It’s important to keep your skills sharp, and it’s not always possible to invest in improving your skills. We’ve put together a list of free business courses focussed on a variety of subject areas that will help you increase your own value to your company.
All the courses we’ve listed are from well-respected learning institutions such as MIT, UC Davis, Yale, and the Open University in the UK. The courses do not give you a formal qualification, so will benefit you in terms of skill but not merit.
Our list covers a wide range of business topics, such as management, business, strategy, marketing, ebusiness, creative thinking, entrepreneurship, leadership, ebusiness, human resources, accounting, economics and law.
If you are serious about skill and knowledge development in business, then you might want to consider studying a degree, diploma or certificate. See our online business degree directory for some options.
Management, Business & Strategy
- Strategic Management I (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Strategic Management II (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Global Strategy and Organization (MIT OpenCourseware)
- Ethical Practice: Professionalism, Social Responsibility, and the Purpose of the Corporation (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Global Markets, National Policies, and the Competitive Advantages of Firms (MIT OpenCourseware)
- Creating an ethical organisation (Open University)
- Understanding Management (Open University)
- An introduction to business cultures (Open University)
- Fundamentals of Business Analysis (University of California – Irvine)
- The Phoenix Imperative: Turning a Company Around (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University)
- Thinking strategically (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University)
- Special Seminar in Management The Nuts and Bolts of Business Plans (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Organizations as Enacted Systems: Learning, Knowing and Change (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Advanced Strategy (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- The Sociology of Strategy (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Mandarin or Manager? (Bradford University School of Management)
- Various lectures on Business Management by Stanford on iTunesU. To see them, select “Business” then “Business Management”.
- “Building a Business” lectures by the University of Oxford on iTunesU. To hear them, select the Social Sciences category then “Building a Business”.
- Various lectures on Management and Leadership by MIT on iTunesU. To hear them, scroll down to the “MIT World: Public Lectures and Symposia” and click on “Business/Leadership”
- Economy and Business in Modern China and India
- Leading Organizations II (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Dynamic Leadership: Using Improvisation in Business (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Practical Leadership (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Building and Leading Effective Teams (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Special Seminar in Communications: Leadership and Personal Effectiveness Coaching – builds on the previous course “Communication for Managers” (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Cross-Cultural Leadership (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Values-Based Leadership with Steve Newberry (UC Davis Graduate School of Management, University of California)
- Values-Centered Leadership with Janis Heaphy (UC Davis Graduate School of Management, University of California)
- Ethics and Leadership with John Morgridge, Cisco Systems (UC Davis Graduate School of Management, University of California)
- Organizational Leadership and Teamwork (UC Berkeley)
- Various lectures on Management and Leadership by MIT on iTunesU. To hear them, scroll down to the “MIT World: Public Lectures and Symposia” and click on “Business/Leadership”
Click here if you’re interested in studying an online business degree.
Entrepreneurship
- A New Breed of Entrepreneur (Stanford University)
- What are the Best Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs? (Stanford University)
- Top 10 Things You Must Have to Start a Business (Stanford University)
- The Entrepreneurial Career: Taking Risks and Putting Your Plan into Action (Stanford University)
- Entrepreneurship & Business Planning
- Insights from leading members of Harvard Business School’s entrepreneurial community
- Designing and Leading the Entrepreneurial Organization (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Make Meaning in Your Company (Stanford University)
- Who are Entrepreneurs? (Stanford University)
- Why Not (Yale University – presented on AcademicEarth.org)
- Corporate Entrepreneurship: Strategies for Technology-Based New Business Development
- Entrepreneurial behaviour (Open University)
- Woman in Entrepreneurship (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University
- Who Is Afraid Of The Female Entrepreneur? (SmallBizPod – UK)
- Law for the Entrepreneur and Manager (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Don’t Write a Mission Statement, Write a Mantra (Stanford University)
- Who to Hire (Stanford University)
- Proactiv Solution: Discovering and Meeting Market Needs (Stanford University)
- Make a Great Pitch (Stanford University presented on AcademicEarth.org)
- Lower the Barriers to Adoption (Stanford University)
- Passion and the Customer (Stanford University) -
- A Conversation with Dale Carlsen: The Journey of an Entrepreneur Who Dreamed Big (University of California TV)
- Nine Lessons Learned about Creativity at Google (eCorner – Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner)
- Various lectures available at Stanford University’s iTunesU - To hear and view them, select Business, then Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs and also Social Entrepreneurship.
- Interview with Doug Richard, serial entrepreneur and former Dragon (from the Dragon’s Den)
Click here if you’re interested in studying an online entrepreneurship degree.
Marketing and Communications
- Introduction to Marketing (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Marketing Management (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Marketing Strategy (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Management Communication for Undergraduates (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Strategic Marketing Measurement (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Entrepreneurial Marketing (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Pricing (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Listening to the Customer (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Tailoring Products for Different Consumer Groups (Stanford University)
- Special Seminar in Marketing: Marketing Management (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Communication for Managers (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- 321 Marketing (Texas A & M University). Covers marketing concepts with some examples – click here, then select Business, and then MKTG 321 Marketing.
- Evolving your brand (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University) -
- Customer service (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University) -
- CEO of Business Week in the Tetley Lecture series talks about marketing
- The success of Cobra Beer (Bradford University, School of Management)
- Marketing advice from a serial entrepreneur (SmallBizPod UK)
- Motivation, sales and customers (Interview with Kevin Kelly on SmallBizPod UK)
- Know Thyself and Niche Thyself (Stanford University) – about positioning your product. Presented on AcademicEarth.org
- Listen to Customers (Stanford University, presented on AcademicEarth)
- Guaranteeing Business Value to Customers (Stanford University, presented on AcademicEarth)
- Customer Diversity is Essential (Stanford University, presented on AcademicEarth.org)
- How to Develop “Breakthrough” Products and Services (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Power and Negotiation (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Competitive Decision-Making and Negotiation (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Click here if you’re interested in studying an online marketing degree.
