Free Online Biology Courses
The following seven schools offer free biology courses so students can get a feel for an online biology degree. Starting with these free courses, learners can decide if this is the career for them or not. Avid biology students may also want to supplement their online degree learning with some free courses.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT's free online college biology courses do not offer college credit, but do include valuable information. Students can choose the PDF files of study materials that they want to view, or they can download all of the college level biology courses' materials at once.
- Genetics is an undergraduate online biology class about the fundamentals of genetics as it relates to cells, molecules, and multicellular organisms. Lecture notes cover the physical structure of the gene, tetrad analysis, human polymorphisms, and the genetics of cancer, among other topics. Students will be able to look over old exams and assignments and see solutions for both.
- Photosynthesis: Life from Light provides lecture summaries about the several reactions that take place during photosynthesis, including chemical, physical, and biological. Students can see assignments that were used in the original class and can review a reading list.
- Developmental Biology offers course materials from an undergraduate and a graduate level course focused on the molecular mechanisms that play a part in animal development. Students can access a list of recommended readings. The materials also include assignments, exams, and solutions for students to view.
- Graduate Biochemistry was originally offered in 2001. Course materials include lecture notes covering subjects such as kinetics, chemical thermodynamics, and mystery protein.
Open University
The Open University's free course materials include specific units from full courses that were originally offered to traditional students. Courses include lecture materials and a reference section, but they do not provide credit.
- Animals at the Extremes: Polar Biology is an intermediate level course that studies how animals that live in frigid environments are able to survive. Students can learn about the significant features of polar regions, the effects that the length of the day have on feeding, and the biological adaptations of fish. Users will find images and questions within lessons.
Tufts University
Tufts offers online university biology courses through OpenCourseWare that don't require registration, but students do not earn credit for college biology classes taken.
- Microbiology teaches students fundamental tactics used to identify infectious diseases. Students learn about parasitic and microbial infections. Lecture slides and notes are available for most of the original lectures.
University of Massachusetts at Boston
The University of Massachusetts at Boston has accredited online biology courses that can be accessed on most web browsers through OpenCourseWare. Students may need to have the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view the materials for their online bio classes.
- General Biology I has students examining life at the cellular and molecular level. Students can download lecture handouts and notes or access lecture videos. This is an online general biology with lab manual and other lab materials available to download. Topics of lecture handouts include chemistry, cell biology, cancer, and genetics.
Yale University
Open Yale Courses are recorded lectures from past accredited biology courses. Credit is not offered for these online classes, but students can complete a survey after completing the course.
- Principles of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior focuses on the building blocks of ecology, evolution, and behavior. Lecture topics include genomic conflict, sex allocation, coevolution, evolutionary medicine, and ecological communities.
Duke University
Students looking to participate in innovative and free projects should consider Online Duke, a division of Duke University that offers a number of biology courses that can be completed entirely online.
- Music as Biology: What We Like to Hear and Why attempts to scientifically explain why humans enjoy music. This course analyzes the relationship between the brain and music, with topics including tone combinations, musical scales, and the emotions that music evokes.
- Introduction to Genetics and Evolution provides a basic exploration of essential concepts in this area of biology. Students can learn about genome sequences, animal behavior, disease predispositions, and evolution.
Carnegie Mellon University
CMU's Open Learning Initiative seeks to provide access to top-quality courses at no expense. The school offers one course related to biology.
- Modern Biology provides an analysis of mildly advanced topics in biology such as biochemistry, cellular biology, genetics, and molecular biology. This intermediate course is intended to provide students with the necessary background knowledge that will be needed in more advanced courses.
Online Biology Courses for Credit
For those interested in online biology courses for college credit, Study.com offers a way for students to work towards college credit in biology for a much lower cost than at a traditional college. Members can access short video lessons that teach concepts in a fun and engaging style as well as multiple-choice quizzes that allow them to test their comprehension of the material. Available online biology course options are listed below:
- Biology 101: Intro to Biology - Chapters in this course cover science basics and provide an introduction to organic chemistry. Instructors also give an overview of topics ranging from cell biology and human body systems to ecology and social biology.
- Biology 102: Basic Genetics - Study the biological basis of inheritance, gene transmission, and evolution as well as DNA mutation, comparative genomics, and DNA technology.
- Biology 103: Microbiology - Instructors cover microbiology lab techniques and discuss types of viruses, fungal infections, and protozoan diseases. They also address topics in immunology.
- Biology 105: Anatomy & Physiology - Learn the components of the cardiovascular, respiratory, urinary, nervous, digestive, and reproductive systems, among others. Early development stages and cell biology are also covered.
- Biology 106: Pathophysiology - Chapters address the physiology of diseases associated with various human body systems and the test results used to identify certain conditions.
A Career in Biology
With a degree in biology, there are several career paths open to you: biochemist, biology teacher, pharmaceutical sales, food scientist, environmental scientist, science writer, conservation scientist, among many others. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, biological scientists made an average of $87,590 per year in 2019, with those working in the scientific research and development field making the most with an average of $100,340 per year.
