FutureLearn Reviews on Courses, Pricing, Features & Career Impact

Last updated on 22 Jan '25

FutureLearn
All About Courses & Platform

FutureLearn is partnering with AECC and SI-UK to expand its global reach, help international students access education abroad, and promote cross-cultural learning.

FutureLearn Overview

Table of content

FutureLearn About FutureLearn
Why Choose FutureLearn
FutureLearn Partners - Universities and Professional Bodies
Types of Online Courses on FutureLearn
FutureLearn Student Reviews
FutureLearn FAQs Related To FutureLearn

FutureLearn
About FutureLearn

FutureLearn is a global online learning platform in the UK. Launched by The Open University, it is owned by Global University Systems.

Since September 2013, FutureLearn has been partnering with leading universities, cultural institutions, and professional bodies, committing to offering 100% online courses accessible to everyone from anywhere in the world.

Learners can choose between free e-learning without certificates, paid course upgrades with certificates, and a flexible annual or monthly subscription system.

Over 46 million learners have registered on the FutureLearn platform for the most convenient higher education choices it offers virtually. For lifelong learning and career needs, one can choose among short courses, ExpertTracks, microcredentials (with stackable pathways), and flexible degrees.

The 14 broad areas of online study here range from business and management to science, engineering, and maths. These comprise more than 2000 courses from 200+ partnering academic and government institutions. Learners can expect high-quality courses and online degree offerings from the University of Adelaide, University of Nottingham, Accenture, Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM), and Entrepreneurial Sales Institute, among many others.

Provider Name	FutureLearn
Established In	2013
Official Website	https://www.futurelearn.com/
Founded By	The Open University
Popular For	Short courses, ExpertTracks, microcredentials, and degrees
Top Selling Courses at FutureLearn	Data Analytics for Managers by FutureLearn FutureLearn and Coventry University's MSc in Cyber Security FutureLearn's Digital Skills - User Experience FutureLearn's Improving Healthcare Through Clinical Research
Learner Base	46 Million

Commonly asked questions
On Highlights

Q: How accessible is FutureLearn?

One of FutureLearn’s main values is enhancing social learning. The discussion forums are quite well-received among users, where they can comment or clear doubts. FutureLearn also has a transparent review system where anyone can see the reviews of a course, whether good or bad and decide based on them. Also, the free-to-enrol short courses are usually available for two weeks or so, which gives ample time for learning a topic quickly, with an option to upgrade if the learner believes the paid course certificate or subscription is going to boost their credibility.

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Why Choose FutureLearn

FutureLearn offers interrelated courses in high-demand fields like IT and business for comprehensive skill development.
It partners with reputed European universities to offer microcredentials and postgraduate programmes.
The courses come with CPDs for professional development.

FutureLearn Partners - Universities and Professional Bodies

There are over 200 partner institutions of FutureLearn. Some of the most reputable ones are mentioned here.

Partner University/Institution	Description
University of Leeds	A leading Russell Group university known for its innovative digital learning and credit-bearing online courses.
Deakin University	An Australian university recognised for its flexible online education offerings and strong industry connections.
University of Adelaide	A research-intensive university in Australia, offering a diverse range of online courses through FutureLearn.
The Open University	The founding partner of FutureLearn, known for its commitment to accessible and flexible education.
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts	A Swiss institution focused on practical education and applied sciences, offering diverse online learning opportunities.
NHS England	The publicly funded healthcare system in England, collaborating with FutureLearn to provide health-related courses and training.

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Commonly asked questions
On Collaboration & Partnerships

Q: What is FutureLearn for Businesses?

FutureLearn provides enterprise training to universities, businesses, governments, and schools. These can be customised paths for teams and staff.

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Types of Online Courses on FutureLearn

There are four categories of learning.

Short Courses on FutureLearn

These courses last 2 to 8 weeks and cater to varying skill levels, from beginners to advanced learners. Upon completion, certificates are available for a fee.

There are three options under short courses.

Upgrades: Available for a limited period, upgrades allow extended access to course materials and certification for a fee after the initial free access ends.
Unlimited: With an Unlimited membership, you can access a broad range of short courses, making it ideal for those planning to take multiple courses.
Premium: Designed for professionals seeking ongoing education, these courses are typically more expensive and do not offer limited access.

ExpertTracks on FutureLearn

These are subscription-based courses aimed at skill development for the workplace, with a free trial available to explore the content.

Microcredentials on FutureLearn

Accredited courses last about 12 weeks and often provide university credits or professional qualifications in specific fields. There are around 130 currently.

Degrees on FutureLearn

Full accredited degree programs are available, with options for free taster modules to assess fit before committing. There are online MBA degrees, psychology degrees, and teaching degrees, across 150+ topics.

