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Higher Education

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.    

Physics
Biology
Mathematics
Computer Science
Chemistry

Enhancing Online Teaching

Use these video demonstrations and teaching inspirations to enrich courses that have moved from in-person to online.

Physics Demonstation Videos

Collage of small still photos from physics demo 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.  

Photo of building with 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).

Photo of drinking glass breaking due to sound waves.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

Photo of laptop with display Never Stop Learning.

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.  

Album art graphic for Chalk Radio podcast.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

Photo of computer keyboard.

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.

Diagram of a jigsaw puzzle piece overlaid with programming code text.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.

Abstract diagram of block-based color splashes.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.

Blue and yellow fractal diagram.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.

Blue DNA helix image.

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)

Professor at the chalkboard, "Visualizing Life," fluorescence.

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. 

Diagram of DNA mechanisms.

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)

A neutrophil (a type of white blood cell, shown in blue-gray) interacting with Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria (shown in pink).

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)

Image of infected cells under a microscope.

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.

A map of the Internet.

1.022 Introduction to Network Models

Introduction to complex networks and their structure and function. The final project is about controlling epidemics. (OCW)

Causal loop diagram of a forest fire management system.

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.

Photo of a game board with clusters of pieces on it.

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)

A seated man considering his next move in a board game.

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)

Photo of a student working on their laptop on a game.

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)

Photo of several students around a table working games.

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. 

Graphic of seven figures in evolutionary arc, from chimpanzee to human hunched in front of a computer.

6.034 Artificial Intelligence

A popular introduction to basic knowledge representation, problem solving, and learning methods of AI. (OCW)

Graph.

6.036 Introduction to Machine Learning

Principles, algorithms, and applications of machine learning from the point of view of modeling and prediction. (OLL)

Digital graphic of human head with computer code overlaid.

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)

Flow chart relating linear algebra to deep learning.

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)

Photo of city sidewalk with computer code overlaid.

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)

Collage of images: brain MRI, humanoid robot, and a logic tree diagram.

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.

  • 21A.157 The Meaning of Life
  • WGS.S10 History of Women in Science and Engineering
  • 21L.011 The Film Experience
  • 21M.846 Comedy Across Media
  • 21M.065 Introduction to Musical Composition
  • ES.S41 Speak Italian With Your Mouth Full
  • ES.287 Kitchen Chemistry 
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