Free Genetics Courses & Certifications

A four-credit course, the Principles of Genetics course by Swayam has been specially designed for undergraduates of all life science programmes. The online course aims to equip candidates with the fundamental knowledge of heredity, genetics, and inheritance. And to build a foundational understanding of the various biological principles. 

Spread over 12 weeks, the Principles of Genetics certification syllabus broadly covers the genetics' fundamentals, Mendelism and its extensions, Linkage and Extranuclear inheritance, and sex determination. Each unit, spread across three weeks, contains 15 hours of teaching for a comprehensive understanding of the concepts. 

Other core topics covered in the Principles of Genetics programme are laws of inheritances, gene functions, Mendel's principles, gene interactions, genetics' framework, among others. 

However, they can only avail of the Principles of Genetics certification after paying the certification fee and meeting the minimum marks criteria in the internal assessment and end-term exam. 

Bioethics by edX is developed by the prestigious and well-known Harvard University. It is a ten weeks-long program that will be instructed online by Harvard Law University's expert faculty. However, this is an introductory program primarily related to medicine. A student can get himself/herself enrolled in it for free. However, if the student wants certification, the only requirement is a fee.

Moreover, learners will have access to the video transcripts of the lessons. Also, they can learn at their own speed and time. This is a short-term certification that enhances your knowledge of bioethics. Furthermore, the Bioethics certification syllabus is divided into seven units, each taking you through the different aspects of bioethics.

Firstly, the students are informed about the sale and purchase of reproductive materials, and surrogacy. With the Bioethics certification course, students explore civil lawsuits about wrongful life and wrongful birth, and concepts of sperm donation, egg donation, donor anonymity, enhancement, and more. The curriculum also covers the hybridization of human and animal genetic materials and patents about them. Post the programme, the candidates will be provided with a certificate for those who joined the programme by the fee. Those who opted for auditing the programme can access it for a limited duration. 

The ‘Useful Genetics Part 1: How Our Genes Shape Us’ online training is organized for the students to enable them to gain insights on the various aspects of genetics and to study the effects of DNA transformation and inheriting genes in our personal and societal dimensions. This certification course is provided by the Edx online education portal and the course curriculum is designed and offered by the University of British Columbia. The students can complete the course modules in an estimated time of seven weeks with spending six to eight hours per week in the self-paced online learning program.

The instructor for this medicine course is the zoology professor, Rosemary Redfield who will guide the students into acquiring theoretical and practical perspectives of the genetic concepts. The ‘Useful Genetics Part 1: How Our Genes Shape Us’ certification course ensures the participants of the program receive a course certificate at the end of the program after finishing the study, graded assessments, and the final exam.

Spread across six weeks, FutureLearn  ’S Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree programme imparts knowledge about the beauty of exploring one’s family history. Candidates can complete this short course by dedicating only four hours per week, discovering basic genealogy techniques. These will allow them to communicate about their family history, research effectively, and to understand how intricately genealogy operates. 

The Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree online course is developed by the University of Strathclyde, one of Glasgow’s leading international technological universities. The training curriculum covers critical topics such as DNA testing, effective searching techniques, analyzing documents, documenting research, and many more. Mastering these will enable the learners to become fluent in genealogy basics, forming a sturdy foundation about its core knowledge. 

Furthermore, the Genealogy: Researching Your Family Tree course by FutureLearn is a free programme, but also has payable upgrades. Opting for those will allow candidates to unlock lifetime course access, flexibility to complete it at their own pace, and various other benefits. As a part of the Study UK Campaign, students also avail the opportunity to secure a digital or printable certificate.

The Genomics Era: the Future of Genetics in Medicine certification is a course in Genomics of the healthcare program that is a joint effort between 3 institutions, one if FutureLearn where the course is provided, and the other 2 are St George's, University of London, and St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust who have made contributions to the content. This course will encourage candidates to study genomics even at the postgraduate level.

The number of learning hours for The Genomics Era: the Future of Genetics in Medicine training is only 2 hours that is free of cost, and will teach a basic level of genomic medicine. The course will also give information on the new technologies of human genetics in the field of Medicine and helping patients in their misery by correctly diagnosing, prescribing treatment, and preventing deadly diseases. In the end, the students can use the results of the genome for the benefit of the patient without making a compromise with their safety.

The Case Studies in Functional Genomics Online Course is an open online course that deals with the specialized study of RNA-seq data and DNA methylation data. The advanced level course can be opted for by students who have completed studies in Statistical Inference and Modelling for High-throughput Experiments and High-Dimensional Data Analysis.

The Case Studies in Functional Genomics Certification Course is offered on the Harvard X platform collaborated by edX and Harvard University. The course is delivered through online course materials and assignments. After the successful completion of the self-paced course, students will get a shareable certificate if they have opted for the verified track by paying the fee. Without the fee, the candidates can audit it for a limited duration. 

The Case Studies in Functional Genomics Training Course is taught over 5 weeks and coordinated by Rafael Irizarry, Michael Love, and Vincent Carey of Harvard University. The course will assist students who wish to gain proficiency and achieve a professional certificate in data analysis for genomics.

The ‘Useful Genetics, Part 2: Genes and Genetic Inheritance’ online certification course is designed for the students to focus on the challenging aspects of genetics and their impact on the health and well-being of human beings. This course of medicine lets us explore the process and factors that influence the inheritance of specific genes that lead to personal and societal traits. The intermediate-level course is provided by the Edx online education platform in collaboration with the University of British Columbia. The course classes are scheduled for an approximate period of five weeks and the candidates will have to spend six to eight hours every week to complete the course effectively.

