Best Coursera Plus Courses

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Contributor, Benzinga
August 4, 2020

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There’s a lot to love about Coursera Plus. You can access over 3,000 courses, specializations or professional certificate programs on a host of topics for a price that’s too good to pass up. Plus, you can gain new skills and attract prospective employers or advance your expertise to position yourself for more rewarding career opportunities. 

We’ve done the legwork to bring you an overview of the best Coursera Plus courses.

Quick Look: Best Coursera Plus Courses

Here’s a glimpse at the best Coursera Plus courses:

What Makes a Coursera Plus Course Great?

Coursera Plus courses all embody these characteristics. 

Led by Subject-Matter Experts 

Regardless of the subject, Coursera Plus only offers courses that are facilitated by accomplished subject-matter experts. Most are from the college, university or organization that presents the class and have degrees and other relevant credentials under their belt. 

Includes Supplementary Resources

When browsing Coursera Plus courses, you will find that most feature in-depth video lectures, supplementary readings and quizzes to ensure students receive a holistic learning experience. Some also include assignments and projects that allow you to demonstrate your proficiency in the material. 

Affordable 

Coursera Plus courses are accessible free of charge, or you can complete a series of programs in a specialization to earn a professional certificate for a fee. You can test out options until you find programs that pique your interest. 

Our Top Picks

Below, you will find the top Coursera Plus courses categorized by skill level to help you easily identify the most suitable options. We’ve also included a description of each class so you’ll know what to expect before enrolling. 

Best Coursera Plus Courses for Beginners

Here are the top Coursera Plus courses for beginners. 

1. AI for Everyone by deeplearning.ai

Who it's for: Beginners

Price: Free

Seeking a course to help members of your organization use AI more effectively? Look no further than this introductory offering from deeplearning.ai designed for engineering and those in non-technical roles. 

Ley by Stanford Adjunct Professor Andrew Ng, AI for Everyone is comprised of the following modules: 

  • What is AI?
  • Building AI Projects
  • Building AI In Your Company
  • AI and Society 

Upon completion, you will know how AI works and have a solid grasp of common terminology. You will also understand the capabilities of AI and know-how to collaborate with a team to resolve challenges in your organization with AI. 

Enroll now

2. Machine Learning by Stanford

Who it's for: Beginners

Price: Free

Stanford presents this introductory course on the fundamentals of machine learning, data mining and statistical pattern recognition. It dives into supervised and unsupervised learning, best practices in machine learning and so much more through a series of case studies and real-life simulations. 

Machine Learning is divided into the following segments: 

  • Introduction 
  • Linear Regression with One Variable 
  • Linear Algebra Review
  • Linear Regression with Multiple Variables
  • Octave/Matlab Tutorial
  • Logistic Regression
  • Regularization
  • Neural Networks: Representation
  • Neural Networks: Learning
  • Advice for Applying Machine Learning 
  • Machine Learning System Design
  • Support Vector Machines
  • Unsupervised Learning 
  • Dimensionality Reduction
  • Anomaly Detection 
  • Recommender Systems
  • Large Scale Machine Learning
  • Application Example: Photo OCR

Each segment includes video lectures and supplementary readings. You will also be tasked with taking quizzes to ensure you fully grasp the material presented in the lessons. 

This course is also facilitated by Andrew Ng. 

Enroll now.

3. Introduction to Programming with MATLAB by Vanderbilt University

Who it's for: Beginners

Price: Free

Want to learn computer programming but have little to no experience under your belt? Look no further than this course just for beginners from Vanderbilt University. 

Introduction to Programming with MATLAB provides an introduction to programming that makes it easy to learn the mechanics from the ground up. You will also learn the essentials of computer science and programming. 

Here’s a quick look at the course syllabus: 

  • The MATLAB Environment
  • Matrices and Operators
  • Functions 
  • Programmer’s Toolbox
  • Selection div
  • Loops 
  • Data Types
  • File Input/Output 

It is co-facilitated by Akos Ledeczi, professor of computer engineering and research, and Mike Fitzpatrick, professor emeritus of computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, neurosurgery and radiology. 

Enroll now

4. The Science of Well-Being by Yale University 

Who it's for: Beginners

Price: Free

Do you struggle to feel inner joy or get things done? This impactful course from Yale University will teach you how to lead a happier life and alter your habits to become more productive.