Creative Thinking and Innovation
- What Is Creativity? (Stanford University, presented on AcademicEarth.org) -
- Interview with Dr Edward de Bono on creative thinking in business (SmallBizPod UK) -
- Innovation in the Developing World: L. Wilton Agatstein (UC Davis Graduate School of Management, University of California)
- A Culture of Innovation at Jelly Belly (UC Davis Graduate School of Management, University of California)
- Lectures on Innovation and Invention by MIT on iTunesU. To hear them, scroll down to the “MIT World: Public Lectures and Symposia” and click on “Innovation/Invention”
- Facilitating Creative Thinking – lecture by the Open University on iTunesU
- The concept of innovation (The Open University) -
- Nine Lessons Learned about Creativity at Google (eCorner – Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner)
E-Business
- What is eBusiness? (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University)
- Blogging (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University)
- Risk and eBusiness (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University)
- Internet marketing (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University)
- Amazon.com Web Services (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University)
- Internet marketing (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University)
Click here if you’re interested in studying an online ebusiness degree.
Human Resources
- Strategic HR Management (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- The Managerial Moment of Truth (a concept to improve performance and increase productivity): Bruce Bodaken, Blue Shield of California
- A Conversation with Robert Lorber: Doing What Matters (UC Davis Graduate School of Management, University of California)
- Negotiation and Conflict Management (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Work, Employment, and Industrial Relations Theory (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Business organisations and their environments: culture (The Open University Learning Space)
- Human resources: recruitment and selection (The Open University Learning Space)
- Choosing a human resources consultant (The Open University Learning Space)
- An introduction to business cultures (The Open University Learning Space)
Click here if you’re interested in studying an online human resources degree.
Careers and Personal Development
- The Top 10 Ways You Shoot Yourself in the Foot in the Workplace Matters (UC Davis Graduate School of Management, University of California)
- How Do You Find Your Passion and How Do You Pursue It? (Stanford University, presented on AcademicEarth.org)
- Kleiner Perkins: Optimizing Career and Life Opportunities (Stanford University, presented on AcademicEarth.org)
- Podcasts covering a range of interesting commentary to encourage personal development
- Working life and learning (The Open University Learning Space)
Economics
- Introduction to Economics (Utah State University)
- Introduction to Economics (Utah State University)
- Introduction to Microeconomics (Utah State University)
- International Economics (Utah State University)
- Managerial Economics (Utah State University)
- Macroeconomics for Managers (Utah State University)
- Origins of the Financial Mess (Princeton University)
- Finance and Insurance as Powerful Forces in Our Economy and Society (Yale University, presented on AcademicEarth.org)
- Lectures on Economics by Stanford University on iTunesU. To see them, select “Business” then “Economics”
- Reading Marx’s Capital (David Harvey) -
- The Industrial Revolution and the Great Divergence: World Economic Growth since 10,000 BC – 3 lectures (Ifo Institute for Economic Research)
- Economic Geography of the Industrial World (UC Berkeley)
- Interviews with Laureates in Economics (Nobel Foundation)
- How Technology and Innovation Drive Economic Growth (Leigh Bureau)
- Explore the fundamentals of economic history, theory, and practice, through interviews with Nobel Prize-winning economists (Learner.org)
- How Human Psychology Drives the Economy
- Political Economy I: Theories of the State and the Economy (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Click here if you’re interested in studying an online economics degree.
Accounting and Finance
- Introduction to Financial and Managerial Accounting (MIT OpenCourseWare) -
- Various lectures on Finance (Stanford University iTunes U). Select “Business”, then “Finance”.
- Finance Theory II (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Financial Management (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Financial Accounting (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Financial and Managerial Accounting (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Taxes and Business Strategy (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Management Accounting and Control (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Business Analysis Using Financial Statements (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Click here if you’re interested in studying an online finance degree or online accounting degree.
Information Technology
- Does IT matter? (Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for eBusiness , Marriott School, Brigham Young University)
- Information Technology Essentials (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Information Technology I (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Integrating eSystems & Global Information Systems (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Practical Information Technology Management (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Generating Business Value from Information Technology (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- IT and Business Transformation (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Information Technology as an Integrating Force in Manufacturing (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Click here if you’re interested in studying an online IT degree.
Business Law
- Starting with law: An overview of the law (The Open University Learning Space)
- Business Law lecture at Western Law by Robert Shiller
- Law for the Entrepreneur and Manager (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Patents, Copyrights, and the Law of Intellectual Property (MIT OpenCourseWare) -
- Introduction to Copyright Law (MIT, presented on AcademicEarth.org)
- The Law of Mergers and Acquisitions (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Innovative Businesses and Breakthrough Technologies – The Legal Issues (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- The Law of Corporate Finance and Financial Markets (MIT OpenCourseWare)
- Climate Change: Law and Policy (UC Berkeley, presented on AcademicEarth.org)
Click here if you’re interested in studying an online law degree.
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6 Responses
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excellent
Online Courses are getting popularity these days, coz of their features and facilities like flexibility in time,place and resources…
Time has changed. I’m also an online learner with University of the People in Business Administration Course (http://my.uopeople.org) and e-learner on MBA’s with Asia e University eventhough I had a Degree from University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 24 years ago. This program by study 2U.com is a great approach on enriching knowledge with multiple input.
I want to do a free degree programe in accounting and finance
I nice collection of ebusiness or webbshop courses. I will look into them.
Interesting. Even though you do not get academic credit for the free online courses,now you have access to an array of educational materials that were not previously available to the public.