University of Glasgow - Study - Free online courses

Our free online courses offer high-quality learning accessible to everyone, anywhere in the world. These flexible, engaging courses are designed to be studied entirely online, supporting you to upskill in key and emerging areas, develop new knowledge to support career progression and deepen your understanding across a wide range of subjects.

You’ll engage with a variety of resources including videos, articles, peer-reviewed assignments, hands-on tasks and interactive quizzes to reinforce your learning. Our courses range from 3-5hrs per week of learning with digital certificate on offer to evidence and showcase your learning.

Registration for courses is free, with free time-limited access to content: charges may apply for additional features and extended study.

Follow UofG Online on LinkedIn to get announcements of new courses, hear directly from our learners and stay informed on all of our online offerings.

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A Global History of Sex and Gender: Bodies and Power in the Modern World

Discover how a focus on gender and sexuality transforms our understanding of modern, global history.

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A History of Royal Fashion

Explore how British royalty have influenced fashion over the last 500 years, from the Tudors to the Windsors.

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An Introduction to Playwriting

This course will provide an accessible and illuminating introduction to key playwriting skills.

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Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime

Delve into the seedy underbelly of the art world, looking at smuggling, theft, fakes, and fraud, with this free online course.

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Applied AI for Engineers & Scientists: Foundations

Arm Scientists and Engineers with AI Techniques. Use AI for engineering/scientific optimization and machine learning without complex programming.

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Basic First Aid: How to Be an Everyday Hero

Get an introduction to basic first aid, including how to help someone who is choking, with this first aid course.

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Becoming a Dentist

Decide if a dentistry career is right for you. Explore everything from the university application process to daily dentist duties.

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Biomedical Visualisation

Visualisation is a rapidly progressive specialty in academia, research and industry, and becoming the future of science.

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Cancer in the 21st Century: The Genomic Revolution

Discover how genetics is revolutionising the detection and treatment of the different types of cancer.

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Career Management for Early Career Academic Researchers

Explore different career options, learn what you want out of a career and understand how to implement good career decisions.

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Climate and Energy: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

Explore climate change issues from an interdisciplinary perspective to find innovative solutions for a better future.

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Communicating Climate Change for Effective Climate Action

Develop your climate communication skills as you learn the techniques to empower people to take urgently-needed climate action.

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Computational Thinking with JavaScript

Unlock the Thinking Behind Computing. Develop key underpinning skills to give you insight into the world of computing and to harness its potential.

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Cultural impact of housing displacement gentrification

This course provides an introduction to gentrification and to the cultural impacts of housing displacement for people in cities and neighbourhoods across the world.

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Data-Driven Leadership Skills

Learn how leadership is explicitly dealing with the fourth industrial revolution: the age of data and digital technology.

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Diversity and Inclusion in Education

Student diversity is becoming the rule rather than the exception in education systems across the world.

A scientist dressed in PPE is looking at something under a microscope. There are computer screens with images of a dna helix

DNA, Genetics, & Genomics: Understanding their Importance in Health and Cancer.

Enhance your understanding of the role genetics plays in shaping our health, and how this insight can help us treat disease. Genetic disorders, including cancer, affect all of us in one way or another, whether directly or indirectly. That’s why it’s important to understand how they develop, how they are diagnosed, and the treatments available. This ExpertTrack from the University of Glasgow will introduce you to the fundamentals of genomic and cancer science, as well as the connection between genetics and health.

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Early Modern Scottish Palaeography: Reading Scotland's Records

Travel back in time through Scottish history by examining early modern Scottish handwriting.

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Ecopedagogy for Beginners: Putting Climate Change Education Into Action

Explore practical approaches to teaching sustainability and taking effective climate action in school settings.

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End of Life Care: Challenges and Innovation

Explore dying and palliative care practice around the world and evaluate new trends and ideas surrounding end of life care issues.

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Functional Programming in Haskell: Supercharge Your Coding

Get an introduction to Haskell, the increasingly popular functional programming language, with this University of Glasgow course.

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Gender-Based Violence: Responding to Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse

Expand your understanding of intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) and learn how to recognise and support victims of abuse.

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Generative AI for Healthcare Students and Professionals

Explore real world clinical case studies of AI.

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Generative AI in Education

Discover the foundations of generative AI in our dynamic course.

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Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs)

Discover GPT's transformative impact on human-computer interaction. Delve into natural language processing, Transformer mechanics, and ethical considerations. Hands-on labs and quizzes included.

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Getting Started with Teaching Data Science in Schools

Learn the basics of data science and how to introduce data science in the classroom.

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History of Slavery in the British Caribbean

Explore the history and legacy of British colonial slavery and oppression in the Caribbean through historical slave accounts.

