Free Psychology Courses Online

One of the best interdisciplinary subjects to learn at any stage of your academic life or career is psychology. What better than taking free online psychology courses in your spare time! 

Why Study Psychology in 2025

Psychology exists in every human interaction. It can influence someone’s thoughts or motivate them to achieve personal or professional goals. 

See some examples below. 

1. McDonald's logo colours trigger hunger, excitement, and happiness. If you study colour psychology, you become good at visual communication. This helps you drive consumer behaviour and create compelling brand experiences. 
2. Take Satya Nadella at Microsoft, for example. He transformed the company's toxic culture by applying psychological principles of intrinsic motivation and a growth mindset. 
3. Spotify and Netflix use psychological insights to create personalised user experiences and improve app engagement. 

The bottom line -

1. Learning psychology improves self-awareness, which further helps deal with interpersonal communication at workplace. 
2. Including psychology can also lead you to volunteer and support your fellows, who may even not know they need it. 
3. Psychology can further motivate you to become a licensed psychiatrist, which you can pursue through online degrees. 

Can You Study Psychology Online for Free?

Absolutely. You can look for the  best online psychology courses on Shiksha Online from the most reputed platforms. More below. 

Where to Find the Best Free Psychology Courses Online?

The discipline of psychology is quite huge, with many branches to specialise in. The free psychology courses have those options, along with self-paced learning too. And, just as we curate the best paidonline psychology courses, we have listed many free ones on Shiksha Online that you can enrol and learn quickly. 

Today we will provide a broader overview of what these free online psychology courses from different platforms are like, what they will help you learn, and what’s good for your personal or professional development. 

Paid vs Free Online Psychology Courses: Things to Know

Chances are, you may not exactly know if free psychology courses online are a good option. The table below sheds some light into how the paid courses differ from the free options. 

Parameter	Free Online Psychology Courses	Paid Online Psychology Courses
Is Learning Free, or Are Certificates Available?	Free to enrol, but mostly without certificates	Free to enrol to paid options, and certificates guaranteed
Who Does it Benefit?	Ideal for beginners to some practitioners	Ideal for career-oriented individuals to gain deep expertise
Will You Get Access to High-Quality Education?	Access to many reputed international institutions and curriculum without any cost	Access to global universities, online BA or online MA in psychology degree options, personalised mentorship, etc., at a fraction of the cost when compared to offline counterparts

Top 5 Providers for Free Online Psychology Courses in 2025

You can always study psychology for free online. All you actually need to consider the platform where the courses are provided. Most MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platforms have their unique advantages of helping you upskill, relearn, or earn industry-relevant certificates. Below you can explore the options. 

1. Free Online Psychology Courses from Harvard University 

While you will find a wide range of free Harvard online courses across different disciplines, some of these also cover psychology broadly. These are from Harvard University’s digital wing in partnership with edX platform. 

Key USPs of Harvard’s Free Online Psychology Courses 

• The free psychology courses from Harvard are focused on applied psychology, meaning you can immediately apply them in your work or life. 
• The courses here give you access to world-renowned academics. Expect Harvard Medical School faculty, professors, social scientists from the university’s history or similar department. 

Topics to Master with Free Online Psychology Courses from Harvard

• Positive Psychology
• Mindfulness
• Resilience Building
• Managing Anxiety

Are Free Psychology Certificates Available from Harvard?

Most of these courses are free-to-enrol. For certification, you will have to pay on the partner platform, edX. 

2. Free Online Psychology Courses on Coursera

Coursera has pioneered high-quality accessible education worldwide with its free to enrol courses and competitive subscription-for-certificate model. 

Key USPs of Coursera’s Free Online Psychology Courses 

• This MOOC has some of the best university partnerships for free online psychology courses. Some top names include Yale University, the University of Toronto, and Georgia Institute of Technology. 
• The free psychology online courses are quite detailed on Coursera, and are ideal for beginners. There are transcripts available for free learners here as well. 
• The curricula are deigned by the course instructor. These instructors are from the universities offering the free psychology courses. They are highly active in the discipline and often hold Ph.Ds or higher academic and industry credentials. 

Topics to Master with Free Online Psychology Courses from Harvard

• Cognitive Psychology
• Mental Health
• Psychiatry
• Happiness
• Autism

Are Free Psychology Certificates Available from Coursera?

The certificates are unlocked with the Coursera subscription of USD 49 or more. You will also have to pass the assessments in the course as well. 

