Have you ever wanted to study at Columbia but didn’t want to spend thousands in enrollment fees? Well, now’s your chance as Coursera makes it possible to access a library of top online courses for free.
You can learn the latest skills to beef up your resume, prepare for a career or position yourself for advancement opportunities with your current employer.
Benzinga has compiled a list of the best Columbia courses from Coursera to help you find the perfect fit.
Quick Look: Best Columbia Courses
Here are the best online courses from Columbia:
What Makes a Columbia Course Great?
Wondering what makes an online Columbia course from Coursera worth your time and effort? Here are a few factors that help these offerings stand out from the rest.
Facilitated by a Subject-Matter Expert
The Columbia courses featured on Coursera are led by subject-matter experts. Most have extensive teaching experience and have worked in the field, which allows them to deliver exceptional instruction.
Self-Paced
Strapped for time and hoping to fit a course into your busy schedule? With online Columbia courses, you won’t ever have to worry about missing a deadline as they are self-paced. This means you can access the material when it’s convenient.
Affordable
You can get started with any of these courses for free. Some selections also allow you to upgrade your enrollment if you want the class to count towards a certificate or degree program.
Our Top Picks
Below, you will find the best Columbia courses from Coursera. We’ve included a brief description of each class and who it’s most suitable to facilitate the decision-making process.
Best Columbia Courses
Here’s a list of the top options.
1. The Age of Sustainable Development
Who it’s for: Students who want to learn more about sustainable development
Price: Free
The Age of Sustainable Development is a 29-hour course that introduces students to pathways and challenges to economic development that are environmentally and socially inclusive.
Here’s a quick glimpse at how it’s structured:
- Course Materials
- What is Sustainable Development?
- Inequality Around the Worlds
- A Short History of Economic Development
- The History of Inequality
- The MDGs and the End of Extreme Poverty
- Growth within Planetary Boundaries
- Human Rights and Gender Equality
- Education
- Universal Health Coverage
- Sustainable Food Supply and the End of Hunger
- Sustainable Cities
- Curbing Climate Change
- Saving Biodiversity
- The SDGs
Instructor Jeffrey Sachs is a professor of health policy and management. He’s also the director of the Earth Institute.
2. Causal Inference 1
Who it’s for: Advanced students interested in exploring causal inference
Price: Free
Causal Inference 1 is the first component of a 2-part series that explores a complex mathematical survey of causal inference at the Master’s level.
It includes lessons on the evolution of statistical literature on causal inference and data collection methods to estimate the causal relationship. You will also learn how to determine if a relationship is causal or non-causal, how to analyze methods that can be used to project effects and so much more.
Michael E. Sobel, statistics professor, divides the course into 6 modules:
- Key Ideas
- Randomization Inference
- Regression
- Propensity Score
- Matching
- Special Topics
Each module includes a series of video lectures and supplementary readings. You will also take 5 quizzes to assess your comprehension and identify areas where you need to spend more time.
Expect to spend 12 hours working through the material.
3. Causal Inference 2
Who it’s for: Advanced students interested in exploring causal inference
Price: Free
In the second part of the series, Professor Michael E. Sobel continues covering advanced topics related to causal inference.
Causal Inference 2 consists of 5 modules:
- Introduction to Mediation
- More on Mediation
- Instrumental Variables, Principal Stratification and Regression Discontinuity
- Longitudinal Causal Inference
- Interference and Fixed Effects
It takes approximately 6 hours to reach the finish line, and you will watch video lectures, read supplementary material and take quizzes during each module.
Complete Causal Inference 1 before you register for this course.
4. Financial Engineering and Risk Management Part I
Who it’s for: Students seeking financial engineering knowledge
Price: Free
Financial Engineering and Risk Management Part I is designed for students who want to gain a more in-depth understanding of how financial engineering works behind the scenes. It also dives into the limitations of financial engineering, the development of derivatives pricing models, asset allocation, portfolio optimization and more. Plus, you will learn how financial engineering is applied to algorithmic trading, commodity and energy derivatives and options.
Here’s what you can expect to learn in the course:
- Course Overview
- Introduction to Basic Fixed Income Securities
- Introduction to Derivative Securities
- Option Pricing in the Multi-Period Binomial Model
- Team Structure Models I
- Team Structure Models II and Introduction to Credit Derivatives
- Introduction to Mortgage Mathematics and Mortgage-Backed Securities
- Background Material
The class is co-facilitated by Martin Haugh, co-director of the Center for Financial Engineering and Professor Garud Iyengar. Both work in the Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Department at Columbia University.
