Free Online Courses for College

Yep, No Tuition. Our free courses could help you receive college credits and be that much closer to an affordable degree.

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You Could Save Up to 30% on Your Degree

Create your free SmartPlan to find schools you like, and potential ways to save on your degree with our free courses. There are 44 units of recommended semester credit that could save you up to 30% on your degree.

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That could receive units towards that degree…Tuition-free!

  • At Your Own Pace
  • Online, 24/7
  • Top Professors Nationwide

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OnlineDegree.com works with Universities around the country to lower the cost of your degree when you enroll.

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Tons Of Courses To Choose From

Learn to code, skills to be a chef, or how to run marketing for a Fortune 500 company. No prior experience required.  Our free courses not only teach you valuable skills and prepare you for learning at your college, you could be that much closer to getting your degree and the career you want.  The courses provide up to 33 units of semester credit that could be applied to your bachelor’s when you enroll at a university.

Starting Towards Your Degree is Now Possible

We were built specifically for busy adults just like you. Our online courses help prepare you for college learning, and could receive credits toward your degree at universities across the country. 100% online, on your schedule 24/7, and on interesting topics that apply to emerging careers. So with no prior experience, we can help you identify viable online schools, be prepared, and potentially save considerable time and money on your degree. Our mission is to make college more affordable and accessible for everyone.

We're here to help you reach your goals!

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How Could You Obtain Credits Towards Your Degree?

Our courses have earned a recommendation for credit from outside agencies like the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) whose recommendations are considered by over 1400 accredited colleges and universities in the United States.

In addition, we work together with many participating universities who directly accept our courses for college credit:

Colorado State University-Global is already a known leader in accessibility, becoming the first independent, fully accredited, 100% online state university in the U.S. in 2007. With over 28 degrees and accelerated programs, the academic offerings have been designed specifically for working adults.

Southern New Hampshire University is a nonprofit, regionally accredited university with an 80-year history of providing high quality education to students online and on campus. Our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH is home to over 3,000 students. We also offer affordable, accessible degree programs to over 90,000 students online.

Excelsior University is an accredited, not-for-profit distance learning institution founded in 1971 focused on providing educational opportunity to adult learners. Thirty years into our history, Excelsior was among the first institutions developing and offering online courses in early 2000s. Excelsior offers more than 35 degree programs across six areas of study: business, health sciences, liberal arts, nursing, public service, and technology.

Trident University

Trident University International is a regionally accredited institution in Cypress, California. Their programs are 100% accessible online, and combined with no daily micromanagement to promote a flexible learning environment for adult learners to excel at a manageable pace. Trident is alma mater to more than 30,000 military, veteran and adult students.

University of Maryland Global Campus

University of Maryland Global Campus has been a pioneer in distance education since 1947, and has grown to be the largest online public university in the nation. Regionally accredited, it has over 90 degrees, specializations and certificates, the academic offerings have been designed specifically for those with diverse responsibilities like working adults and servicemembers.

Grand Canyon University

Grand Canyon University is Arizona’s premier private Christian university helping students find their purpose with next-generation education, including over 200 academic programs in high-demand fields. GCU offers traditional students and working professionals generous scholarship opportunities, student support resources, on-campus state-of-the-art facilities, dynamic online classrooms, innovative learning experiences and more.

Florida National University

Florida National University is a regionally accredited university awarding associate, baccalaureate, and master degrees. There are over 3700 enrolled students across their 3 campus locations and online programs. FNU offers three Master Degrees, ten Baccalaureate Degree Programs, twenty-five Associate Degree programs, nine Diploma Programs, and eight Certificate Programs.

MacCormac College

Founded in 1904, MacCormac College is the oldest, two-year, private, non-profit institution, in the state of Illinois. It’s committed to providing its diverse student population with an exceptional education and offers Associate Degrees in: Court Reporting, Criminal Justice, Business Administration (as well as a completely online Business Administration Program), and Paralegal Studies.

Bellevue University

Bellevue University has established itself as one of the worldwide leaders in adult education, serving over 13,000 students annually. Regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, they were one of the first accredited institutions to offer online degree programs in 1996. With over 80 degrees to choose from in high growth career fields, they allow busy adults to complete a degree on their own schedule, and in less time.

Thomas Edison State University

Thomas Edison State University is one of New Jersey’s 11 public institutions of higher learning and one of the oldest schools in the country designed specifically for adults. With approximately 17,000 students, the University offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs in more than 100 areas of study as well as undergraduate, graduate and professional certificates.

