Free courses
Produced by The Open University, a world leader in open and distance learning, all OpenLearn courses are free to study. We offer nearly 1000 free courses across 9 different subject areas. Our courses are available to start right away.
Health, Sports & Psychology
Sporting women in the media
The mass media (e.g. radio, TV, internet) has become one of the most powerful institutional influences in society. This free course, Sporting women in the media, explores whether gendered inequalities exist in sport by evaluating the media coverage. The media can be highly influential in shaping perceptions about gender in sport and headlines ...
Money & Business
Exploring career mentoring and coaching
This free course, Exploring career mentoring and coaching, will explain what mentors and career coaches do and how a colleague or expert who can ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and help an individual to find the best solutions for themselves, can make a significant difference in a wide range of situations and contexts.
Health, Sports & Psychology
Improving patient, family and colleague witnesses’ experiences of Fitness to Practise proceedings
This evidence-based course provides learning about the Fitness to Practise process and being a witness.
Education & Development
Physical and mental health for young children
This free course will increase your knowledge and skills and show you ways that adults, both parents and professionals, can play an active role in supporting and promoting good health in babies and young children.
Health, Sports & Psychology
Introducing social care and social work
This free course, Introducing social care and social work, will introduce you to different social care and social work practitioner roles. It will develop your understanding of the context in which social care and social work takes place in the UK. The course is designed for people who are interested in and curious about social care or social ...
Science, Maths & Technology
Returning to STEM
This free badged course, Returning to STEM, offers useful skills and solutions to help you get back into a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM).
Health, Sports & Psychology
Talking about the menopause: symptoms, support and the role of exercise
This free OpenLearn course is designed to help anyone whose life is affected by the menopause. No matter what gender you identify with, this transitional phase can affect people in all sorts of ways, so this course is open to all. The objectives are to empower everyone, by increasing knowledge of what the menopause is and the effects it can ...
Health, Sports & Psychology
Introducing relational care
‘Relational care’ is a developing approach to care which can help address many of the challenges faced by the older adult care sector. It provides benefits not only for older people but also all those involved in their care. This free course is for providers, managers and staff of older adult residential and day care facilities. It explains ...
Health, Sports & Psychology
Supporting children and young people's wellbeing
This free course, Supporting children and young people's wellbeing, looks at some of the broader concerns regarding wellbeing and the idea that children and young people today are increasingly reporting feelings of unhappiness. By completing the activities, you will be introduced to different ways of understanding children and young people’s ...
Health, Sports & Psychology
Child mental health: is it in crisis?
There is much discussion about the issue of children and young people’s mental health problems in the media, and we often hear this issue referred to as a ‘crisis’. But what does the evidence say? Are rates of mental health problems rising? In this course you will explore these important questions as well as delving into a case study of a young ...
Health, Sports & Psychology
Introducing Climate Psychology: facing the climate crisis
This free course introduces the emerging field of Climate Psychology. It is now widely accepted that facts about climate change, taken alone, do not promote change. There is growing recognition that deeper psychological perspectives, beyond traditional psychological approaches, could enrich environment movements. Additionally, evidence is ...
Education & Development
Leadership and followership
This free course, Leadership and followership, will help you to explore what makes a good leader, recognise common leadership challenges, and identify the skills you need to develop if you want to enhance your own leadership experience.