Free Biology Courses & Certifications

The biology course, Introduction to Biology- The Secret of Life, is an introductory course that explores different biological technologies and applications in a self-paced learning experience. 

The course is validated by the Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MITx) under the guidance of Professor Eric Lander and other experienced professors of the institute. The course free audit session to all enrolled learners is open only for a limited time which can then be upgraded to avail complete course access and certification upon assessment of the competency exam hosted by MITx. The course is packed with interactive problem sets, activities, and assessments. Though the course is self-paced, students get limited access to the course materials in the Audit Track whereas in the Verified Track, the candidates have unlimited access.

The content of the course reflects many important biological concepts that are fundamental. The course opens with a focus on the structure and functions of macromolecules, the changes they undergo with slight variations and their implications on human health, understanding hereditary and information flow in human cells, and imparting this knowledge by incorporating molecular biological techniques and understanding its potential to impact the world. The course gives the learner a foundation in modern Biology and a better understanding of the medical revolutions happening in the technological age. 

This course on synthetic biology covers all aspects of computer science, design, biochemistry, genetic engineering, engineering, and biology. This course brings all these subjects on the same platform and teaches you creative methods to solve your daily life issues in an innovative way. It covers the past, present, and upcoming scope of synthetic biology. 

This course begins with a short introduction about itself and slowly changes its direction towards interesting and challenging concepts that occur in our routine. This fifteen-week advanced level course will help a candidate to design a personal biological regulatory circuit and its application in real life. 

This course also covers the current construction being done by the biologists so that one can solve complex situations faced by him/her in real life. Few examples of such construction that this course intends to cover are toggle switches, basic oscillators, bandpass filters, and more circuits designed by them. The students can pursue this course in two tracks, namely, paid and free. In the paid mode which is the verified track, students will be given unlimited access to the course and a certificate of completion whereas in the free version which is called the audit track, they will be provided access to the course only for a limited period.

Do you want to know about the fundamental aspects of biology? Then, Basics of Biology is an excellent course you can enrol in. The course is an online free certification with a duration of 12 weeks. Basics of Biology Certification Course, offered by Swayam, is an undergraduate-level course that will provide the learners with a thorough understanding of basic knowledge about biology. Further, it will explore human physiology and mechanisms of different kinds of diseases. 

So far, 5594 students have enrolled in the Basics of Biology Certification that is administered by IIT Guwahati. The online programme on  biology is led by By Prof. Vishal Trivedi who is a professor of Bioscience and Bioengineering at IIT Guwahati. The course is open for admission to the learners free of cost; but, if they need certification, they will have to appear for the exam after paying the exam fee. 

The Sex from molecules to Elephants course is being imparted by edX and IsraelX. This course will provide the learners with knowledge about sexual reproduction amongst different organisms, from animals, corals, fish, insects, and spiders to birds and mammals. Participants will be given tools to understand sexual reproduction and its mysteries. 

Participants will be introduced to the organisms in their native habitats such as the ancient bacteria living in thermal geysers in Yellowstone National Park and the great mammals roaming in the African savannah. They will also learn about the history of life on Earth and its present state. This course covers the concepts of meiosis, heredity, the fundamental molecular event that is regarded as the basis of sex, the fertility cycle, germ cell development amongst males and females, the variability of sex determination amongst the animal kingdom, and fertilization. They will also understand primitive plants, plant evolution, and their influence on animal development and the environment. 

The candidates are allowed to select any one track from the Verified or Audit tracks. The main difference between the 2 tracks is that in the Audit mode, the candidates will be getting limited access to the course materials whereas in the case of the Verified track, the candidates will get unlimited access.

Under the Indian University Grant Commission's Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), the Biodiversity and Ecological Resources online course would count as a 4 credit course in B.Sc. Environmental Science. The program will benefit undergraduate students, such as science, arts, commerce, and other biological sciences. The environmental science course provides an overview of basic ecological and environmental services.