Cleary University

Founded in 1883, Cleary University is an accredited, not-for-profit institution that has had one consistent plan: helping students achieve more in Business. As strictly a business school, Cleary University helps prepare students for the transition to the corner office from the classroom. With campuses in Michigan as well as degrees offered 100 percent online, students can choose the option that works for them.

Indiana Wesleyan University

Founded in 1920, Indiana Wesleyan University is a non-profit liberal arts community and the largest private college in the state of Indiana. IWU offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees, 38 graduate degrees and 5 doctorate degrees. The University’s academic structure encourages innovation in education and honors academic achievements by students and faculty alike.

Lynn University

Founded over 50 years ago, Lynn University is a private non-profit institution that is internationally renowned and ranked as one of the most innovative schools in the nation. Lynn is regionally accredited by the SACSCOC, and is located in beautiful South Florida on an 115-acre campus. It offers 45 undergraduate degrees and 14 graduate degrees through its six colleges, along with it’s adult-friendly iPad-powered learning and accelerated degree programs.

Ashworth College

Ashworth College is a 30 year-old nationally accredited institution that provides flexible, affordable and highly-relevant online career-focused education opportunities. Currently, Ashworth offers more than 125 programs spanning online career certificate, associate degree, bachelor’s degree and master’s degree programs. Offerings are in high-demand fields including healthcare, business, creative services, education and trades.

Universidad Ana G. Mendez

The Ana G. Méndez University System (SUAGM) is a nonprofit public higher education institution based in Puerto Rico that provides completely online educational opportunities for the Hispanic community internationally. The institution offers an alternative to traditional university education through bilingual programs for undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education certification, utilizing emerging distance learning technologies.

Founded in 1970, American InterContinental University provides associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees both on-campus and online. With 24/7 access to your classes online or through a mobile app, they also provide you with a Graduation Team of four advisors to support you throughout your journey. A regionally accredited institution, AIU is dedicated to providing a curriculum that helps students pursue their professional interests in today’s globalized, cutting-edge industries.

Golden Gate University

Golden Gate University’s sole purpose is to educate adults — like you — who are balancing the complex demands of life. With a 120 year history of helping adult learners, GGU is an accredited institution offering fully online undergraduate and graduate programs in business and management, accounting, taxation, and law. Ranked #1 for Adult Learners in the US by Washington Monthly for 3 years running (2016-2018), adults get career-focused degree options that are flexible with their busy lives.

Peirce College

Peirce College is an accredited nonprofit institution founded in 1865 and built exclusively to serve the unique needs of working adults. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, students can choose from a large variety of career-focused degrees with accelerated courses that are offered online, on-campus, or both.

Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, nonprofit institution providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the classroom, online and via self-paced learning. UIU is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, flexible, quality programs online since 1999 and through distance learning since 1973.

Founded in 1965 with over 100+ available programs, Baker College offers flexible scheduling so you can get a great education on your own terms. They offer online programs, and programs for career fields showing high rates of growth.

For 200 years, Norwich University’s guiding values and mission have helped create an atmosphere of excellence. We are the nation’s oldest private military college and the birthplace of ROTC, serving a diverse student body that reflects the world today

Indiana Tech has a unique and important mission to provide learners a professional education, prepare them for active participation and career advancement, and to assume leadership roles in the 21st century worldwide. Students can choose from a wide variety of campus-based programs and learn 100% online from anywhere in the world.

In addition to the above, we’re working to include more participating universities every day! To see how the whole process works and the best steps to receiving units, see our Full Transfer Guide or more FAQs below.

What Happens When I Complete the Courses?

The more courses you complete, the more units you can potentially receive. Whether you want to take just one course or multiple courses, there are a multitude of options to potentially obtain free college credit nationwide and prepare yourself for learning at the college-level. Get started by creating your free account and figuring out which university could be right for you. Once you pass a course, you’ll then be able to produce a certified transcript. Our courses are accepted directly at participating universities, and are recommended for credit at over 1400 universities nationwide.

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Free College Courses…It’s Time

Adult students often face anxiety in approaching higher education. The anxiety stems from a variety of understandable factors such as the fear of being successful in an online format, familiarization with a modern learning management system (LMS), or whether they have the appropriate time or time management to successfully dedicate to their coursework.

OnlineDegree.com solves that, and is making higher education more accessible as a result.