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Informed Clinical Decision Making using Deep Learning

Apply Deep Learning in Electronic Health Records. Understand the road path from data mining of clinical databases to clinical decision support systems

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Interpreting for Refugees: Contexts, Practices and Ethics

Learn skills to meet the challenges of interpreting for refugees and share your experiences with other interpreters in the sector.

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Introduction to Breastfeeding for Medical Students

This short module is designed to support first year medical students to understand the importance of breastfeeding in the UK.

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Introduction to Climate Justice and Equity

Learn how climate equity and justice can help the most vulnerable people address the effects of climate change.

A man lying in a hospital bed

Introduction to Critical Care Medicine

Learn how to handle complex issues faced in Critical Care Units when other options on the ward have been exhausted.

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Introduction to Teaching Sustainability and Climate Action

Discover the role that learning for sustainability and climate action has to play in tackling the climate crisis.

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MBA Essentials

Learners will delve into the vital components of the MBA experience, gaining essential knowledge, fostering the right attitude, and preparing for the challenges that lie ahead.

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Mindfulness: A Focus on Adolescents

Get a hands-on introduction to mindfulness and its benefits.

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Multilingual Learning for a Globalised World

This free online course will explore multilingual education and how it can impact and improve education and even wider society.

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Plurilingual Classrooms in Action

Develop your understanding of learning and teaching languages to explore the transformative role of languages in education.

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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the Global Context

Learn how to identify, assess the risk for, prevent and treat PTSD in a range of contexts.

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Research Impact: Making a Difference

Help your work to benefit society and the economy. Learn what research impact is and how to create it.

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Robert Burns: Poems, Songs and Legacy

Dig deeper into the life and works of Robert Burns, with this free University of Glasgow course.

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Safeguarding in Collaborative Research and International Development: Contexts,

Learn fundamental safeguarding principles and how to adapt them to suit whatever research contexts you may encounter.

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So You Want to Study Life Science?

Explore the exciting subjects within life sciences and the rewarding careers that studying life sciences at university lead to.

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Strategic Business Leadership

Lead Your Business with Strategic Vision. Define strategic leadership and assess the mindset, skills, and frameworks needed to lead in complexity. Learn to identify disruption, uncover opportunity and innovation opportunities, and lead with agility in uncertain markets. Drive digital transformation by aligning strategy, innovation, and leadership across the enterprise.

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Study Medicine: Applying for Medical School and Becoming a Medical Student

On this course, you’ll explore the process of becoming a doctor and learn what to expect from your time at medical school and beyond.

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Supporting young people’s mental wellbeing post-COVID

Reflect on how the COVID pandemic may have impacted young people’s mental wellbeing and explore ways to support them.

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Tackling Climate Change: Sustainable Business Models for a Circular Economy

Discover how circular economies and business models enable sustainability and help respond to the climate emergency.

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TESOL Strategies: Supporting ESL Students in Mainstream Classrooms

Learn the basic principles, considerations and strategies for cultivating a rich language-learning environment

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The Life and Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots

Explore the 16th century life of Mary Queen of Scots, and her place in cultural history in the centuries that followed.

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The Right to Education: Breaking Down the Barriers

How can we support those who are marginalised and excluded from education? Does education for all, mean all?

Clansmen and women dancing in a field

The Scottish Highland Clans: Origins, Decline and Transformation

Discover the important history of the Highland clans

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Understanding and Measuring the Earth’s Energy Imbalance

Learn how greenhouse gases are pushing the Earth out of balance, and why measuring the imbalance could prove crucial.

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Understanding Suicide and Suicide Prevention Strategies in a Global Context

Develop an understanding of suicide in a global context. Learn about suicide risk factors and ways to help prevent it.

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Uniting for a Sustainable Future: An Introduction to Global Sustainability

How do we create a sustainable future? Discover the path to global sustainability and how to take sustainable steps in your life.

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Using Health Technology Assessment in Support of Universal Health Coverage

Explore the key concepts of health economics and how health technology assessment aids decision-making in healthcare. On this ExpertTrack, you’ll explore the theory of health economics to understand how scarcity and resources affect decision-making. Healthcare resources are finite in every setting and, irrespective of the financing and organisation of a country’s healthcare system, decisions have to be made fairly. You’ll also discover the use of health technology assessment (HTA) as one of the tools for priority setting. This knowledge will help you start thinking like a health economist and how we can ensure decisions are based on evidence and the best outcomes.

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Working Supportively With Refugees: Principles, Skills and Perspectives

Learn how the principles of psychological well-being, communication and interpretation can benefit your work with refugees