with the tools and skills needed to develop an iOS app.
You'll be able to program in Swift and be proficient with syntax, object-oriented principles, memory management, functional concepts and more with Swift by the end of the class.
It's required that you have a Mac computer to take part in this course and, ideally, an iPhone or iPad.
Bias and Discrimination in AI
With this course from Université de Montréal, you'll explore how computer algorithms can be biased and have an impact on everyday lives.
The main focuses of the course are gender, race and socioeconomic-based bias and bias in data-driven predictive models.
You'll also learn how to identify and alleviate bias and discrimination in AI.
Excel for Everyone: Core Foundations
This course offered by the University of British Columbia teaches essential Excel skills.
That includes simple data wrangling and managing spreadsheets, and the foundations of business data analysis.
Introduction to Marketing
This University of British Columbia course will teach you core concepts and tools of marketing to help you better understand and excel in the field.
Topics include market research and its importance, brand strategy, pricing, integrated marketing communication, social media strategy, and more.
Indigenous Canada
This course from the University of Alberta explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada.
It will teach you about the complex experiences Indigenous peoples face today, highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations.
Topics of the lessons include the fur trade and exchange relationships, land claims, environmental impacts, legal systems and rights, political conflicts and alliances, Indigenous political activism, and contemporary Indigenous life and art.
Managing Your Health: The Role of Physical Therapy and Exercise
With this course offered by the University of Toronto, you'll learn the concepts and benefits of physical therapy and exercise.
Topics of the lessons include the importance of physical activity and exercise, common sports injuries, and how exercise relates to cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer and arthritis.
Black Canadians: History, Presence, and Anti-Racist Futures
This course from the University of Alberta explores the major histories, migrations, artists, and activists that contributed to the survival of Black people in Canada.
You'll also learn about how Canadian views of multiculturalism have influenced Black communities.
Introduction to Psychology
In this University of Toronto course, you'll explore experiments within the field of psychology and the implications those studies have on our understanding of the human mind and human behaviour.
It also covers topics like cognitive abilities the brain supports, human development, mental illness and treatments.
How to Code: Simple Data
This course from the University of British Columbia focuses on learning a systematic programming method rather than a programming language.
It's meant to help you program well in any programming language.
You'll learn techniques to develop program requirements, produce programs with consistent structure that are easily modified, and make your programs more reliable by building tests into the programming process.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.