Posted by Are you looking for free online psychology courses with certificate to enhance your knowledge and skills? Do you want to learn about psychology from the comfort of your home without breaking the bank? Look no further because I am here for you.
In today’s world, free online psychology courses for certificates are available, and they offer a fantastic opportunity to learn about the fascinating field of psychology.
With the increasing demand for psychology professionals, many universities and institutions are offering the best online psychology courses that provide a comprehensive understanding of the subject. In this blog, we will discuss the top 15 free online psychology courses that offer certificates upon completion.
These courses are the best options for anyone looking to expand their expertise and gain valuable skills in psychology.
So, let’s dive in and explore the best psychology courses available online for free!
How do I Start Learning Psychology as a Beginner?
In general learning, courses whether it is online psychology courses or any other course need some steps. But in the case of a formal course and not other skills, then great effort must be put into learning as it would help determine the mastery of that course.
Here are some of my few steps if you want to learn psychology courses as a beginner:
- Read introductory psychology books:
Introductory Psychology books are a great primer in understanding psychology as a beginner. Not because the online classes will not teach you well but because they would give you an understanding edge over those who just jump into the courses online, especially in psychological theories.
And you might wonder what books would be good for a psychology course beginner. I have a few of them. Some books like “Psychology For Dummies” by Adam Cash and “Psych 101: Psychology Facts, Basics, Statistics, Tests, and More!” by Paul Kleinman would be amazing for a starter like you.
- Take online psychology courses.
There are different platforms that offer different online psychology courses for beginners. These platforms include Coursera, Udemy, and Khan Academy. The beauty of these platforms is learning at your leisure and quickness of understanding is ensured.
This platform teaches different online psychology courses including for the beginners and the advanced ones, which you would start with the beginners and proceed to advanced with time.
Having a good knowledge of the online psychology courses you wish to learn is best when learning on these platforms as you would find your course easily. So do your research on what you want to learn first.
- Watch educational videos:
There are different educational videos on online psychology courses for beginners on different platforms like YouTube.
I did not include YouTube in the online psychology courses only because YouTube doesn’t really offer a certificate after completion of the course.
Aside from that, YouTube is a good place to learn these courses.
YouTube has a large amount of information that you would need when trying to learn free online psychology courses for beginners. I could help you too in the direction stage, and help pinpoint where you would like to learn first.
- Psychology websites:
If using some of the other listed materials might not be enough then using this website would help build your free online psychology courses for beginners.
Aside from just having videos on the best psychology courses for beginners, they have books, articles, tutorials, and other resources that would help you have a good idea of your specific course of interest.
An example of one of these great websites is the American Psychology Association. It will provide you with all the details that you need for online psychology courses for beginners
- Join online forums and discussion groups:
These are groups where you would meet people of like minds and lIke decisions.
Discussing ideas with people of like mind and higher knowledge usually helps you in certain ways. It helps you have a better understanding of the reality of some courses, giving you a better direction in selecting these courses.
I strongly advise you to find a community for online psychology courses for beginners and engage with them well as it would help you.
- Psychology Textbooks:
This would be of good help for learning online psychology courses for beginners. Even though these textbooks may be advanced they usually start from the base to start laying up the foundation for the courses. This base is what you need.
There are different Textbooks for learning even the best psychology courses and even though these books may not really be accessible offline the books can be accessed online or downloaded in PDF form.
Some of these textbooks may include “Psychology” by David G. Myers and “Introduction to Psychology ” by James W. Kalat. They are available in PDF format in different places. If you don’t know some websites to download some textbooks for free I have provided them for you here
- Find Practical Experiences:
Like all courses, psychology is very practical for better perfection in psychology. In whatever is learned practice opens a side of our eye that we have not seen before.
To do this you could add to volunteer organizations to work with people having psychological issues and join them in working on the patients.
Take note of things like the voice used in one case, the approach, the eye contact, and other practical things that would help you in the long run in learning and practice.
- Taking notes:
“A short pencil is better than a long memory!” – Kent Matsueda
This quote I would always keep this to heart as it has been the driving force to my successful learning.
Taking notes has a lot of advantages. It helps you have a better understanding of the lectures especially when you present them in words that are easily and best understood by you.
