If terms like deep learning, neural learning, and artificial intelligence excite you, we have an excellent list of the best free courses for machine learning you can start right now. While the concept of machine learning is somewhat of a mystery among laypersons, those in the know are keenly aware of its importance. The ability to educate oneself on all aspects of this field can be a vital tipping point between a hum-drum IT career and one that is over-the-top exciting!
Featured Programs
- Machine Learning for Data Science and Analytics
- Machine Learning for All
- Intro to Artificial Intelligence
Machine learning powers several services you probably use every day. For example, movie recommendations on Netflix and suggested products on Amazon are the result of sophisticated algorithms that use massive amounts of data to come up with statistics. The resulting information provides you with lists of “things you might like.”
For many people, it’s a bit creepy. But for those in the industry, it represents an unprecedented way to profile consumers and drive e-commerce by tailoring the shopping experience to the individual. So, whether you like it or hate it, it’s a trend that is here to stay and is growing exponentially, making it an ideal career option for those who are into technology.
To begin this article, we will introduce you to some of the top free machine learning courses we have found. Each has been ranked using a methodology we developed that helps us pick the best options. Listed in descending order, our favorites are at the top of the list, yet each resource deserves a special place in this article.
Ranking 10 Free Online Courses for Machine Learning
1. Mastering Data Science and Machine Learning Fundamentals
Offered by AI Sciences via Udemy
Udemy is one of the best online platforms to learn about nearly every subject, with thousands of courses offered at very minimal prices. Once in a while, you find some totally free gems in their list of offerings, and this course by AI Sciences is one of them. It’s one of the best free online courses in machine learning and features two hours of on-demand video, lifetime access, and the ability to take the course on any platform (including TV and mobile). It also happens to be the only platform on our list offering a free completion certificate, making this our top choice.
The course itself covers theory rather than practical application and is great for beginners who want to understand what machine learning is all about. It covers topics like machine learning models, performance, and best practices and includes 18 short lectures. Other than basic mathematics, there are no prerequisites for taking this course, so students at all levels can participate.
Cost: Free
Certificate: Yes
Time to Complete: Under two hours
Curriculum: Introductory
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
•Certificate offered
•Short and engaging
•Taught by an industry expert
Cons:
•Too short
2. Learning from Data (Introductory Machine Learning Course)
Offered by California Institute of Technology
This MOOC from Caltech is one of the best free online machine learning courses we’ve come across. Taught by Caltech Professor Yaser Abu-Mostafa, it features 18 lectures and 10 weeks of assignments, including a graded final exam. It offers a solid foundation in machine learning and provides comprehensive theory as well as plenty of practical exercises to help you understand what you are learning. An online forum is available for students to discuss various aspects of the class, and the course textbook can be purchased on Amazon for a nominal fee. This free online course for machine learning is self-paced, and there is no need to sign up. You can jump right in whenever you are ready to begin.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: 10 Weeks
Curriculum: Introductory to Advanced
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
•No hoops to jump through, you set your own schedule and go at your own pace
•Perfect for those who want a solid foundation in machine learning
•Entirely free courseware from a major tech college
Cons:
•No certificates are offered
3. Machine Learning for Data Science and Analytics
Offered by Columbia University via edX
This Columbia University Course serves as an introduction to algorithms and machine learning. It offers students a foundation in the principles of machine learning and how to come up with practical solutions by utilizing predictive analytics. The course also covers the essential role that algorithms play when analyzing Big Data. During the free online machine learning course, students will learn:
• What machine learning is and how it relates to statistics and analysis
• How using data patterns can help make predictions and decisions
• How to find hidden themes in large document collections using topic modeling
• How to prepare and create custom data analysis solutions for various industries
• How to sort, search, use greedy algorithms and dynamic programming
The course is free to take; however, students who want a verification certificate will need to pay $99. It is self-paced with a suggested time commitment of seven to ten hours per week.
Cost: Free
Certificate: Yes, with a fee
Time to Complete: Five weeks
Curriculum: Introductory
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
•Completed by over 125,000 students
•Taught by four Columbia University professors
•Part of the Data Science for Executives associate program
Cons:
•Certification requires a fee
4. Machine Learning for All
Offered by University of London International Programmes via Coursera
The University of London International Programmes offers this Machine Learning for All course through Coursera. By taking the training for four to five hours a week, you can complete it in about four weeks. There are four modules, and students who are seeking a good foundation in understanding machine learning will find this to be an excellent choice. You can opt for a certificate of completion at the paid level of Coursera, which will allow you to take part in graded assignments as well.
However, each module can be audited at no charge. If you need a certificate but cannot afford one, you can apply for financial aid.