By providing a free platform where students can enroll and test drive various college level coursework , they are more suitably prepared to be successful at their eventual university or college. In many cases, without the need for costly investments by the university into immersion programs of their own. Self-paced study, lectures, quizzes, proctoring, and online learning as a whole, become more familiar and comfortable.

Tuition-Free Credit

In addition to overcoming these impediments for adults to make higher education more accessible, we articulate with our university partners and participate with NCCRS. This helps students to receive tuition-free credit or units towards their degree as they successfully complete the courses. Making their university education more affordable as well.

Get The Skills and Training You Need

Jobs are becoming more and more competitive. Technology is changing our world rapidly, and jobs will be required to keep up with that change. Going back to school for a Bachelors or Masters degree can help improve your chances to get your dream career. At OnlineDegree.com, taking our courses could get you closer, and prepare you to be successful when you enroll at college.

Bachelors Degree vs High School Diploma


  • Earn almost $1 million more over median lifetime
  • 74% Higher Median Salary
  • 58% Lower Unemployment
National Center for Education Statistics, Employment and Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment April 2017 Read More →
Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce - Education, Occupation, and Lifetime Earnings Read More →

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is OnlineDegree.com Really Free?

    Yep! It’s free to take as many courses as you want. Our goal is to make college more affordable and approachable for the millions of people that want to go to school. We’ve made sure it’s accessible to everyone regardless of their financial situation. Enroll in as many as you’d like.

  • Are There Any 3rd-Party Fees?

    It’s completely free to take all of the courses, the textbooks, and generate a transcript. However, when you take a final exam, a 3rd-party online proctoring service, RPNow, needs to monitor you to make sure there’s no cheating. It’s standard practice for all online testing at the college-level. We’ve negotiated the fee on your behalf, and they will only charge you a small fee of $9. OnlineDegree.com though doesnt charge you anything for taking as many courses as you’d like…no fees or tuition, ever, period.

  • Is OnlineDegree.com a University?

    Nope! OnlineDegree.com doesn’t offer degrees like a university. We help people get started with their education by offering free college-level courses and potentially obtaining units towards their degree at a university. You can take courses on our site without the lengthy enrollment, applications or interviews that are required at universities.  It’s simple and takes less than 60 seconds to get started.  You’ll learn about a variety of cutting edge topics and courses, be better prepared to enroll at a university, and can potentially obtain units towards your degree (saving a ton of time and money!).

  • Are There Prerequisities or Things I Need To Learn Before Enrolling?

    No! All of our college-level courses are introductory and meant for beginners without backgrounds in the particular subjects. You don’t need to prepare, or take anything before.  As long as you have your GED/High School Diploma, you can just register, choose the courses you want, and begin learning.

  • How Could I Save 25-30% on My Degree?

    By utilizing OnlineDegree.com’s tuition-free courses that could apply towards your degree at participating accredited universities across the country, as well as discounts we’ve arranged for our students, you could save 25-30% or more towards your degree.   To provide an example, all of the 15 college-level courses offered at OnlineDegree.com have been reviewed and verified by our university partner, Colorado State University Global (CSUG). The courses provide 44 units of available credit that could be applied towards your degree, and CSUG offers our students an additional 10% tuition discount when you enroll. The estimated savings is calculated as follows: based on $350/ credit hour fees * 120 Units for a bachelors degree, the 10% Tuition Discount would account for $4200 in potential savings.  Then, the credit earned from OnlineDegree.com tuition-free courses could be $6300 (ex. $350 credit hour tuition * 18 Units) up to $8400 (ex. $350 credit hour tuition * 24 Units), for a total savings of $10,500-$12,600 or 25-30% of the full tuition.  This is one example, and we have many partnerships with different discounts and savings.  You’ll want to inquire with each respective school’s advisor though to confirm which courses could best apply to your specific major or degree of interest, and how they combine with other units you’ve earned. Your particular major/degree will dictate which courses can specifically be applied.

  • Are There Schedules or Set Class Times for OnlineDegree.com Courses?

    Nope! No class schedules, and no fixed times. Our courses are available anytime, and completely self-paced. We understand how busy adults are, and we’ve created our system to accomodate anyone’s schedule. Our system always keeps track of your progress…grab a sandwich, go see a movie, etc. When you come back online, you’ll pick up right where you left off.

  • Does OnlineDegree.com “grant credit”?