5. Financial Engineering and Risk Management Part II
Who it’s for: Students seeking financial engineering knowledge
Price: Free
Financial Engineering and Risk Management Part II goes beyond the discipline’s basics to demonstrate how simple stochastic models are used to resolve issues with portfolio optimization, price derivatives securities in equity and credit asset classes, and more. Haugh and Iyengar also discuss advanced applications of financial engineering.
Here’s a breakdown of the course syllabus:
- Mean-Variance Analysis and CAPM
- Practical Issues in Implementing Mean Variance
- Equity Derivatives in Practice: Part I
- Equity Derivatives in Practice: Part II
- Credit Derivatives and Structured Products
- Other Applications of Financial Engineering
- Background Material
It takes approximately 16 hours to finish the course. Before enrolling, you should complete Financial Engineering and Risk Management Part I.
6. HI-FIVE: Health Informatics for Innovation, Value and Enrichment (Social/Peer Perspective)
Who it’s for: Healthcare coordinators, care/case managers, social workers, community health workers, patient navigators, peer coaches and behavioral health support workers
Price: Free
This course is part of a 3-part series that sheds light on the evolution of the nation’s healthcare system through transformative healthcare delivery programs.
HI-FIVE: Health Informatics For Innovation, Value and Enrichment (Social/Peer Perspective) includes 6 segments:
- Course and Case Introduction
- Meeting Jake Luger (ED Triage Nurse) Lila Cardona (ED Nurse) and Cecilia Fornado (Head Inpatient Care Coordinator)
- Coordinating Care with Nurse Fornado and Miles Jefferson, ED Attending
- Meeting Lydia Fredericks, Social Worker
- Meeting Ed Bevick, Patient Navigator
- Completion of HI-FIVE Training (Social/Peer Perspective)
Instruction is provided by Rita Kukafka, biomedical informatics associate professor.
7. HI-FIVE: Health Informatics for Innovation, Value and Enrichment (Administrative/ITl Perspective)
Who it’s for: Physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, clinical executives, clinical managers and medical assistants
Price: Free
Also facilitated by Rita Kukafka, this course is tailored towards physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, clinical executives, clinical managers and medical assistants.
HI-FIVE: Health Informatics for Innovation, Value and Enrichment (Clinical Perspective) features 8 sections:
- Course and Case Introduction
- Mr. Osner Santana Goes to the ED
- Mr. Osner Santana Waits to Be Seen
- Mr. Osner Santana Meets Dr. Jefferson (Part 1)
- Mr. Osner Santana Meets Dr. Jefferson (Part 2)
- Completion of HI-FIVE Training (Clinical Perspective)
- Role-Based Content (OPTIONAL) – Physicians / Nurse Practitioners / Physicians Assistants / Clinical Executives / Clinical Managers / Public Health Professionals
- Role-Based (OPTIONAL) – Nurses / Midwives / Medical Assistants / Other Clinical Support
You will spend approximately 11 hours watching the videos, reading supplementary material and taking quizzes.
8. HI-FIVE: Health Informatics For Innovation, Value and Enrichment (Administrative/ITl Perspective)
Who it’s for: Executives, managers, analysts and staff who work in administration, business, finance, operations, data or IT
Price: Free
The third component of the series on transformative healthcare delivery programs caters to executives, managers, analysts and staff who work in administration, business, finance, operations, data or IT.
HI-FIVE: Health Informatics for Innovation, Value and Enrichment (Administrative/ITl Perspective) is comprised of 6 sections:
- Course and Case Introduction
- Meeting the Heights Family Healthcare Clinic Team (Part 1)
- Meeting the Heights Family Healthcare Clinic Team (Part 2)
- Getting Mr. Santana to His Appointment
- Achieving Coordinated, Team-Based Care
- Completion of HI-FIVE Training (Administrative/IT Perspective)
It takes 11 hours to complete the course.
9. Economics of Money and Banking
Who it’s for: Economics students
Price: Free
Interested in learning more about the new wave of economic thinking? Look no further than this course that includes lessons on the 3 primary features of the new system.
Led by economics professor Perry G. Mehrling, Economics of Money and Banking features the following modules:
- Introduction
- Banking as a Clearing System
- Banking as Market Making
- Midterm Review and Exam
- International Money and Banking
- Banking as Advance Clearing
- Money in the Real World
- Final Exam
You will learn how capital and money markets have merged to create a new system with different dynamics and vulnerabilities. The course also includes on the global character of the new economic system, vital derivative contracts and more.
Instruction is provided through video lectures and bonus reading material.
Find the Best Columbia Course for You
Coursera makes it possible to get the Ivy League experience from the comfort of your home. Get started with 1 of our top selections from Columbia University today. They’re presented by exceptional professors who are committed to providing you with an online learning experience you won’t soon forget.
