Which are the top free online courses in Earth Sciences with certificates in 2023? As one of the most exciting academic programs available, Earth Science is packed with academic goodness which makes it attractive to many scholars.
The program deals with the study of the earth and its constituents. This cuts across many other subjects like mining, and agricultural science among others. So, if you’re an upcoming expert in Earth Science, then you should know that some free online courses can be worth the while.
Don’t get it twisted: getting certified in Earth Sciences from a recognized academic establishment is good but getting it online can be better in some ways like free tuition, flexibility, and time management among others.
Top 10 Free Online Courses in Earth Sciences with Certificates
So, which are the top free online courses in Earth Sciences with certificates in 2023? They are listed below:-
- Our Earth’s Future
- Our Earth: Its Climate, History, and Processes
- Biosphere 2 Science for the Future of Our Planet
- Planet Earth…and You!
- Origins – Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth, and Life
- Deep Time: Discovering an Ancient Earth
- Imagining Other Earths
- Introduction to GIS Mapping
- The Dynamic Earth: A Course for Educators
- The Big Stuff: Evolution and Ecology
1. Our Earth’s Future
Affiliated Education Service Provider: American Museum of Natural History
Course syllabus:
- Mitigate, adapt or suffer?
- Living with climate change
- Climate change is happening: Model it
- It all comes down to the ocean
- Climate change is happening: see it
The best top free online course in Earth Sciences is Our Earth’s Future. Offered via the popular online platform Coursera, the program is free, certified-proof, and taught by tutors with years of experience in the fields of Earth Science, Anthropology, Climatography, and Oceanography.
Even so, the program is done with the affiliation of the American Museum of Natural History which is an establishment well-known for its educational class and prestige.
Even so, the total duration of the program is close to 8 hours which students are to utilize and assimilate the above-mentioned course syllabus.
2. Our Earth: Its Climate, History, and Processes
Affiliated Education Service Provider: University of Manchester
Course syllabus:
- Build Your Own Earth and Conclusion
- Life, and its Effect on Earth’s Climate System
- Water in Earth’s Climate System: Oceans, Atmosphere, and Cryosphere
- Formation, evolution, and processes of the solid Earth
- Building Blocks of Earth’s Climate System
Coming in next on the list, Our Earth: Its Climate, History, and Processes is another top free course in Earth Sciences. Offered via Coursera courtesy of the University of Manchester, the program deals with the Earth’s history and how it all began.
Certifications are offered for free at the end of the program and this is done after the participants had completed a 14-hour lecture time.
3. Biosphere 2 Science for the Future of Our Planet
Affiliated Education Service Provider: University of Arizona
Course syllabus:
- Life and Resources in Space – Should We Go There?
- Feeding the Future
- Soil Science – Foundations & Implications
- Sea Changes in our Marine Environment
- Rainforests in an Altered World
- Desert Plants, Climate, and Changing Landscapes
- The Science of Water Availability
- Climate Disruption
- Biosphere 2, an Icon of Possibilities
The third on the list of top free courses in Earth Sciences is Biosphere 2 Science for the Future of Our Planet. This course is anchored by the University of Arizona which is a global pacesetter when it comes to rigorous and intensive research.
The program takes about 29 hours to be completed via Coursera. Upon completion, free certifications are given to participants.
4. Planet Earth…and You!
Affiliated Education Service Provider: the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Course syllabus:
- Energy Resources
- Rocks and Mineral Resources
- Volcanoes
- Plate Tectonics
- Earthquakes
Among the top four (4) free courses in Earth Sciences with certification is Planet Earth…and You! This 5-week intensive program is done with the affiliation of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign which is one of the leading academic establishments in the United States.
The platform where the course is offered is Coursera and the duration of completion is 42 hours. Upon completion, certifications are also issued to the participants.
