10 Free Online Psychology Courses and Certifications for 2025

If you are interested in psychology but aren't sure that it's a field you want to pursue, taking individual courses can help you decide if it's right for you.

The good news is there are a lot of free psychology courses available online that let you familiarize yourself with the subject - and some even result in a certificate.

Keep reading to find out where you can take free online psychology courses and earn a certificate from home or any remote location you desire.

Free Online Psychology Courses with Certificates

While there are no free online psychology courses that lead to certification, several universities offer free online courses that result in a certificate of completion. Keep reading to learn more.

1. Yale University

Yale University offers a few online psychology courses through Coursera, a U.S.-based open online course provider.

Introduction to Psychology is a self-paced beginner's course that explores cognition, development, variation, self, and language.

The Science of Well-Being is a self-paced course that explores misconceptions about happiness and features of the mind that influence our thinking.

Students can sign up for each course free of charge or pay $49 per course to receive a career certificate that showcases learned skills.

2. Doane University

Students can sign up for Doane University's Fundamentals of Psychology course through the edX online education platform.

The course is available to audit free of charge with limited access to course materials - or students can access the full course and earn a shareable certificate upon completion for $119.

Psychology topics explored include perception, emotion, conditioning, development, psychopathology, and cognitive processes.

Enrollees learn how to identify applications of psychology, understand how to interpret psychological phenomena using scientific reasoning, and more.

3. Johns Hopkins University

Through Coursera, Johns Hopkins University offers its Psychological First Aid course.

This self-paced online course teaches students how to provide psychological first aid to individuals facing emergencies via the RAPID model.

RAPID stands for Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition.

This course is free to audit with access to all course materials but graded items - or students can pay $49 for full access and a career certificate.

4. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers online psychology courses through Coursera.

Positive Psychology closely examines positive emotions, positivity resonance, outcomes of positivity, and the art of pursuing happiness to help students lead more fulfilling lives.

Psychology of Popularity looks at the impact a person's level of popularity in childhood and adolescence has on adulthood.

Students can audit both courses for free or earn a career certificate for $49 each.

5. University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota delivers its Introduction to Human Behavioral Genetic online course through Coursera.

This course examines behavioral genetic methodologies from adoption and twin studies through DNA analysis.

Students explore questions about differences in behavioral traits and take a close look at topics like heritability, the Human Genome Project, and biometric and molecular genetics.

The full course is accessible free of charge with no certificate. Students can also pay $49 to earn a career certificate upon completion.

6. The University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley offers The Science of Happiness course through the edX platform.

The self-paced course explores the real meaning of happiness, how to increase one's own happiness and foster it in others, and the importance of mental habits to happiness.

Students learn practical research-backed strategies for nurturing their happiness and fostering social and emotional well-being.

This course can be audited with limited access to materials for free. Full access with a shareable certificate costs $169.

7. Wesleyan University

Via the Coursera platform, Wesleyan University offers Social Psychology, a beginner's course that examines social perceptions and misperceptions, group behavior, and more.

Students can also take Understanding Memory: Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies, which uses film clips to illustrate different aspects of memory.

Full courses are available free of charge or for $49 with a career certificate.

Social Psychology students who purchase the certificate course will receive free membership in the Social Psychology Network (SocialPsychology.org).

8. The University of Chicago

The University of Chicago delivers its online Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life course via the Coursera platform.

This course looks at how we use our brains every day, how the nervous system impacts behavior, and the way neuroscience explains common problems.

Students learn about the nervous system, neuroanatomy, motor modulation, homeostasis, abstract function, and neural communication.

This full course is accessible free of charge. It can be purchased with a career certificate for $49.

9. Emory University

Students can learn all about people who have high-sensation seeking personalities via the Emory University course The Psychology of Thrill Seekers offered on the Coursera platform.

The course examines whether having a high-sensation seeking personality is good or bad and why some people crave exotic and intense experiences when it could put them at risk socially and physically.

Students can audit this course for free or purchase it for $49 and earn a career certificate.

10. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign delivers the online Global Impact: Cultural Psychology course via the Coursera platform.

This course teaches the impact of globalization on consumers at a psychological level by exploring cultural mindsets, assimilation, the consequences of culture mixing, and building iconic brands through culture.

Students also learn strategies for winning over multi-cultural consumers in global markets.

The course can be audited for free or purchased for $99 with a career certificate.

What Are the Benefits of Free Online Psychology Courses?

Taking free online psychology courses allows you to explore a variety of psychology concepts without spending money on tuition.

If you're interested in psychology but don't know if it's the field for you, taking free courses can help you determine whether pursuing a degree is the right choice.

In the meantime, you get to learn about development, cognition, perception, genetics, and even neural communication.

Building your psychology knowledge through free courses can give you the confidence you'll need to tackle concepts in a traditional psychology degree program.

How Long Does It Take to Earn an Online Psychology Certificate?

The time it takes to earn an online psychology certificate generally depends on the amount of time needed to complete the associated course.

Since free online courses are generally self-paced, they can be completed in a timeframe that aligns with the student's schedule.

Typically, free online courses state the amount of hours students might need to finish. Some can be completed in just six hours and others might need 40 to 50 hours.

Keep in mind that earning a certificate of completion after finishing a free online course differs from earning a certificate directly from a university.

For example, a graduate certificate in psychology from a university might require one or two years of coursework and its cost will be significantly higher.

Are Online Psychology Certificates Accredited?

If you earn a certificate of completion from a free online psychology course via a platform like Coursera or edX, your certificate will most likely not be accredited.

The certificate of completion is designed to show employers or others of interest that you have completed a course and may have gained some psychology knowledge and skills.

A certificate directly from an accredited college or university often means you've completed several courses over an extended period. This certificate is typically taken more seriously by employers.

It's important to note that a certificate differs from certification. Certification is the result of an assessment, indicates mastery in the field, and often results in a designation after one's name.

Examples of certifications common in psychology include the Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA), Certified Alzheimer Caregiver (CAC), and Sexuality Educator Certification.

Find Free Online Psychology Courses and Certificates Today

There are plenty of free online psychology courses available that can teach you about various aspects of the field. Prepare for a career in psychology or study the subject for fun and get a certificate to showcase your knowledge.