The instructor for this self-paced online program is zoology professor, Rosemary Redfield, and the classes are organized through online learning content such as videos, online lectures, graded assignments, and quizzes.

The ‘Useful Genetics, Part 2: Genes and Genetic Inheritance’ certification course enables students to get a course certificate after finishing the course of study and the graded assignments.

Available at the UG/PG level, the Human Molecular Genetics programme on the Swayam portal provides an introductory understanding of genetic counselling and biomedical research. In just four weeks, you will cover the primary tools and techniques involved in genetic study.

The Human Molecular Genetics syllabus comprehensively touches upon the rapid advancements that define the human genome's role in understanding disease and health. Additionally, you will learn the core concepts of pedigree analysis, the inheritance of human traits, and chromosome organisation.

As the Human Molecular Genetics course progresses, you will become familiar with molecular biology tools for understanding gene structure, gene mapping, gene mutation, genome, and gene cloning strategies. The course concludes with an analysis of HapMap and the human genome project.

Besides, the Human Molecular Genetics certification course curriculum is rife with numerous learning aids. You will receive weekly lectures, books & references, and an online forum for discussions. If you meet the qualifying criteria, you can also obtain an e-certificate.

The Introduction to Bioconductor Course is an intermediate-level course offered on the HarvardX platform in collaboration with edX and Harvard University. The course will acquaint learners with different genomic features, genomic coordinates, algorithms, and the core statistical methods through interactive lectures and lab experiments.

The Introduction to Bioconductor Certification Course is an open online course taught in a self-paced manner. The course is apt for students who wish to increase their subject knowledge and specialize in data analysis and statistics. The course aims at imparting specialized knowledge and skills to students through online study materials.

The Introduction to Bioconductor Training Syllabus is prepared with the coordinated efforts of the course instructors at Harvard University, Rafael Irizarry, Michael Love, and Vincent Carey. The course constitutes graded assignments and exams as the mode of assessment for students who choose to enrol in the paid version of the course. The students will be rewarded with a certificate upon completion. For free, they can audit the self-paced course for a limited period. 

The Advanced Bioconductor Certification Course is an open online course dealing with the visualization of genome-scale data and the core concepts of reproducible research and analysis. The course aims at students who are trying to pursue a professional certificate in data analysis for genomics.

The Advanced Bioconductor Training Course offered on the HarvardX platform in collaboration with edX and Harvard University is taught in a self-paced manner over a 4-week duration. The English medium course is delivered with the help of online course materials that are available on an unlimited basis for students who opt for the paid version of the self-paced course. In the free of cost, the candidates can also audit it for a limited period. 

The Advanced Bioconductor Online Course is an advanced-level course that requires students to have completed specialized courses in Statistical Inference and Modelling for High-throughput Experiments and High-Dimensional Data Analysis. The course will be coordinated by Rafael Irizarry and Michael Love, Professors at Harvard University.

Introduction to Genetics and Evolution certification by Duke University, and Coursera is an 11 weeks course that is a college-level course that is offered to its participants. Irrespective of this being a certification course over a span of 25 years, candidates will be prepared to understand basic biology so that they can be prepared for the issues like clarifying misconceptions so that they are ready for advanced coursework on biological topics.

Introduction to Genetics and Evolution training gives the participants a very basic overview of principles related to the fundamental and basic concepts of genetics in biology. Everyone often comes across the term genome sequencing or kits identifying what the participant’s pre-human and human ancestry look like from DNA sequencing. Beyond completion of this programme, a certificate is guaranteed to all the participants for genetic sequencing. Also, participants can enjoy the comfort of their homes while learning this programme.

The ‘Introduction to Human Behavioral Genetics’ certification course is developed by the University of Minnesota for the students to gain a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental concepts and theories associated with the behavioral genetic tools and techniques. This course also focuses on the practical aspects of the challenges faced regarding the behavioral aspects. This online course is provided by the Coursera education portal for an estimated period of eight weeks. The course contents are designed to be completed in twenty six hours and are offered with subtitles to enable easy access to the texts for those from various language backgrounds.

The candidates of this course are guided by Matt McGue, a Regents professor from the department of psychology. This online training program enables students to gain skills and knowledge based on psychology and human genetics. The ‘Introduction to Human Behavioral Genetics’ online certification program ensures students of this training receive a course completion certificate at the end of the course.

The ‘Classical papers in molecular genetics’ online certification course is designed for the students to get an opportunity to engage in discussions of the famous and significant historical landmarks of classical papers that describe important biochemical and genetic experiments. The students of this course will gain knowledge about philosophy and the process of discovery behind scientific experiments.

The online course is provided by Coursera with the curriculum and classes being developed by the University of Geneva (UNIGE). The participants of this program can complete the learning within an estimated time of twenty seven hours. The classes are conducted online and led by the course instructor, Dominique Belin from the department of pathology and Immunology at the University of Geneva.

The ‘Classical papers in molecular genetics’ online training program enable students to receive a course certificate at the end of the program which can be shared online for the benefit of the students after completing the course of study.

The ‘Genomics: Decoding the Universal Language of Life’ online certification course is a study of the genetic systems and the genetic structures that comprise the genome to facilitate the production of sustainable food substances, fuel products, environmental protection, and in the context of disease prevention and treatment. This health research course is provided by the Coursera online education platform for an estimated period of six weeks. The course curriculum is developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, for the students to complete the course within thirty-six hours.

In this online course, students are led by Dr. Gene E. Robinson, the Director at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and the Swanlund Chair at the Center for Advanced Study Professor of Entomology and Neuroscience.

The ‘Genomics: Decoding the Universal Language of Life’ online training program enables students to receive the industrially significant course certificate at the end of the program.