The Biodiversity and Ecological Resources training also covers the management and protection of natural resources, as well as their usage and overexploitation. The decrease of Earth's biological variety has considerably more profound ramifications than other environmental concerns. The in-situ and ex-situ techniques for biodiversity conservation on earth are the major conservative instruments for biodiversity conservation on earth and will be developed throughout the course. 

Energy is essential, either indirectly or directly, in the growth, evolution and survival of all forms of life. As a result, energy security is essential for economic growth and the reduction of unemployment and poverty. The Biodiversity and Ecological Resources syllabus provides in-depth knowledge of the idea and techniques of environmental sustainability for the management of all biodiversity, including the carbon sequestration and ecological footprint for sustainable growth.

You may be familiar with what DNA is, but there are some facts about DNA that are possibly beyond your wildest imagination. For example, the amount of DNA that your cells synthesise during your lifetime, if stretched out length-wise, will cover a distance of one light-year. For even more fascinating information about DNA, take the Molecular Biology - Part 1: DNA Replication and Repair online course.

The DNA inside each cell is 2m long. But somehow, all that DNA fits inside the nucleus without becoming an entwined mess. With the Molecular Biology - Part 1: DNA Replication and Repair certification course, you will learn how cellular machinery accomplishes feats like that.

This course goes beyond the ‘what’ of the scientific information you may have come across in your textbooks and explores ‘how’ scientists derive(d) this information from molecular models. The Molecular Biology - Part 1: DNA Replication and Repair online programme by edX aims to help you develop the ability to design molecular biology experiments and analyse the data collected from these experiments. The instructor-paced programme offers two options to enrol; free and paid. In the free mode, the learners will be given access to the course only for a limited period. 

This Making a Cell Therapy: Principles and Practice of Manufacturing training is a nine weeks online course. This course was designed and offered through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology via the EDX platform. Krystyn Van Vliet explains this online course.

Cellular therapies are live products that work only when they are delivered alive. This course will cover the fundamentals of cellular biology, which governs cellular growth and metabolism. Some cell therapies' improved function is dependent on our ability to engineer the cells genetically. This course will teach current and emerging approaches to genetic modification, as well as how we isolate cells from patients or donors and manipulate them, such as assisting those cells in growing and multiplying outside of the body, to generate a living product at a therapeutically relevant dose. This course will teach some of the analytical methods used to accomplish this and why these methods were chosen.

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Introduction to mechanobiology programme by Swayama is about mechanobiology. It makes the student get skilled in the concepts theoretically and practical as well. The course offers practical concepts that may be helpful to the candidates during the applications in the workplace. The course makes the students apply knowledge and take decisions wisely in an intellectual manner. The course can be learned anywhere in the candidate’s flexible way.

The course illustrates the combined concepts of mechanics and biology that explore the career in the new path. As students are searching for new paths for a career the respective path can initiate the career of the students. The course is for undergraduate level and the course involves in the study of mechanics a free flow of body simultaneously collaborating with biology as a new career option arises within.

The course is initiated by the government. Swayam is an online educational learning source that is mainly initialized for candidates who cannot afford to study in the institutions. For a learning purpose, the course is offered free of cost and the course can be done through the mobile application and website as well. After clearing the exam and fee the course offers a certificate that may help the candidates for job purposes.

IISc Bangalore curates the Cell Biology: Cellular Organization, Division and Processes course by Swayam. It is an eight-week core program designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students with a background in Biology and Chemistry. This aims to educate the candidates about Cell Biology and molecular biology.

The Cell Biology certification syllabus comprises two modules, each featuring ten lectures. Imminent faculty, Professor Shikha Laloraya will teach the course, where she will discuss some excellent and important discoveries in cell cycle regulation and chromatin organization. This curriculum belongs to the ‘Biosciences’ and ‘Biological Sciences and Bioengineering’ domains.

The Cell Biology: Cellular Organization, Division, and Processes training is rife with video lectures, offering ample study material and references. This is an online program with internal assessments and an offline test, held during the course-end. The candidate will also be eligible for the training certificate if they undertake the end-term examination and meet the certification qualifying criteria.