You can get a detailed overview of these and their benefits on our page covering online courses on FutureLearn.

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Commonly asked questions
On Others

Q: Are FutureLearn certificates free?

FutureLearn does not provide free certificates, but offers free-to-audit courses with weekly lessons and limited access until it’s completed. It is recommended to choose the Unlimited subscription option that helps one obtain the Certificate of Achievement for any standalone short course they pursue and complete.

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Q: Are FutureLearn microcredentials worth it?

FutureLearn's microcredentials help you become job ready as they are more specialised for the field you study in. These are also more advanced and usually are available for postgraduate level.

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FutureLearn
Students Ratings & Reviews

4.6/5

86 Ratings

4-5
65
3-4
16
2-3
2
1-2
3

Mimi

Search Marketing: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Learning Experience: The course was easy to understand and it was available for free as a short course. The course had many videos-based learning which featured the professional and it also had transcription for the videos. The duration was 1 hour per week and did also a glossary for a proper understanding of the terms used. The video also had animations which made it quite captivating. It was a very interesting course

Faculty: Very professional and experienced The professional teaching in an easily understandable language with many further attachments given below each chapter and presentable and animated videos made it captivating

Course Support: Yes it helped in understand more about the concept, how it is being used, and pros and cons and all details about it were mentioned in different chapters there was 1 test which helped us to know how much we understood the concept

Reviewed on 19 Jan 2024Read More

Nandhini U

Digital Marketing in Perspective

Learning Experience: Content marketing is the development and distribution of relevant, useful contentblogs, newsletters, white papers, social media posts, emails, videos, and the liketo current and potential customers.

Faculty: In this business and management certificate course focused on the foundations of digital marketing, you will gain an understanding of how the digital economy works and develop the critical insights necessary to succeed in e-commerce and digital and social media marketing. Digital marketing is the process of using digital technologies to promote your products and services. It is important, Whether you are a business, a non-profit, or an organization, digital marketing can be used to grow your customer base and increase your profits.

Reviewed on 25 Feb 2023Read More

Amol Nand Kardak

Effective Communication Skills for Professionals

Learning Experience: It was a great experience, got to know the importance of Lean Sis Sigam

Faculty: Great It was a great experience, got to know the importance of Lean Six Sigam

Reviewed on 5 Feb 2023Read More

Evangeline Rose Jeyaseelan

Digital Skills: Social Media

Learning Experience: It is very useful for today's life. This course employ the awareness of digital marketing with the use of social media.

Faculty: The quality of lectures are so impressive. The measures they took to produce the final result which is our knowledge is excellent. The course structure is for 2 weeks it contain flash cards, videos and intresting facts with neat pictures.

Reviewed on 4 Feb 2023Read More

J Gokulavan

Introduction to GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation

Learning Experience: Course content was well crafted, good exercises & assessment techniques have been witnessed. The timeline and self study option was very appropriate.

Faculty: This was a self learning course, only queries get answered if any. Peer group or live sessions were not available. Even though the course is from an American University, the struture and details of General Data Protection Regulation which pertains to Europe predominantly is well handled.

Course Support: Any certification is valued and during appraisal all these are taken care. Also these are helpful to claim CPE/PDU/IDU etc.,

Reviewed on 20 Jan 2023Read More

Naveen Infant P

Computer Programming for Everyone

Learning Experience: It was an wonderful experience with University of Leeds, England. It was not that tough to learn because the platform provided all the guidelines to upskill or enhance a new skill. Easy to learn and attempt a test given by the course team.

Faculty: The faculty team provided everything we need to complete the course. The sessions were not live but with pre recorded videos. The curriculum was about the basic computer programming which can be learnt by everyone. Firstly it was so easy to learn and student friendly.

Reviewed on 5 Nov 2022Read More

View All 62 Reviews

FutureLearn
FAQs Related To FutureLearn

Q: Is FutureLearn better than Coursera?

FutureLearn and Coursera have a similar model of helping learners upskill with the latest courses and university partnerships. Affordability-wise, FutureLearn is better as it costs around INR 1100 per month, while Coursera costs around USD 49 (roughly INR 4500) per month. Another benefit of FutureLearn is that the certificates for its short-term courses online come with CPD credits. That can help freshers and professionals showcase on their LinkedIn profile or while pursuing their college education. While Coursera's certificates are globally known, they do not come with credits.

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Content authored by:

Syed Aquib Ur Rahman

Updated on Jan 22, 2025

FutureLearn

FutureLearn Reviews on Courses, Pricing, Features & Career Impact

FutureLearn
All About Courses & Platform