Aside from that, taking notes helps us never forget what we have already come across, especially the fundamentals. You could always return to them to pick information that would be necessary.
Where can I Learn Psychology Online for Free?
There are different platforms to learn psychology online for free. A good majority of them are platforms where you would still learn other courses online for free.
The platforms for learning Free online psychology courses for beginners include the following:
- Khan Academy
This platform is good for learning the best online psychology courses. They have numerous online psychology courses for beginners and will walk you through each according to your search.
- Coursera
Coursera is another online learning platform for free online psychology courses for beginners. Different universities provide the best online psychology courses for free or at a very small charge.
The offer certificate of completion after the online psychology courses is fully completed by the student. This certificate is authentic, printable, and presentable at a large number of places.
- OpenLearn
OpenLearn a product of The Open University has helped in the provision of the best online psychology courses. This online platform is user-friendly, with lecturers dedicated to helping you in online psychology courses to the best of their effort.
- Alison:
Alison to is a free online learning platform. It too offers free online psychology courses for beginners. The lectures are self-paced, easily understandable and the website is user-friendly.
- Psychology.org
This website is specific as it is dedicated to providing lectures on the best online psychology courses. Although learning here is not so formal and certificates may not be given, the site has a whole lot of articles and textbooks that would be brilliant for self-study.
Which Online Platform is Best Psychology?
The great majority of them listed above are great. However, from personal experience, I really find platforms like Coursera really good.
Coursera would not only provide you with Free Online Psychology courses for beginners but would also put a great effort into teaching and accessing quizzes to ensure you have a good understanding of the materials though.
Coursera also provides a very flexible learning time, especially for people who combine learning with other aspects like work, school, or childcare.
Coursera also offers certificates of completion after you are done with your free online psychology courses for beginners.
Remember, while. the other platforms are also very good for learning courses online, I gave my answer only based on my personal experiences and that which I am familiar with. If Coursera does not sit well with you feel free to try any other platform as they might just favor you.
Below are the Top 15 Free Online Psychology Courses with Certificates.
Below is a list of the top 15 free online psychology courses with Certificates :
- Social Psychology
- Positive Psychology.
- Introduction to Psychology.
- Psychology of Learning.
- Forensic Psychology.
- Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life.
- The Science of Happiness.
- Abnormal Psychology.
- The Psychology of Criminal Justice.
- Developmental Psychology.
- The Science of Everyday Thinking.
- Psychology of Political Activism Women Changing the World.
- Learning Through Cognitive Psychology.
- Introduction Social Psychology.
- Psychology of Popularity.
Top 15 Free Online Psychology Courses with Certificates.
1. Social Psychology
About Course: Humans are social animals, and our socialization is a great aspect of our lives. This free online psychology course for beginners deals with this.
Social psychology is one of the best online psychology courses and it focuses on the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals, and how these are influenced by social groups around the individual.
This includes how our ideas as individuals are influenced by the general people around us.
Institutions of Study: Wesleyan University
Duration of Study: 8 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
2. Positive Psychology
About the Course: There is immense power in positive thinking, and with wholesome thinking comes good health. To know this you have to be able to understand it and prove and this free online psychology course for beginners does just that.
Positive Psychology does not just study normal humans but studies positive thoughts and how it can have a large impact on the mental, physical, and psychological well-being of an individual.
This is one of the best online psychology courses because of its application. If individuals understand that by positive thoughts a good number of their problems are solved then a lot of things change
Institutions of Study: University of North Carolina
Duration of Study: 6 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
3. Introduction to Psychology
About Course: This is one of the free online psychology courses with certificates and is the basics of it all. It is the foundation of it all and gives you a general view of psychology and all its aspects.
As part of the introduction, this free online psychology course also introduces students to the two basic concepts of psychology, the methods used in research, and theories in psychology.
Institutions of Study: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Duration of Study: 14 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
4. Psychology of Learning
About Course: Humanity would not have come this far without learning and memory. Whatever mistakes are made today need memory to be remembered and needs learning to be corrected.
This free online psychology course would teach you how individuals obtain knowledge, develop skills, and change their behaviors through different learning processes. This is studied along with memory and how it enhances psychology.
