The top online college courses cover exciting topics and bring postsecondary education to your computer, tablet, or phone.

Students interested in personal growth, refreshers on particular topics, or professional development can take individual courses. There's no need to enroll in a full-scale degree or certificate program.

Popular learning platforms include Blackboard, Canvas, and Moodle. Course delivery may be asynchronous (accessible 24/7) or synchronous, meaning you log into a virtual classroom at scheduled times. Courses may include discussion boards for interaction with classmates and instructors. 

Read on to learn about top platforms, free courses, and the best classes in popular topics such as business and computer science.

Where can I take college classes online?

You can find college courses online through:

• University extension programs, including MIT and UC Berkeley
• IT-focused training like ITProTV
• Private companies like Coursera
• On-profit organizations such as edX

We break down top options below.

Carnegie Mellon OpenLearning

CMU's Open Learning Initiative makes materials available to independent learners, employers, and teachers. Subjects include arts and humanities, business, computer science and programming, mathematics and logic, and life, physical, and social sciences. Course pricing ranges from free to medium-cost. 

Coursera

Coursera features courses from universities (like Duke, Penn, and Imperial College London) and companies such as Google, IBM, and Meta. Areas of study emphasize skill-building and include business, computer programming, data science, languages, and marketing. Costs differ by course, and learning may include video lectures and guided projects. 

edX

EdX hosts courses from more than 160 membership universities. Users can explore business, communication, computer science, engineering, and humanities. Pricing varies. Instruction methods include video lectures and interactive platforms. Member schools include Brown, CalTech, Sorbonne Universit