The Oral Biology Certification is an 8-week online course. Even if Swayam is assigned to teach the course, Saveetha Dental College in Chennai creates and validates the course syllabus. The Saveetha Dental College, Chennai and NPTEL are the organisations accredited to issue this course certificate.

The Oral Biology Certification course is an 8-week online program. The course syllabus is prepared and verified by IIT Kanpur even if Swayam is appointed to provide the course. This course certificate is presented by the Saveetha Dental College, Chennai, and NPTEL.

Oral Biology training is a part of the dental elective curriculum. This certification course is taught by a multi-faculty.

This course combines core scientific fields in distinctive and intriguing ways to solve the problem of creating brand-new, incredibly efficient ways to treat, prevent, or manage diseases and developmental disorders in the mouth and craniofacial complex. It is a vast science that encompasses molecular biology and genetics, microbiology and immunology, genomics, biochemistry, biophysics, craniofacial development, pharmacology, physiology, and cancer biology.

The Molecular Biology - Part 3: RNA Processing and Translation course by edX is the third and final part of their Molecular Biology programme. In this programme, you will learn about the mRNA translation to protein, a crucial portion of Biology’s central dogma. You will also see how RNA splicing or RNA turnover affects the outcome of this translation.

RNA processing mechanisms also influence gene expression. You will learn about these mechanisms in extensive detail with the Molecular Biology - Part 3: RNA Processing and Translation training course. It is an eight-week, advanced-level, self-paced learning programme that will help you master design skills in biological experimenting, and enhance your scientific thinking. You need to study only four to eight hours every week.

The faculty includes professors from the Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Each instructor for the Molecular Biology - Part 3: RNA Processing and Translation programme is an expert in his/her respective domain. They will deliver video lectures in English. Video transcripts are also available in two languages: English and Chinese. The programme can be taken by the candidates in two modes, namely, free and paid modes. In the free mode, the learners will be provided with limited access to the programme. 

The Nature, in Code: Biology in JavaScript programme emitting principles on- natural selection, epidemic, genetics and others with the help of programming specified to JavaScript. The Nature in Code: Biology in JavaScript syllabus does not require any prior knowledge in programming and hence provides opportunity for students belonging from a diverse background. In the course, the enrolled candidates will learn about the key concepts that revolve around biological science. 

The syllabus has been structured as “intermediate” to help students further enhance their information. With only basic biological and mathematical concepts students will receive a professional level of certificate. With the help of JavaScript, the students will be implementing biological concepts and formulas. The seven week Nature, in Code: Biology in JavaScript course will throughout be guided by experts and professionals. Emphasis will be laid on the subject of “Computer science” and students will learn about the rules that govern and rules the world of biology.

The DNA to RNA transcription process is the first step in gene expression. It is also a significant part of the central dogma of Biology. Learn about this process in extensive detail with the Molecular Biology - Part 2: Transcription and Transposition online course by edX, courtesy of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Around 50% of the human genome consists of transposable elements, i.e., the genetic information that can move from one location to another. The movement of these elements into specific genes is related to the causes of certain diseases. In the Molecular Biology - Part 2: Transcription and Transposition programme, you will learn more about how these ‘jumping elements’ work and how scientists study them.

The Molecular Biology - Part 2: Transcription and Transposition training programme will help you develop experiment design and data analysis skills. All you need to do is sign up for the course and study for 4-8 hours a week, for seven short weeks. Moreover, you can also add this biological adventure to your resume by opting for the course completion certificate. There are two options for learners to join the programme; free and paid. In the free mode, they will have only limited access to the course. 

Genome plays a major role in people, families and all mankind. The ‘Why Biology matters: the genome and you’ certification course aims to provide the foundation for a thorough biological understanding of human beings, for answering questions that can be countered by biology. It primarily focuses on increasing your knowledge of the genome, and about genetic inheritance. This course also gives an overview of the transmission of traits from one generation to the next.