The free online course is designed to help students understand how machine learning works, the problems it solves, and the technology it encompasses. Students don’t need any former programming training as the course does not get into tools like Python or TensorFlow.
Cost: Free
Certificate: Yes, with a fee
Time to Complete: Four weeks
Curriculum: Introductory
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
•Covers all the basics of machine learning for students who only need an overview
•Taken by over 2000 students
•Taught by Dr. Marco Gilles, a top instructor on the platform.
Cons:
•Fee charged for a certificate
5. Machine Learning Crash Course with TensorFlow APIs
Offered by Google
Google has an entire learning platform designed around artificial intelligence and machine learning, with an excellent user interface and thorough curriculum. This crash course in machine learning is just one of their offerings. To get the most out of it, you don’t necessarily need to know TensorFlow, but you will need a basic understanding of how to code in Python.
The free online machine learning course is 15 hours long and features 25 lessons and over 30 practical exercises. Real-world case studies and lectures from Google researchers keep it exciting and engaging. Topics cover machine learning concepts, engineering, and practical ways of using ML systems.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Varies
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
•Students of all levels can jump in wherever they want
•No signup is necessary
•Easy-to-follow modules
Cons:
•No certification offered
6. MIT Deep Learning State of the Art
Offered by Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT offers some fascinating lectures on machine learning, and this 1.5-hour offering taught by Lex Fridman serves as a basic overview of where we are as a society in 2020 when it comes to deep learning. The lecture is just one of many that are freely available from the institute, and is a great place to begin if you want to take some of the more in-depth courses offered, such as Deep Learning for Self-Driving Cars.
MIT’s open-source classes and lectures are the same ones taught on campus, and students enrolled in the school can receive credit for completing them. However, you don’t need to be an MIT student to participate, and every one of the lectures offers a wealth of information free of charge.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: 1.5 hours
Curriculum: Introductory
User Experience: Good
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
•Taught by esteemed instructor Lex Fridman
•Fun and interesting
•Easy to follow
Cons:
•No certificates or hands-on work offered
7. Intro to Artificial Intelligence
Offered by Udacity
This excellent course on Audacity will teach students the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence. It is part of the Machine Learning Engineer Nanodegree Program and is taught by Peter Norvig and Sebastian Thrun, and should be taken by students who are already familiar with probability theory and linear algebra. The free online machine learning course covers:
• Statistics, uncertainty, and Bayes networks
• Machine learning
• Logic and planning
• Image processing and computer vision
• Robotics and robot motion planning
• Natural language processing and information retrieval
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Four months
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
•Taught by industry experts
•Part of a nano-degree program for students who choose to go further
•Comprehensive
Cons:
•Certification not offered with the free version
8. Machine Learning
Offered by Stanford University via Coursera
This Stanford University free online course on machine learning is taught by the founder of Google Brain and former chief scientist at BAIDU, Andrew Ng. Both the course and the instructor regularly receive rave reviews for this comprehensive course, which is one of the top-rated free online machine learning courses on our list.
At 56 hours, this is a comprehensive offering, and it covers a wealth of information if you are looking for something in-depth. Topics include:
•Supervised learning including parametric/non-parametric algorithms, support vector machines, kernels, and neural networks
•Unsupervised learning including clustering, dimensionality reduction, recommender systems, and deep learning
•Best practices in machine learning including bias/variance theory, innovation process in machine learning and AI
You will also be presented with plenty of case studies and practical applications. With this knowledge, you will learn how to apply algorithms for building smart robots, get a firm grasp on text understanding, and master computer vision, medical informatics, database mining, audio, and more.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Approximately 56 hours
Curriculum: Introductory to Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
•Taught by an industry leader
•Perfect for those who want to explore the field of machine learning
•Subtitled in several different languages
Cons:
•Certificate only offered at the paid level of Coursera
9. Neural Networks and Deep Learning
Offered by deeplearning.AI through Coursera
Working toward becoming a deep-learning engineer is one of the most exciting careers in IT, and this course offered through Coursera and deeplearning.AI serves as an ideal intro to the foundations of deep learning. Mastering this skill will open doors you never dreamed possible, so if you are even remotely interested, taking part in this free course should be on your priority list.
Like all Coursera courses, you can take the course free in audit mode and opt for a paid certificate if you choose. During the lessons, you will learn:
• How to understand the tech trends that drive Deep Learning
• Learn how to build, train, and apply neural networks
• Discover how to implement vectorized neural networks best
• Gain an understanding of the fundamental architectural parameters in the field.
