Top Free Online Courses with Printable Certificates

By | April 29, 2024

In the dynamic landscape of education, the emergence of top-notch free online courses with printable certificates has revolutionized the learning experience. These courses, curated by esteemed institutions and experts globally, encompass a vast range of topics, spanning from business and technology to arts and humanities.

The allure of these courses extends beyond their inclusivity and variety to the concrete benefits they provide. Upon successful completion, participants are awarded printable certificates, serving as a validation of their commitment and effort.

Subsequently, we will delve into the process of selecting the most suitable course for your needs.

1. Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate (Coursera)

The Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate is a program provided by Google via Coursera. This entry-level, six-course certificate aims to equip IT professionals with sought-after skills such as Python, Git, and IT automation, which can facilitate career progression.

The Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate is a program that Google offers through Coursera. This certificate, consisting of six beginner-level courses, is tailored to furnish IT professionals with essential skills like Python, Git, and IT automation to enhance career prospects.

Skills you’ll gain:

  • Configuration Management
  • Python Programming
  • Using Version Control
  • Troubleshooting & Debugging
  • Automation

This certificate can be completed in about 6 months and is designed to prepare you for a variety of roles in IT, like more advanced IT Support Specialist or Junior Systems Administrator positions. Upon completion, you’ll earn a shareable certificate that you can add to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV.

2. IBM Data Science Professional Certificate (Coursera)

The IBM Data Science Professional Certificate is a program available on Coursera that equips individuals for a career in data science. The course is structured to provide essential skills and practical experience to become job-ready in around 5 months. No prior experience is necessary.

Developed by nearly 11 IBM instructors with extensive expertise in data science, the curriculum covers various topics including “What is Data Science?” and “Tools for Data Science”.

Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities of a data scientist in a business setting, the programming languages and tools commonly used in data science (such as Python and SQL), as well as techniques for data importing, cleaning, analysis, visualization, and building machine learning models and pipelines.

Upon successful completion, a professional certificate from IBM will be awarded, which can be showcased on LinkedIn, a resume, or a CV.

3. The Science of Well-Being (Coursera)

Duration: Around 11 weeks
Platform: Coursera

Yale University offers a course called “The Science of Well-Being” on Coursera. This course is available in 19 languages, but it is primarily taught in English. Its main objective is to provide valuable insights into personal development and teach the fundamental principles of well-being.

The course is instructed by Laurie Santos, a highly regarded educator. It is designed to be completed in approximately 19 hours over a span of 3 weeks, with an average workload of 6 hours per week. The course schedule is flexible, allowing learners to progress at their own pace.

Throughout the course, participants will encounter a series of challenges aimed at enhancing happiness and cultivating more productive habits.

To prepare for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos exposes common misconceptions about happiness, explores the quirks of the human mind that influence our thinking patterns, and shares relevant research that can facilitate positive change. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to effectively incorporate a specific wellness activity into their daily lives.

4. IBM Machine Learning Professional Certificate (Coursera)

Duration: Less than 3 months
Platform: Coursera

The IBM Machine Learning Professional Certificate is a course available on Coursera that is specifically designed to prepare individuals for a career in machine learning. This comprehensive course aims to provide you with the necessary skills and practical experience to become job-ready in a short period of time, less than 3 months.

Delivered in English, this course is also accessible in 20 other languages, ensuring a wide reach for learners across the globe. By enrolling in this course, you will have the opportunity to acquire the most up-to-date practical skills and knowledge that are utilized by machine learning experts in their daily professional endeavors.

Throughout the course, you will delve into various machine-learning algorithms and gain hands-on experience by creating recommender systems using Python. Additionally, you will develop a solid understanding of important concepts such as KNN, PCA, and non-negative matrix collaborative filtering.

Upon successful completion of the course, you will have acquired valuable skills in Ensemble Learning, Linear Regression, Machine Learning, Feature Engineering, Ridge Regression, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Machine Learning (ML) Algorithms, and Supervised Learning. These skills will undoubtedly enhance your proficiency in the field of machine learning.

Furthermore, you will be awarded a shareable certificate upon completion, which can be added to your LinkedIn profile, showcasing your accomplishment. Additionally, you will earn a career credential that serves as evidence of your expertise in machine learning. It is worth noting that this course has received a commendable rating of 4.6 out of 5 based on 1,503 reviews, further attesting to its quality and effectiveness.

5. Python for Everybody Specialization (Coursera)

The Python for Everybody Specialization on Coursera lasts for about 8 months. It consists of five courses offered by the University of Michigan. The specialization aims to help individuals learn programming and data analysis using Python.

The instructor for this specialization is Charles Russell Severance. The course is conducted in English, but the content is accessible in 22 different languages. This beginner-friendly specialization does not require any prior experience.