Institutions of Study: University of Arizona
Duration of Study: 10 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
5. Forensic Psychology
About Course: This is very similar to the Psychology of Criminal Justice. This involves the application of Psychology in the uncovering of criminal cases, understanding the mind of the suspect, and determination of the criminal intent.
Institutions of Study: Open University
Duration of Study: 8 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
6. Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life
About Course: This free online psychology course I consider the core of psychology because it revolves around the origin of psychology, the brain.
‘Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life’ is a course that teaches the brain, its neural mechanisms, and a strong relationship between the brain and behavior. If you really wish to understand in depth the brain
Institutions of Study: The University of Chicago
Duration of Study: 9 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
7. The Science of Happiness
About Course: Like all other positive emotions, happiness brings about a pleasant lifestyle and has a positive impact on one’s health in general.
This course I find one of the best online psychology courses because it studies happiness scientifically and its impact on the lives of an individual in general. It tries to understand how happiness and positivity bring about a more fulfilling lifestyle in individuals
They use different methods usually scientifically backed and some backed by the thorough lifestyles of happy individuals and how it has helped them.
Institutions of Study: University of California, Berkeley
Duration of Study: 10 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
8. Abnormal Psychology
About course: The difference between some that are mentally unstable and one that is stable may not be physically observed except the action is performed. Abnormality mentally is usually a difference up there.
Abnormal Psychology is one of the best online psychology courses in that it gives attention to the psychologically abnormal, trying to understand the causes and providing treatment to them if possible.
Institutions of Study:
Duration of Study: 8 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
9. The Psychology of Criminal Justice
About Course: This course is one of the top 15 free online psychology courses for beginners that teaches learners to apply psychology properly in the setting of the law and in criminal justice.
It enables them to dive inside the mind of the criminal, understand if he is guilty or not, his intentions of doing so, and have deeper insights about them before bringing whatever sentence upon them.
Institutions of Study: University of Queensland
Duration of Study: 8 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
10. Developmental Psychology
About Course: Change is constant with growth. With the change, an abnormality is suspected. Throughout life, we change in various ways which are physical, mental, and other.
Developmental Psychology is one of the Free online psychology courses for beginners that studies this. It acknowledges that there is a change from infancy to adulthood and tries to understand how individuals change physically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially throughout those ages.
Institutions of Study: University of Queensland
Duration of Study: 10 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
11. The Science of Everyday Thinking
About Course: For every action that is performed a thinking process has to be done. To think is human and a human who does not think cannot act. Even though actions may be performed out of habit or involuntarily a minimal amount of thinking must have been done.
The Science of Everyday Thinking is one of the top 15 free online psychology courses with certificates that teaches the mental processes that are involved in thinking and making decisions every day as a human.
This course is one of the best psychology courses because the learners would understand how the mind works, how everyday judgment is made, and how beliefs are formed in our daily lives.
Institutions of Study: University of Queensland
Duration of Study: 12 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
12. Psychology of Political Activism: Women Changing the World
About course: Whenever we speak of women who changed the world some names like Gloria Steinem and Loretta Ross come to our minds. This free online psychology course for beginners speaks on this.
Psychology of Political Activism: Women Changing the World is a Free online psychology course that deals with the study of the mind of Women that have stood out and fought for general rights, especially political rights.
Thus the best psychology course studies them according to their previous experiences and how it has affected them in their present hardened them and given them the confidence to stand up in a male-dominated society for their ‘rights’.
Institutions of Study: Smith College
Duration of Study: 5 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
13. Learning Through Cognitive Psychology
About Course: Ever wondered why some memory of a childhood experience never seems to leave your head? But when it comes to trying to cram information for some test it seems all difficult. This free online psychology course handles this.
To do this Learning Through Cognitive Psychology walks you through a lot of things with the intent of trying to teach you science surrounding memory and information.
With this understanding, you are able to teach people study habits that are effective for remembrance with backups from psychological reasons.
Institutions of Study: American Psychological Association
Duration of Study: 15 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
14. Introduction Social Psychology
About Course: An individual is a product of the society they come from. This is popularly nurture as compared to nature which is the individual innate self itself.
This free online psychology course for beginners studies this society and how it influences individuals around and how it influences the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of the individual.
Institutions of Study: University of Queensland
Duration of Study: 6 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with certificates.