Cost: Free
Certificate: Yes, with a fee
Time to Complete: 18 hours
Curriculum: Intermediate
User Experience: Excellent
Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Pros:
•Subtitled in 13 languages
•Taught by three top instructors on the Coursera platform
•Created by industry mastermind Andrew Ng
Cons:
•Fee charged for a certificate
10. Complete Machine Learning Masterclass–Learn from Scratch
Offered by Udemy
This top-rated free course from Udemy offers over three hours of on-demand video that will introduce students to machine learning step-by-step. Go from zero to hero by learning everything from the basics to advanced methods as you progress through ten sessions and 20 lectures.
Students enrolled in the free version can access the entire course but will not earn a certificate or be able to participate in the instructor-led Q&A session.
Cost: Free
Certificate: No
Time to Complete: Three hours
Curriculum: Introductory
User Experience: Good
Quality of Instruction: Fair
Pros:
•The course is designed for total beginners
•Suitable for those who are looking for a basic overview of machine learning, including theory
•No credit card required and no paywall in place
Cons:
•Some students have complained that the instructor is hard to understand
Frequently Asked Questions About Free Machine Learning Courses
Machine Learning is quickly becoming one of the most fascinating fields to work in. As technology advances, there are endless applications to machine learning and plenty of job opportunities for those who are interested. Search engines, spam filters, chatbots, and more are ideal examples of how machine learning applies to all aspects of our daily lives.
While data science deals with statistics and communication, machine learning takes things a step further by focusing on algorithms that work mathematically to solve everyday problems, and the industry is in dire need of specialists who can understand and work with both. In fact, the demand for these engineers far exceeds the number of people educated in the field, which makes this specialization nearly recession-proof.
MOOCs (massive open online courses) are provided through colleges, online platforms, and major corporations. If you are new to online learning, we’ve put together some frequently asked questions so you can gain a better understanding of how free online courses for machine learning work.
Who Should Take Free Machine Learning Courses?
Becoming competent in machine learning makes you a hot commodity to your current or future employer. Many organizations prefer to have their own machine learning engineer on staff to work directly with a data engineer to synchronize an organization’s workflow and products. If you want to impress your boss with a new skill set, machine learning is one way to make yourself indispensable to your company.
What Are the Requirements and Prerequisites?
Academically, students interested in machine learning should have some simple linear algebra and calculus under their belts. Since ML is mathematical by nature, you should at least enjoy working with numbers. Programming is helpful too, but many students learn to program as they are learning ML, so there is no need to be a top-notch programmer to begin.
Most importantly, this exciting field requires a passion and interest in what you are doing, and you should be someone who enjoys solving complex problems.
Will I Earn College Credits by Taking a MOOC?
While some free online courses have this option, none of the courses on our list of the best MOOCs for machine learning award college credit.
How Long Do Free Online Courses Take?
Most online courses in machine learning are created for students to take at their own pace. They are designed to last anywhere from a few hours to a few months, and some are more involved than others. Depending on your level of commitment and your schedule, you may complete courses sooner or later than the estimated completion time.
Are Free Online Courses Graded?
Most of the online courses in machine learning on this list do not offer graded coursework or final exams in the free mode. Some classes provide a paid component that may offer graded exams or a final graded project. However, it is not necessary to take the paid version if you are looking to simply learn. You may find that there are auto-graded quizzes and exercises during the classes that can give you an idea of how you are doing. Some courses also have forums where students can discuss the coursework.
Are There Specific Start Times and Deadlines for Free Online Classes?
We love free online classes because of their flexibility, Most of the time, you can take a machine learning course any time of the day or night and start when it is convenient for you.
Sometimes, a course will commence on set dates at intervals throughout the year. Occasionally, paid components have deadlines for the exams and projects to keep students moving through the work.
I Thought These Courses Were Free. Why Does It Look Like I Will Have to Pay a Fee?
On some platforms, certification or graded components of a class are hidden behind a paywall. This can range from a trial period, a membership option, or the opportunity to purchase an optional completion certificate. However, each of the courses offered can be taken at no charge, provided you do not require certification. You can audit the classes for free, including accessing the lectures, videos, e-books, and other materials without needing to upgrade to the paid membership model.
If you need a shareable certificate of completion for your employer, resume, LinkedIn profile, or CV and can’t afford it, you might want to ask your employer to spring for the cost. You can also apply for financial aid through some of the platforms. There may also be scholarships, discounts, or coupon codes available.
Are Free Machine Learning Courses Worth It?
Absolutely! Studying any aspect of this high-demand skill can pay huge dividends down the road for you. Online learning will never be a waste of your time, especially when the coursework is free. If you are a motivated individual and you have the extra time to take a course in ML, your current or potential future employer will appreciate you even more. Taking ML courses shows that you are up for new challenges and ready to move forward with the technology that drives the 21st-century .
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