10 Online College Courses for High School Students
If you are a high school student, taking college-level courses or certifications is an excellent way to stand out in college applications and learn new things. Whether you're building your skills in a chosen field, preparing for a research project, or exploring an area of interest, college courses can help you lay a solid foundation.
Online college courses offer flexibility, allowing you to learn at your own pace while balancing other commitments. Many programs allow you to earn college credit, giving you a head start on your undergraduate degree.
Here are 10 online courses leading U.S. colleges offer for high school students!
Cost: $329
Location: Virtual
Course Dates: Self-Paced
Application Deadline: Rolling Basis
Eligibility: High school students
The Understanding Your Money course from the UPenn Wharton Global Youth Program introduces high school students to financial literacy and personal finance. Taught by instructors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, this course provides essential tools and knowledge for making informed financial decisions. Course topics include budgeting and saving, investing fundamentals, making smart financial decisions, setting financial goals, understanding economic principles, and the financial landscape.
Through interactive activities, workshops, and discussions, you’ll learn how to manage personal finances, create a budget, save for future goals, and make responsible money decisions. You’ll also explore the broader economic context, gaining a foundation to navigate your financial future.
Cost: Free and fee for a verified certificate (optional)
Location: Virtual via edX
Course Dates: Self-paced; 6 weeks, 4–7 hours per week
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
BerkeleyX’s Entrepreneurship For All (Part I) is an online course for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to build a foundation in the world of startups. Created by UC Berkeley and featuring Silicon Valley insiders, this course explores the entrepreneurial journey—from idea generation to scaling a business. You will learn to identify target markets, design viable business models, and develop effective pitches. You will also gain insights from real-world case studies. The course combines video lectures, interactive projects, readings, and peer collaboration.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual
Course Dates: Self-paced
Application Deadline: None (open enrollment)
Eligibility: High school students proficient in single-variable calculus and with experience in basic programming
Offered through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s OpenCourseWare (OCW) platform, the Thermodynamics and Climate Change course explores the application of thermodynamics to climate change. This course is ideal for high school students interested in physics, environmental science, and global challenges. The curriculum covers key topics like energy transfer, heat dynamics, and the mechanisms driving climate systems and global warming.
It combines theoretical concepts with real-world applications to show how these principles shape the Earth’s climate.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual
Course Dates: 6 weeks, 4–6 hours per week (self-paced)
Application Deadline: None (open enrollment)
Eligibility: High school students
Stanford Online: Computer Science 101 is a beginner-friendly course on the foundational concepts of computer science. This course is ideal for high school students eager to explore programming and computational thinking. The curriculum provides a deep dive into algorithms, programming languages, and the details of syntax and semantics.
The course features a hands-on component, including assignments and projects that use your problem-solving skills and enhance programming proficiency. Topics such as data structures and their real-world applications are explored, offering insights into these concepts' importance in software development. One of the course's highlights is its focus on software design principles, equipping you with the knowledge to create efficient and scalable solutions.
Cost: $5,250
Location: Virtual
Course Dates: January 2 – 18, 2025
Application Deadline: December 2024
Eligibility: Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
The Cornell SCE Precollege: Introduction to Psychology course offers high school students an opportunity to explore the foundational concepts of psychology at an Ivy League institution. This program introduces students to cognitive processes, human development, and social behavior. With guidance from experienced instructors, you will conduct experiments, analyze psychological data, and discuss theoretical frameworks.
The course sharpens critical thinking, fosters research skills, and deepens insights into human behavior.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual
Course Dates: Self-paced
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Yale Online's Capitalism: Success, Crisis, and Reform offers high school students an exploration of the economic system that drives much of the modern world. This course provides a balanced perspective on capitalism, examining its successes, challenges, and the crises it has faced over time. Subject areas include the foundations of capitalism, economic forces and market behavior, and crises and inequalities.
Through modules, real-world examples, and interactive content, you will explore capitalism's influence on society and consider potential reforms to create a more equitable future. This course is a solid choice for high school students seeking to understand the intricacies of economic systems.
Cost: $3,000–$5,000 (2–4 weeks)
Location: Virtual
Course Dates: June 24 – July 19, 2025
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Brown University’s Pre-College course Leadership in Changing Business: Social Entrepreneurship helps students learn how social entrepreneurs address societal issues through business solutions. This program focuses on the intersection of business and social impact. It is ideal for students eager to drive positive change in fields like health, education, and environmental sustainability. You will engage with guest speakers, case studies, readings, and collaborative discussions.
The curriculum includes crafting a business plan and delivering an elevator pitch for a social enterprise as a capstone project.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual
Course Dates: Self-Paced
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Yale Online's Philosophy and the Science of Human Nature explores what it means to be human. This course combines philosophical inquiry with insights from modern science, making it ideal for students interested in understanding human nature from multiple perspectives. You will delve into classical philosophical texts and contemporary debates through video lectures, readings, and interactive assignments. The course encourages independent thinking, allowing you to explore profound ideas and form well-reasoned conclusions on complex topics.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual
Course Dates: Self-Paced
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
MIT OpenCourseWare's Introduction to Oscillations and Waves is for students with a strong foundation in mathematics and an interest in physics or engineering. This course covers oscillations and wave phenomena, essential topics in many areas of physics, from mechanics to optics. Modules include basic principles of oscillations, wave propagation and behavior, applications in mechanics, electricity, and optics, mathematical techniques for analyzing waves, and problem-solving in physics.
Through video lectures, lecture notes, assignments, and problem sets, the course offers a structured approach to these concepts. It is a great resource for high school students preparing for college-level STEM courses. Taking this course will not only solidify your knowledge of oscillations and waves but also give you a taste of MIT’s academic standards.
Cost: Free (without certificate) and $672.30 (with certificate, financial aid available)
Location: Virtual
Course Dates: 11 days in June or July
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
HarvardX's Fundamentals of Neuroscience is a course designed to introduce students to neuroscience. Ideal for high school students interested in biology, psychology, or medicine, this course explores the brain and its role in shaping human behavior. The course is taught by Harvard University's faculty and is available through edX. It combines video lectures, interactive quizzes, and assignments that allow you to explore the brain's processes. This course will strengthen your understanding of the brain's biological mechanisms and provide a glimpse into cutting-edge research and potential career paths in the field.
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research through a structured program, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.