3. Free Online Psychology Courses on edX

As seen earlier, edX is a partner of Harvard University. It also partners with other top universities (like Coursera) to offer free online psychology courses. The courses on edX are either active or archived. It is ideal to take the active ones when considering paying for the latest certificates. 

Key USPs of Free Online Psychology Courses on edX

• The 120+ active, free psychology courses on edX are for both beginners and intermediates. You can choose to learn on fundamentals, but also on plenty of related and emerging disciplines like neuroscience, ecological self, and similar. 
• The options of free courses on psychology from edX are more than Coursera, at the moment, while the certification price from the former can be much greater. 
• edX also has further options to help you take your decision in academics through its excellent MicroMasters programmes, online Bachelor’s and online Masters in psychology from top universities and known institutions, including American Psychological Association, University of Cambridge, Stanford, and Harvard. 

Topics to Master with Free Online Psychology Courses from edX

• Psychosis
• Abnormal Psychology
• Behavioural Neuroscience
• Consumer Psychology

Are Free Psychology Certificates Available from edX?

Any edX course can be taken for free, but the psychology courses certificates are paid. The cost of certification varies basis to the university or industry partnership. 

4. Free Online Psychology Courses on FutureLearn

Crossing over the Atlantic, you have UK’s well-known online education platform, FutureLearn. You can find the latest topics to learn in psychology for free here, or choose to upgrade to ExpertTracks and graduate education in psychology. 

Key USPs of Free Online Psychology Courses on FutureLearn

• FutureLearn’s free psychology courses online are at introductory to intermediate levels - all of which help you master your specific area in the field. 
• The free online psychology courses on FutureLearn are grouped by subjects and suggested learning paths. Meaning, you can further choose a direction to earn some qualifications, for which, later, you can pay. 
• The psychology courses online on FutureLearn are across many interrelated disciplines. They are related to managing worklife balance, ways of thinking, making the best of your conversations. Or find online education on mental disorders and behaviours that are related to medical and healthcare domains. 
• The platform overall partners with UK-based or European universities, and the learning is aligned to best practices in those regions. So, if you happen to pursue education and career in any part of Europe in psychiatry or mental health diagnosis, FutureLearn could be the best self-paced online solution. 

Topics to Master with Free Online Psychology Courses from FutureLearn

• Autism
• Managing Stress
• Social and Emotional Development
• Inclusivity
• Understanding Trauma across Different Age Groups
• Self-care

Are Free Psychology Certificates Available from FutureLearn?

Free online psychology courses on FutureLearn are till the enrolments. You will have to pay for the certificates.

5. Free Online Psychology Courses on Alison

Alison is an incredible platform for open education that offers free online psychology courses for working professionals. The courses are well-structured and taught by experts on the platform’s free LMS (Learning Management System).  

Key USPs of Free Online Psychology Courses on Alison

• Alison has two dedicated hubs for free online psychology training. One is the Psychology hub (160+ courses), and the other, Mental Health (190+ courses). 
• The free psychology courses on Alison are for various types of working professionals in healthcare, education, business, etc. 
• Learning from Alison is quite fast when compared to others. Not to say they are not comprehensive, their curricula are designed for quick learning on specific areas of psychology. 
• Alison’s free psychology courses are great when you are looking into clearing fundamental concepts of different branches of psychology. This platform can be great at the starting point in your learning or your career. 
• It is the only provider that offers diploma-level learning on psychology for free. (But the certificate is paid).  

Topics to Master with Free Online Psychology Courses from Alison

• Clinical Psychology 
• Child Development
• Brainspotting Therapy
• Human Behaviour
• Creative Thinking

Are Free Psychology Certificates Available from Alison?

The certificates from Alison, whether they are for online course or diploma in psychology, are nominally priced. 

Top Free Online Psychology Courses in India

These are some of the best online psychology courses for free in India. All these are recommended based on enrolments, updated course topics, and learning value.  

1. Alison’s Diploma in Educational Psychology 
2. Introduction to Psychology from Yale University on Coursera
3. Social Psychology from Wesleyen University on Coursera
4. Coursera’s Methods for Quantitative Research in Psychology
5. FutureLearn’s Cognitive Psychology: Employee and Customer Behaviour 

Enrol in a Free Online Psychology Course That’s Right For You

All these platforms have their unique advantages for free online psychology training. These are absolutely perfect for personal development that further help you manage some trying times or provide emotional support to those you know. Best is, you do not have to pay anything for these online psychology classes until you want to use the certificates for CPDs (Continuing Professional Development) or improve your resume in the domain. 

 

Aquib Rahman12-17-2024 17:57