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.
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level 3: advanced icon
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Science, Maths & Technology
Mastering systems thinking in practice
This free course, Mastering systems thinking in practice, provides a primer for someone wanting to take the postgraduate qualifications in Systems Thinking in Practice. It will help you develop new ways of thinking about and approaching situations that cross multiple discipline and skill boundaries. You will learn to think more holistically ...
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level 3: advanced icon
Society, Politics & Law
Introducing research in law and beyond
This free course, Introducing research in law and beyond, is designed to introduce you to the skills required to develop and complete a legal research project. You will learn about the complexities of research, how to identify a research topic, how to conduct a literature review and how to develop research questions. This course also considers ...
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level 1: introductory icon
Society, Politics & Law
Getting started with SPSS
Handling statistical data is an essential part of psychological research. However, many people find the idea of using statistics, and especially statistical software packages, extremely daunting. This free course, Getting started with SPSS, takes a step-by-step approach to statistics software through seven interactive activities. No statistics ...
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Digital & Computing
Systems thinking and practice
What is systems thinking and practice? The essence of systems thinking and practice is in 'seeing' the world in a particular way, because how you 'see' things affects the way you approach situations or undertake specific tasks. This free course will help you to learn about the problems of defining a system and meet some of the key concepts used ...
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level 3: advanced icon
Society, Politics & Law
The social in social science
In a complex and rapidly changing world, social scientific study examines how we produce things, communicate, govern ourselves and understand our environments, and how to solve the problems we face in the organisation of social relations and processes. This free course, The social in social science, provides a basic overview of how social ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
Society, Politics & Law
Social science and participation
This free course, Social science and participation, looks at how social science investigates participation, and uses this topic to look in particular at how social science helps to enact social worlds. As you work through the course, you will see that social science enactment of participation is closely related to social science descriptions of,...
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level 3: advanced icon
Society, Politics & Law
Who counts as a refugee?
The words 'refugee' and 'asylum seeker' have a wide variety of connotations in Britain, many of them negative. This free course, Who counts as a refugee?, explores how changing social policy and terminology help to shape, and are shaped by, the experiences of people seeking asylum in the UK.
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level 3: advanced icon
Digital & Computing
Successful IT systems
Information technology (IT) systems are a critical part of our world, in business and the public and voluntary sectors. They are often highly complex and interconnected combinations of technology, organisations and people. Success and failure of IT systems can be seen in many different settings. Many are highly successful; others fail, sometimes...
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level 1: introductory icon
Society, Politics & Law
The role of diagnosis in counselling and psychotherapy
This free course, The role of diagnosis in counselling and psychotherapy, explores the role of diagnosis in the treatment of mental health problems. It considers the history of our current understandings of 'mental health' and 'illness' with a focus on the concepts of anxiety and depression, and looks at potential gains and losses in using ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
Society, Politics & Law
‘Problem’ populations, ‘problem’ places
This free course, 'Problem' populations, 'problem' places, looks deeper into the entanglements of welfare, crime and society. It encourages you to think through these entanglements through a focus on 'problem' populations and 'problem' places. It includes treatment of the victims of Hurricane Katrina that hit the US in 2007, and also of the ...
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level 1: introductory icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Systems modelling
Maps and plans, architects and engineers, drawings, graphs and tables: all are models we use in everyday life. This free course, Systems modelling, will introduce you to the modelling process, enabling you to recognise that systems models may be used in different ways as part of a process for: improving understanding of a situation; identifying ...
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level 3: advanced icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Systems engineering: Challenging complexity
This free course, Systems engineering: Challenging complexity, examines system engineering and why it is important. You will learn to identify and evaluate the importance of relationships within the process and assess the relative importance of stakeholders. You will also be able to classify a systems engineering project in terms of the balance ...