MIT provides a wealth of free online courses and open educational resources for higher education learners and instructors. This page features highlights from:
MITx on edX: complete courses with options to earn certificates
MIT OpenCourseware: open licensed materials from 1000s of MIT courses
OCW Educator: find teaching materials, insights and inspirations from MIT faculty
MIT Open Learning Library: a collection of self-paced courses from MITx and OCW
First Year STEM Courses
These online courses from MITx, and course materials from OCW, correspond to the biology, calculus, chemistry, computer science, and physics classes taken by many first year students at MIT.
Enhancing Online Teaching
Use these video demonstrations and teaching inspirations to enrich courses that have moved from in-person to online.
Physics Demonstation Videos
This extensive collection of physics demonstration videos, produced over decades by the Technical Services Group of MIT’s Department of Physics, displays subtle concepts ranging from electromagnetism, to kinematics, to optics.
8.01SC Classical Mechanics includes demonstration videos of Projectile Motion (kinematics), Rotating Bucket (circular motion), Wrapping Friction (drag forces, constraints and continuous systems), Bicycle Wheel (angular momentum) and Spool Demo (rolling dynamics).
8.03SC Vibrations and Waves includes in-class demonstrations in nearly every OCW lecture video. Find those moments linked in the “See It In The Lecture” table at the bottom of each lecture’s webpage; and hear Prof. Yen-Jie Lee describe why and how he uses demos in class.
Educator Inspirations
The OCW Educator portal directs you to instructor insights for over 200 OCW courses. Drawing from this collection, a recent blog post highlights some of the ways MIT faculty have enhanced their teaching with online technology, even before the COVID-19 pandemic era.
Chalk Radio is an MIT OpenCourseWare podcast about inspired teaching at MIT. Go behind the scenes of some of the most interesting courses on campus to talk with the professors who make those courses possible.
Learn Programming and Computational Thinking
Start with 6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python. It’s been used successfully by millions of learners around the world little or no prior exposure to computer science and programming. Get it on MITx on edX beginning June 3, 2020. Or get started now with complete course materials on OCW.
An alternative introduction with a fun twist is OCW’s 6.S095 Programming for the Puzzled. This Python course teaches programming fundamentals using recreational puzzles.
Continue with 6.0002 Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science. You’ll develop stronger programming skills with applications to real-world problems. On MITx on edX, this course began on March 25, 2020; or you can learn anytime with all the materials on OCW.
Keep learning with OCW’s introductions to other programming languages, algorithms and the software development process; and its extensive collection of over 200 computer science-related courses from across the MIT curriculum.
Understanding the Pandemic
Biology Foundations
Start with these introductory biology courses, from human health and disease to loss of biodiversity and environmental quality.
7.00x The Secret of Life
Explore the mysteries of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, recombinant DNA technology and genomics, and rational medicine, in this complete online course. (MITx)
7.016 Introductory Biology
An introduction to fundamental principles of biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics. Lectures 30-34 cover immunology and infectious disease. (OCW)
Continue building your knowledge with these more advanced undergraduate biology courses.
7.28.1x Molecular Biology - Part 1: DNA Replication and Repair
The first in a 3-course sequence on modern molecular genetics, from the mechanisms of DNA replication and repair to cutting-edge assays that use the power of genome sequencing. (MITx)
8.591J Systems Biology
An introduction to cellular and population-level systems biology, with an emphasis on synthetic biology, modeling of genetic networks, cell-cell interactions, and evolutionary dynamics. (OCW)
Biology of Viruses
Use the lecture summaries and reading lists in these MIT Biology advanced undergraduate seminars to guide your study of current research.
7.346 Virus-host Interactions in Infectious Diseases
Co-evolution and adaptation between viruses and humans: mutation, infection, and immune responses. (OCW)
7.340 Unusual Biology: The Science of Emerging Pathogens
Experiments and research to explore the molecular basis of disease caused by emerging pathogens. (OCW)
Networks and System Dynamics
Predictions about the course of a pandemic are based on the science and mathematics of network interactions — probabilities, feedbacks, etc. — that happen within complex systems.
1.022 Introduction to Network Models
Introduction to complex networks and their structure and function. The final project is about controlling epidemics. (OCW)
15.871 Introduction to System Dynamics
Introduction to systems thinking and system dynamics modeling applied to strategy, organizational change, and policy design. (OCW)
Hot Topics & Serious Fun
Game Design and Game Studies
Learn how to create and use games for fun, learning, and connection. These are just a few of the many game studies courses on OCW and MITx.
CMS.608 Game Design
Design and analysis of non-digital games, including sports, game shows, games of chance, card games, schoolyard games, board games, and role-playing games. (OCW)
11.127J Computer Games and Simulations for Education and Exploration
Understand how we learn from digital and board games. Explore the design and use of games in the classroom and other educational settings. (OCW)
CMS.611J Creating Video Games
Learn alongside these small interdisciplinary teams to design, develop, and thoroughly test their own original games. You can play their results! (OCW)
Learn to Build Your Own Videogame with the Unity Game Engine and Microsoft Kinect
Learn about videogame creation using the Unity game engine, GitHub, and Microsoft Kinect. (OCW)
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Catch up with this fascinating fast-developing field, which is reaching into every aspect of our daily lives.
6.034 Artificial Intelligence
A popular introduction to basic knowledge representation, problem solving, and learning methods of AI. (OCW)
6.036 Introduction to Machine Learning
Principles, algorithms, and applications of machine learning from the point of view of modeling and prediction. (OLL)
Machine Learning with Python: from Linear Models to Deep Learning
An in-depth introduction to the field of machine learning, from linear models to deep learning and reinforcement learning, through hands-on Python projects. (MITx)
18.065 Matrix Methods in Data Analysis, Signal Processing, and Machine Learning
Linear algebra concepts to understand and create machine learning algorithms, especially for deep learning and neural networks. (OCW)
The Analytics Edge
Through inspiring examples and stories, discover the power of data and use analytics to provide an edge to your career and your life. (MITx)
Brains, Minds and Machines Summer Course
An interdisciplinary exploration of intelligence—its nature, how it is produced by the brain and how it could be replicated in machines. (OCW)
Time to Read, Listen, Watch, and Eat
Staying home for safety can also mean more time to settle into a great book, listen to more music, catch up on films and videos, or try out new recipes. Let courses like these be your guide to expanded horizons.