The Science of Well-Being is facilitated by Psychology Professor Laurie Santos. She draws from her personal experiences and academic expertise to bring you powerful insights through the following modules: 

  • Introduction 
  • Misconceptions About Happiness
  • Why Our Expectations Are So Bad
  • How Can We Overcome Our Biases?
  • Stuff That Really Makes Us Happy
  • Putting Strategies Into Practice
  • Start Your Final Rewirement Challenge
  • Continue Your Rewirement Challenge
  • Submit Your Final Assignment 

It takes approximately 19 hours to watch the video lessons, read the supplementary material and take the quizzes. 

Enroll now

5. Learning How to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help You Master Tough Subjects by McMaster University and the University of California San Diego

Who it's for: Beginners

Price: Free

Learning How to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help You Master Tough Subjects explores practical ways to comprehend challenging concepts. 

This introductory course is presented by the University of California – San Diego. It dives into learning techniques employed in art, literature, math, music, science, sports and a host of other disciplines to approach tough subjects with confidence. 

The class is co-facilitated by Dr. Barbara Oakley, Ramón y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning at McMaster University, and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski, Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. You’ll learn:

  • What is Learning?
  • Chunking
  • Procrastination and Memory
  • Renaissance Learning and Unlocking Your Potential 

Expect to spend 15 hours working through the course material. 

Enroll now

Intermediate Coursera Plus Courses

We’ve included the best intermediate Coursera Plus courses below. 

6. Introduction to TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning by deeplearning.ai

Who it's for: Intermediate students

Price: Free

Introduction to TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning is a 30-hour course that teaches software developers how to develop scalable AI-powered algorithms. Also instructed by Andrew Ng, it is a component of the TensorFlow in Practice Specialization.

Here’s what you can expect to learn while enrolled: 

  • A New Programming Paradigm
  • Introduction to Computer Vision
  • Enhancing Vision with Convolutional Neural Networks
  • Using Real-World Images

Have experience in Python coding before you register. 

Enroll now

7. Neural Networks and Deep Learning by deeplearning.ai

Who it's for: Intermediate students 

Price: Free

Another exceptional offering from deeplearning.ai, Neural Networks and Deep Learning pulls back the curtain on the mechanics of Deep Learning

It includes lessons on the technology trends driving Deep Learning, how to build and apply fully connected deep neural networks and so much more. 

Led by Andrew Ng and Teaching Assistants Kian Katanforoosh and Younes Bensouda Mourri, this intermediate course features 4 modules: 

  • Introduction to Deep Learning
  • Neural Networks Basics 
  • Shallow Neural Networks
  • Deep Neural Networks 

Instruction is delivered through a series of videos, readings and quizzes. It takes around 20 hours to finish the course. 

Enroll now

8. Algorithms, Part I by Princeton University

Who it's for: Intermediate students 

Price: Free

Presented by Princeton University, this course teaches programmers everything they need to know about algorithms and data structures. It focuses on both applications and scientific performance analysis of Java implementations. 

Algorithms, Part I contains these in-depth segments: 

  • Course Introduction 
  • Union-Find 
  • Analysis of Algorithms
  • Stacks and Queues
  • Elementary Sorts
  • Mergesort
  • Quicksort 
  • Priority Queues
  • Elementary Symbol Tables 
  • Balanced Search Trees
  • Geometric Applications of BSTs
  • Hash Tables 
  • Symbol Table Applications 

The course is co-instructed by Kevin Wayne, Phillip Y. Goldman senior lecturer and Robert Sedgewick, William O. Baker professor of computer science.

Enroll now

Advanced Coursera Plus Courses

The only advanced option on the list of top Coursera Plus courses is listed below. 

9. Site Reliability Engineering: Measuring and Managing Reliability by Google Cloud

Who it's for: Advanced students 

Price: Free

This highly-rated course is brought to you by Google Cloud Training. It examines the theory of Service Level Objectives (SLOs) and ways to implement Service Level Indicators (SLIs).

Site Reliability Engineering: Measuring and Managing Reliability is taught by video. The lessons are categorized a follows: 

  • Introduction to SRE
  • Targeting Reliability 
  • Operating for Reliability
  • Choosing a Good SLI
  • Developing SLOs and SLIs
  • Quantifying Risks to SLOs
  • Consequences of SLO Misses 

Allocate 13 hours of your time to view the video lectures. 

Enroll now

Find the Best Coursera Plus Course for You

Ready to give Coursera Plus a try? Get started with one of our recommended courses. They are the most popular options with past students and give you an inside look at the Coursera Plus experience. Plus, you can get started for free with no strings attached. If you find the course is a good fit and want to move forward with completing the specialization, you’re free to do so at your convenience. 

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