15. Psychology of Popularity
About the Course: Don’t be fooled by its name. As children, the popularity we faced or had around us has influenced our attitudes in different ways that we cannot even realize and this course studies that. It is not about acquiring fame, take note.
This is one of the top 15 free online psychology courses with certificates that teaches how the levels of popularity in childhood and adolescent periods affect an individual in their years of maturity. It might be in their ego, narcissism, their sociality, self-worth, and other aspects of their life.
Institutions of Study: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Duration of Study: 6 weeks
Click here to enroll in this free online psychology course with a certificate.
Recommendations.
- 20 Free Medical Assistant Online Courses
- 25 Best Accredited Associate Degrees in 6 Months Online
- 20 Best Accredited Self-Paced Online Colleges
- 4-Week Medical Assistant Programs Online
- 20 Best 18-Month Doctorates without Dissertation.
Frequently Asked Questions.
What is the easiest psychology to learn?
The ease of learning psychology especially these Top 15 Online Psychology Courses is dependent on a lot of factors. The main factor is in determination, but prevailed in determination is the other things we need to do to better in the course. These include The way we take notes Our seriousness in the assignments The way we practice all that we learn and many other factors that I have already listed at the beginning of the blog already. Asides from that we cannot deny that the difficulty of a course varies else why would some jobs be higher paying than others. That being said. From my gathered research I present you this. The easiest psychology to study is general psychology. This is because it is the most basic of all the psychology courses online and therefore just introduces you to the outskirts of psychology. General psychology would introduce you to the human mind, how it works, memory, perception, psychological disorders, and theories of psychology. This is very important ad it is the bedrock of psychology and everything else would be built on it. Not only is it easy this online psychology course is very helpful and would be recommended as a must-learn for every one of you that is wishing to learn 'Top 15 free online psychology courses for beginners'.
How do you analyze a person in psychology?
If I am not mistaken this is the major driver of a good number of us in wishing to study psychology online. The need to be able to look at someone and determine their mind or if they are being honest. This desire must have come from movies. It takes a good amount of grind to get to that point of reading people that way. And fortunately for you, some of the courses are covered here in the article 'Top 15 Free Online Psychology Courses with Certificate'. But there are some general habits of psychologists that help them study people better. Some of these habits include the following: Initial interview of the person. 1. Psychological assessment of the person ( Intelligence test, Personality test, Behaviour observation...) 2. Self-report measures. 3. Clinical interviews. 4. Psychological history. 5. Integration and collaboration of data studied of the patient. This may all sound big but after you are done studying the best psychological courses online you would actually be able to study and understand people better.
How much time should I allocate to studying each week for these courses?
To learn these Top 15 Free Online Psychology Courses with certificates you really have to invest the time that you be sufficient for you. Asides from the basic hard work that you really need to put into the course you also have to know your learning pace and allocate enough time and effort to learn. Remember all the efforts needed still stands. Efforts like taking notes, Practical experiences, Finishing all assignments exceptionally, and others would go a very long way in helping you be a fast learner or not.
Are there any prerequisites or recommended prior knowledge for these courses?
I think I have answered this question in the bringing of this article but I would also love to emphasize it again. In as much as these courses are possible to learn and understand when the time comes, it would be even better if we have some foundation to help us. This foundation comes from a lot of things. Learning general psychology first. Having some psychology textbooks by your side to help you. Reading novels written by psychologists and others. This will all give you an upper hand in studying the best psychology courses online and they will all feel like a work over to you.
Do these courses provide certificates or credentials upon completion?
Yes, a good majority of some platforms that offer these free psychology courses online give a certificate of completion after you are done writing with them. This is usually in gold deal with the university. Platforms that may offer this include Coursera Udacity and other. These certificates are usually printable and usable. They show that you have worked hard and have successfully completed the course and they are verifiable on the websites of the courses if need be.
Conclusion.
I have given you the top 15 online psychology courses with certificates. I also made sure that before I did I provided you with the ways you would study these courses to make them more understandable to you.
In the end, I tried to answer your questions about learning the Top 15 Online Psychology Courses with Certificates. Know this blog has helped you well.
Do write to me in the comment about how it has helped you. Subscribe to our newsletter and send your questions as I would try my best to answer them personally to the best of my knowledge.