By exploring genomes, it will be possible to learn the type of information the genome provides. It will also give an insight into the social and philosophical implications of genomes on human affairs, in the future. We are, after all, rooted in our biology, our DNA.

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, one of the best universities in Europe has developed this course. UPF is an international, public research-intensive university. 

The ‘The Science of Stem Cells’ online course is a study about the role of stem cells in the treatment and function in medical science. The basic science course on stem cells is offered by the American Museum of Natural History by the online education provider Coursera. The intermediate level program is conducted for the students or individuals who wish to learn about stem cells. The course curriculum can be completed in ten hours and the course modules and designed for five weeks. 

The online training is instructed by Dr. Zehra Dincer(Stem cell educator) from the American Museum of Natural History. The students are provided with the benefits of financial assistance by Coursera and flexible deadlines to complete the course at their own pace. The Science of Stem Cells course certificate is issued to the eligible candidates after completion of the certification program. The valuable insights gained during the course study will help the candidates upskill themselves in the field of basic science. 

Functional Genomics certification is an online 4 weeks course that is a presentation of the institutions NPTEL and IIT Kanpur exclusively presented on the Swayam platform. DNA technologies are highly emerging, and the full genomic sequences of different organisms are analyzed and deciphered. Still, the understanding process is critical, and since it is a challenge, that is the reason why these institutes have brought up this certification course for helping the target set of participants.

The Functional Genomics training aims at giving comprehensive approaches for studying genomic functions that can be used for developing and promoting large-scale approaches which can investigate how genomes exactly perform, what their products and their interactions are. This course has been approved by the Indian government as an FDP course. Moreover, this free programme has also got confirmation from the AICTE board. The learnings are completely free of cost, except for when seeking the end certification.

The ‘Philosophy of Science’ online course is developed and offered on the online education platform Coursera by the University of Pennsylvania. The course study is about the fundamental philosophy and techniques of the domain of sciences and the process involved with scientific observations and experiments. The course curriculum will take twelve hours to complete the program. 

The intermediate level online program enables the students to learn about objectivity and the effectiveness of the experiments and the result analysis of the scientific methods and experiments by scientists. The course educator for the program is the professor and chair of the Pennslyvania university Michael Weisberg. 

The ‘Philosophy of Science’ training program enables the students to access the course with subtitles in different languages and the candidates are provided with the financial aid that helps them in payment of the course fee. The students receive the course certificate after completing the online program.

The Introduction to Statistical Methods for Gene Mapping programme offered by edX will help the learners to get primer knowledge to statistical genetics. The candidate also gets a new approach to linkage disequilibrium mapping which is used to analyse the non- familial data successfully used to identify gene variations related with complex and common gene traits. This course enriches the knowledge of the candidate in the field of genetics.

This course is self-paced and an online programme which gives the learners an easy way to access and learn the course. This programme motivates the students to study more and more topics in statistical genetics which helps in better understanding the biological variation. 

The certificate which is issued on completion of the course by edX has the logo of the institution and signed by the instructor. This verified certificate is easily shareable to other platforms or posts it directly on LinkedIn. It can also be added to the candidate’s resume to create more job opportunities.

The Extremes of Life: Microbes and Their Diversity route could be very crucial for discovering the evolution and diversity of microorganisms. It discusses an extensive range of theories like evolution, classification, diversity, extremophiles, sequences, and so on.    

EdX provides this route in conjunction with Kyoto university that's mentioned as the best studies-centric college in Asia. The purpose of this kind of popularity is that the researchers are Noble Prize Laureates who did excessive research at some stage in their provider. Also, the school members have received numerous awards which include Gauss Prizes and Field Medals. This is a self-paced path wherein the route curriculum is nicely structured that's spread into 6 weeks. 

This direction is an excellent possibility for students who are occupied with the evolution of microbes and want to have a wider perspective on their diversity.  The candidates in the period of 4 weeks will be able to gain skills and learn about extremophiles and their importance. Since the course is free to access, the benefits of it can be availed by everyone. Although to gain the certificate, the candidates need to switch to a verified track.