    Remember that OnlineDegree.com is not a university and does not and cannot “grant credit” – the option to grant credit always belongs to the college or university and will further depend on whether a course fits into your degree program. Our goal at OnlineDegree.com is to help you receive credit at a university by taking our free college-level courses. We want to save students time and money to get their degree. To do that, we work with a number of participating accredited universities who’ve agreed to recognize our courses directly, and our courses have also earned a recommendation for credit from the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) who’s recommendations are considered by over 1400 universities and colleges nationwide in their network.

  • When I Complete Courses at OnlineDegree.com, Can They Transfer to Any University in the Country?

    No, our courses have earned a recommendation for credit from NCCRS (the National College Credit Recommendation Service) whose recommendations are considered by over 1400 accredited colleges and universities in the United States. You can see the full list of participating colleges from the NCCRS, but includes schools in the California State University system, SUNY, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and many many more…over 1400 in total. We’ve also organized direct relationships with universities around the country like Ashworth College or Southern New Hampshire University that will accept our courses for college credit making your transfer more simple and easy. This provides our students with many options around the country, and we’re working tirelessly to add more universities all the time.

  • If I’ve Taken Some Units At Community College, Can I Still Enroll?

    Of course! Our courses at OnlineDegree.com are free and available to everyone. Courses completed from a community college could possibly be combined with the courses you complete at OnlineDegree.com to maximize the amount of credit you receive at your eventual university. You should check with your desired university beforehand though to understand what’s possible to obtain eventual credit and any guidelines they have (e.g. how many units can be awarded, if they’ll award credit for the completed courses you desire to take, does that change based on your major, etc.) You can also see our Full Transfer Guide for more details.

  • Sounds Too Good To Be True, How Can OnlineDegree.com Be Free?

    We love hearing that 🙂 ! Our mission is to make college more affordable and accessible for the millions of adults who want a better life. Tuition is a huge barrier for many people, and often prevents someone from taking that first step towards a degree. We’ve worked tirelessly to keep all of our courses and accompanying books free to students. That commitment has resulted in removing those common hurdles, and helping our students potentially save thousands of dollars towards their eventual degree. We are boldly exploring other means of keeping the lights on outside of the traditional tuition model, and OnlineDegree.com will always be 100% tuition-free to our students. Period.

  • If I Just Complete One or Two Courses, Could I Still Obtain Credit?

    Yes! Each course has it’s own credit recommendation value. You don’t have to take all of them, just the ones you’d like.

  • What If I’m Under 18 Years Old?

    It’s awesome that you’re already thinking about college, but unfortunately, OnlineDegree.com is only for adults age 18 and up who’ve completed high school or a GED equivalent. We’ll be here though when you’re old enough!

  • What if I’m Currently in High School and Haven’t Finished My Diploma/GED?

    OnlineDegree.com is only available to adults age 18 and over who’ve completed their high school diploma or GED equivalent.  Our courses are designed to be college-level, and universities will require you to have completed your diploma or GED equivalent before you can enroll to their schools.  It’s fantastic that you’re thinking about college, and we’ll be here when you’re finished with high school.

  • Do the 1400+ Schools Through the NCCRS Guarantee Credit?

    No, they don’t guarantee that participating universities and colleges will accept the courses for credit. The option to grant credit always belongs to the college or university and will further depend on whether a course fits into your degree program. However, we work with a number of participating accredited universities who’ve agreed to recognize our courses for credit, and participate with the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) where our courses have earned a recommendation for credit with over 1400 universities and colleges cooperating in their network nationwide. These colleges and universities who do participate have indicated their willingness to consider the NCCRS credit recommendations when you complete the courses. To learn more about how you could earn college credit, read our full guide here.

  • Could I Receive Credit Towards a Community College or Associate’s Degree?

    Yes! Our courses have earned a recommendation for credit from NCCRS (the National College Credit Recommendation Service) whose recommendations are considered by over 1400 accredited colleges and universities in the United States…many of which are community colleges that offer an Associates Degree, and many 4-year Universities that offer Associate Degrees. We’ve also organized direct relationships with universities like Ashworth College and Southern New Hampshire University that offer online Associate Degree programs and have agreed to accept our courses for college credit. This provides our students with many options around the country, and we’re working to add more universities all the time.

  • How Long Does it Take to Enroll?

    Less than a minute. No essays, no entrance exams, no interviews, and no tracking down high school transcripts from 20 years ago. Just register and start taking courses. It’s that easy.



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