5. Origins – Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth, and Life
Affiliated Education Service Provider: University of Copenhagen
Course syllabus:
- Modern Diversity
- Primate Origins and Evolution / Human Origins and Evolution
- Origin of Recent Climate Change / The Molecular Clock
- Colonization of the continents and the Origin of the Dinosaurs and Birds/Mass Extinction Events and Their Causes
- The Evolution of Insects and their Role in Terrestrial Ecosystems
- Origins and Early Development of Plants / The Origin and Diversification of Flowering Plants
- Oxygenation and Animals
- Origin of the marine Cambrian and Palaeozoic Evolutionary Faunas / Diversity in deep time / Origin of predation and the Mesozoic Arms race
- The transition from Microbial to Microbial Life: Snowball Earth and the Ediacara Biota / Eukaryotic Evolution and the Phylogeny of All Life
- Origin of the microbial world / The Cambrian Explosion and Exceptional Preservation
- The early Earth and the origin of life
- Origin of the Elements, the Solar System and the Planets
Origins – Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth, and Life is an intensive top free Earth Sciences course that comes with certification upon completion. The program is handled by the University of Copenhagen which is one of the prime schools in Scandinavian nations.
Even so, around 24 hours is the time taken to complete the program.
6. Deep Time: Discovering an Ancient Earth
Affiliated Education Service Provider: University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder)
Course syllabus:
- The Rise of the Modern Rocky Mountains
- Seas and Ancient Mountains of North America
- Origins: Stars to Planets, Continents, Oceans, and Atmospheres
- Science and Geology in Search of Deep Time
Coming in next on the list, Deep Time: Discovering an Ancient Earth is one of the top free online courses in Earth Sciences. The program is anchored by the global prestige University of Colorado Boulder shortly abbreviated as CU-Boulder and lasts for 10 hours.
It is offered via Coursera and participants are duly certified at the end of the program for free of charge.
7. Imagining Other Earths
Affiliated Education Service Provider: Princeton University
Course syllabus:
- Habitable Zone, Fermi Paradox & SETI
- What makes a Habitable Planet?
- Extinctions
- Extremophiles
- Evolution of Life
- Is Earth Special? Origin of Life
- Biochemistry of Life
- Formation of the Earth and the Origin of Water
- Optics and Imaging Planets
- Quantum Mechanics and Fingerprinting Planets
- Stellar Evolution
- Properties of Stars
- Einstein and the Search for Planets
- Kepler and Transits
- Kepler’s Law and Search for Extrasolar Planets
- Small Bodies of the Solar System
- The Moon
- Mars
- Mercury and Venus
- Planetary Atmospheres
- Snowball Earth
- Why is Mercury Hot?
- What is Life?
- The Universe is Big!
Offered by Princeton University, Imagining Other Earths is a top free online Earth Sciences course. However, it doesn’t come with certification upon completion and is the first to do so on the list.
Even so, the comprehensive program takes around 26 hours to be completed and is free of charge.
8. Introduction to GIS Mapping
Affiliated Education Service Provider: University of Toronto
Course syllabus:
- Project: Creating Your Data
- Flattening the Earth with Map Projections
- Mapping Locations with Coordinate Systems
- Mapping the real world with vector and raster data
- Mapping the real world with vector and raster data
- Introduction to ArcGIS
- What is GIS?
Introduction to GIS Mapping is a top free online Earth Sciences course that is offered by the University of Toronto via Coursera. The program takes around 14 hours to be completed and upon completion, certificates are awarded to participants.
9. The Dynamic Earth: A Course for Educators
Affiliated Education Service Provider: American Museum of Natural History
Course syllabus:
- Plate Tectonics: Earthquakes
- Plate Tectonics: Mountain Building
- Evolution of the Atmosphere
- Introduction & The Mystery of Geologic Time
Coming in as 9th on the list, The Dynamic Earth: A Course for Educators is one of the best online free courses in Earth Sciences. The course is handled by the American Museum of Natural History, a site with cultural excellence.
Even so, the online course can be completed in around 8 hours and upon completion, certificates are awarded to participants.
10. The Big Stuff: Evolution and Ecology
Affiliated Education Service Provider: University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder)
Course syllabus:
- Questions of Conservation: Finding Balance
- The Interconnectedness of Life
- The Diversity of Life
- The “E” Word
Rounding off the list of the top free online courses in Earth Sciences is The Big Stuff: Evolution and Ecology. This program is anchored by one of the United States’ prime schools: the University of Colorado Boulder courtesy of Coursera.
The program takes around 10 hours of lectures to be completed and upon completion, certificates are awarded to participants free of charge.
Conclusion
Where you on the lookout for the top free online courses in Earth Sciences with certificates in 2023? This guide is here to help you.
We hope you found these courses useful and the article, easy to navigate through. The courses on our list are completely free and over 90% of them come with a shareable certificate that the participants receive upon course completion
Let’s hear from you via the comments section.
