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Colleges and Universities Offering Free History Courses Online

See our list of the top free online history courses. Learn about what courses are available, what topics they cover and whether you can use them to get college credit.

Take Free Courses. Earn Real College Credit.

Most free courses don't lead to college credit. Education-Portal.com's free courses do!

Here's how it works:

  1. 1. Watch free video lessons.
  2. 2. Pass an exam to earn real college credit.

American History Courses

U.S. History I at Education Portal.

This free history course consists of 5-10 minute video lessons covering US history from first contacts to the end of Reconstruction. The course prepares students to earn low-cost, transferable college credit by passing the U.S. History I CLEP exam. In addition to including bite-sized video lessons, the course has full transcripts and quizzes.

African American History II at Notre Dame University

This course is one of three non-credit history classes that learners can survey for free on Notre Dame's OpenCourseWare (OCW) site. Detailed lecture notes include links to some of the reading material. The course concentrates on the progress of the African American population from the south to the north during the Reconstruction, as well as the political development of African American society.

The American Revolution at the University of Washington

This course is divided into three sections and discusses America before, during and after the Revolutionary War. Each section includes several pages of readings and a follow-up quiz. To access the course materials and quizzes, students need to agree to the school's terms and submit their name and email address, but there is no verification process. College credits are not awarded upon completion.

History of the American West at the University of Michigan

This history course covers topics relating to the birth of the American West, including Manifest Destiny, Indian relations and the Mexican-American War. Materials for this free OCW course include downloadable PowerPoint slides used in class lectures, supplemental reading materials and an interactive class syllabus. The downloads are available as both pdf. and .ppt files.

Ancient History Courses

The Ancient City at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In this non-credit OCW history course, students can wander through the ancient buildings of Rome and Greece while exploring the connections between urban architecture and the sociopolitical world during this time period. Textbooks are not included for free, but there is an extensive list of Web resources and assignment descriptions for self-assessment.

History and Civilization at Utah State University

The reading materials for this OCW course cover the creation, culture and transformation of several Western civilizations and overviews of different belief systems. The course materials include readings, lecture notes and lists of important terms to know. PowerPoint slides from the original in-class lectures are also accessible. The school offers options to earn college credit for the course through various examination options.

World History Courses

Western Civilization I at Education Portal.

This course covers world history beginning with the Ice Age, moving through ancient empires, like ancient Greece and Rome, and up through the colonial period of the fifteenth century. The course includes free videos, transcripts, and quizzes and leads to real college credit that is accepted at over 2,900 U.S. colleges and universities.

Nineteenth Century Europe at University of Massachusetts - Boston

Educational materials from four free online history courses are available within the non-credit program offerings on the UMass Boston OCW website. The Nineteenth Century Europe course covers a spectrum of topics ranging from the Industrial Revolution to the German unification. Written assignment topics and lecture notes are included in the online materials, but the textbook must be purchased to participate in the reading assignments.

Welsh History and Its Sources at The Open University

This 25-hour course provides a list of resources that lead students to a greater understanding of the history of Wales. Website links, history timelines, audio files and video excerpts are included in the outline of course materials. Online students may need Adobe Acrobat or Windows Media Player software to access the files in this course. No college credit is awarded for this free course.

World War and Society in the 20th Century: WWII at Harvard University

Harvard University offers a free, non-credit course on the history of World War II through its Open Learning Initiative. It includes videos of 24 recorded lectures that cover topics on the Cold War, the war on the home front, the Japanese perspective and the aftermath of the war, among others. Each video is 50 minutes long.

Earn Real Credit from Free Courses

While the free courses above don't award credit directly, you can earn credit by passing an exam and transferring credit to your college. There are two widely recognized and affordable options for exams that award credit.

Option #1: CLEP Exams

The College Board's 33 CLEP exams allow you to test out of your general education requirements. Credit is accepted at 2/3 of colleges and universities in the U.S.

Option #2: Excelsior College's Credit-by-Exam

Excelsior College offers over 40 exams that lead to transferable credit. You can also earn three full degrees by taking free online courses and earning your credit by exam.

Learn how Education Portal Academy will pay you to earn credit!

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