The initial course in the series is “Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python)”. This course covers topics such as installing Python, writing your first program, understanding the basics of Python programming language, and utilizing variables for storing, retrieving, and calculating information. Additionally, you will learn about core programming tools like functions and loops.

The second course is “Python Data Structures”. Here, you will learn how to develop programs that can read and write data from files, as well as store data using Python dictionaries.

The third course is “Using Python to Access Web Data”. In this course, you will learn about using regular expressions to extract data from strings, understanding web browsers’ protocols for document retrieval, retrieving data from websites and APIs using Python, and working with XML data.

Upon successful completion of the specialization, you will receive a career certificate from the University of Michigan. This certificate can be added to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to design and create applications for data retrieval, processing, and visualization as part of the Capstone Project.

6. Digital Marketing Specialization

The Digital Marketing Specialization on Coursera is an extensive program that offers an overview of the most recent digital marketing skills. It is instructed by professionals in the industry and is a component of the University of Illinois Master of Business Administration degree program.

This specialization consists of seven courses covering various topics such as brand communication, social media, content marketing, digital marketing, search marketing, mobile marketing, integrated marketing communications, marketing channels, data collection, and data analysis.

The program is structured to help you grasp the fundamentals of the evolving digital marketing environment and gain a fresh set of narratives, ideas, and tools to assist you in digitally creating, distributing, promoting, and pricing products and services.

Upon finishing the program, you will obtain a certificate that can be shared on your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Additionally, you will have the chance to apply the skills in a practical capstone project developed in collaboration with Grainger, a global B2B supplier of Maintenance Repair and Organization supplies.

The program is suitable for beginners and does not require any prior experience. It is anticipated to be completed in approximately four months, with a weekly commitment of 10 hours. The course is delivered in English, although some content may be accessible in other languages.

7. The Complete iOS 10 Developer – Create Real Apps in Swift 3 (Udemy)

The course “The Complete iOS 10 & Swift 3 Developer Course” on Udemy offers a thorough education on iOS App Development through the creation of 21 iOS apps using Swift 3 & Xcode 8. Rob Percival and Codestars, with a student base of over 2 million worldwide, are the creators of this course.

This course is suitable for individuals interested in iOS app development, regardless of prior knowledge. All coding is completed using Xcode 8, which is free, and the only prerequisite is a Mac laptop or iMac (or a Windows PC running OSX).

Participants can expect to learn how to develop any iOS app, create apps for their business or organization, and even secure app development projects on freelance platforms. The course includes complimentary web hosting, assets, and an ebook.

With a course duration of over 30 hours, the content covers all the essential information to kickstart iOS 10 development – including SiriKit, Messages and Maps Apps, and HomeKit. Additional materials are provided to enhance learning and participants receive unlimited web hosting for one year.

8. CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science (edX)

  • Duration: Approximately 11 weeks
  • Platform: edX

CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science is an entry-level course offered by Harvard University on edX. The course is taught by David J. Malan and it introduces students to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming.

The course is designed for both majors and non-majors alike, with or without prior programming experience. It teaches students how to think algorithmically and solve problems efficiently.

The topics covered in the course include abstraction, algorithms, data structures, encapsulation, resource management, security, software engineering, and web development. The languages used in the course include C, Python, SQL, and JavaScript plus CSS and HTML.

9. Introduction to Microsoft Excel (Coursera)

Duration: Around 2 hours
Platform: Coursera
The course “Introduction to Microsoft Excel” on Coursera is instructed by Summer Scaggs and Kim Webb. This course aims to assist you in comprehending how to generate an Excel spreadsheet, navigate through the spreadsheet for data input, and create basic formulas for data analysis.

Throughout the course, you will be taught how to format Excel spreadsheets, develop simple formulas, and grasp the structure, navigation, and ribbon of Excel. Additionally, the course delves into creating a spreadsheet for tracking information, analyzing data using basic formulas, and formatting your data.

Geared towards individuals with an intermediate level of experience, this course requires approximately 1.5 hours to finish. It is solely accessible on desktop. Upon completion of this course, you will have acquired practical experience in solving real-world job tasks and gained confidence in utilizing the latest tools and technologies.

10. Python for Data Science, AI & Development (IBM)

Duration: Around 26 hours
Platform: Coursera
The course “Python for Data Science, AI & Development” provided by IBM is an extensive program that aims to provide learners with essential Python skills. These skills encompass understanding crucial data structures, programming basics, and familiarity with key libraries for data science.

The course is structured to assist learners in applying their knowledge to manipulate data and build applications for data science. It encompasses Python programming concepts, variables, data structures, conditional statements, loops, functions, objects, and classes.

Learners will also develop expertise in utilizing Python libraries like Pandas and Numpy, as well as writing code using Jupyter Notebooks. The course also covers topics on extracting and parsing data from the web using APIs and Python libraries such as Beautiful Soup.

Upon completion of this course, learners should be confident in creating simple programs, handling data, and automating real-world tasks with Python.