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 1: introductory icon
Society, Politics & Law
Reading and note taking – preparation for study
Reading and note taking are two essential study skills. How do you read? This free course, Reading and note taking preparation for study, will introduce you to different techniques to help you to alter the way you read according to the type of material you are studying. You will also learn the techniques behind successful note taking and how to...
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Society, Politics & Law
Psychological research, obedience and ethics
In this free course, Psychological research, obedience and ethics, you will learn about the importance of ethics in research that is undertaken by psychologists. You will read about the famous study on obedience conducted by Stanley Milgram, and watch two psychologists talk about their research with meerkats and chimpanzees.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Forensic science and fingerprints
This free course, Forensic science and fingerprints, covers how science can make fingerprints easier to study, how they are used in court and some of the questions about the extent to which fingerprint identification is sound and scientific. Students will learn the principles used in classifying and matching fingerprints (often called marks).
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Society, Politics & Law
Human rights and law
Human rights now seem to take precedent over many areas of our lives, but where do these rights come from and how did they develop? This free course, Human rights and the law, looks at the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights and its influence on law in the UK and examines the Human Rights Act 1998.
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History & The Arts
Art and the Mexican Revolution
In this free course, Art and the Mexican Revolution, you will explore one of Diego Rivera’s key murals which was commissioned by the Mexican government in the period after the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920. These monumental public artworks, designed to win over the Mexican peasantry and working-class to the new post-revolutionary state, ...
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Society, Politics & Law
The social nature of being human
This free course, The social nature of being human, will introduce you to several of the social aspects of humanity and being human. Some of these are obvious, as, during the course, you will think about crowd behaviour and consider traditional dilemmas of being in crowds. Others will be less obvious, such as the seemingly intimate and private ...
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Society, Politics & Law
From Brexit to the break-up of Britain?
This free course, From Brexit to the break-up of Britain?, sets the experience of Brexit in the context of the UK. It first analyses Brexit as a symptom of the political, economic and social geography of the UK, focusing on its uneven development in a country increasingly dominated by London and the South East of England. It then considers how ...
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Society, Politics & Law
Pro bono work and social justice
Pro bono (‘for the public good’ in Latin) involves lawyers and law students giving up their time on a voluntary basis to help people who need legal assistance but do not have the means to afford it. In this free course, Pro bono work and social justice, you will consider the role of pro bono in law schools. You will examine the relationship ...
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Society, Politics & Law
How arguments are constructed and used in the Social Sciences
This free course will enable you to understand how arguments are constructed and used in the Social Sciences. Using extracts from a Radio 4 broadcast, you will look at the different viewpoints that are taken by the participants and analyse how the different arguments are being put together.
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History & The Arts
Forth Road Bridge
Scotland's Forth Road Bridge may not be the most beautiful bridge over the Firth of Forth, but it is an incredible feat of engineering and is integral to the economy of the entire area. However, rust is threatening to destroy the cables that suspend the road. This free course uses video to explore the issues associated with the potential demise ...
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Nature & Environment
Environmental management and organisations
It is believed that environmental management requires action at all levels and by organisations of all types and sizes. However it is not always clear what we mean by environmental management and the role that organisations do and could play. This free course, explores the different interpretations and viewpoints involved by using system ...
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Society, Politics & Law
Economics and the 2008 crisis: a Keynesian view
This free course, Economics and the 2008 crisis: a Keynesian view, looks at how Keynes's theories revolutionised thinking about the causes of crises and unemployment. Keynes's thinking on how to reduce these problems was very influential with economists and policy makers for several decades following the 1930s. The economic downturn that started...