Chemistry can take you to so many diverse routes and professions, ranging from a researcher to a pharmacist to a cosmetic chemist. In 2018, the median annual wages for a chemist, a medical scientist and a pharmacist were $78,330, $84,810 and $126,120, respectively, with all three of the mentioned professions’ employment rates projected to increase by 6 percent or more from 2016 to 2026. 

Whether you’re a student preparing for exams, simply looking into study more about the subject, or are seriously considering a profession requiring chemistry, there are many excellent online courses that you can take from the comfort of your own bedroom. 

We have assembled a list of free and affordable online courses on chemistry that can get you started quickly. 

Introductory Courses on Chemistry 

1. Chemistry

Offered by the University of Kentucky, this course is for beginners, covering topics usually covered in advanced high school chemistry courses. Before the end of the course, you will learn about atomic structure, periodic trends, compounds, reactions and stoichiometry, bonding and thermochemistry, and more. This course is a must for those who want to take the Advanced Chemistry course offered by the university (described below). 

• College credits: NO — Course Certificate only
• Price: FREE to audit, but there’s a fee to earn and buy a Course Certificate
• Financial aid or scholarships: YES
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: Approximately 25 hours 
• Languages: English with subtitles in English and Spanish 
• Vendor: Coursera

Note: Prices for all courses listed in this article are true on the date of publishing, but are subject to change.

2. Introduction to Chemistry: Reactions and Ratios 

Offered by the Duke University, this introductory course teaches the basic concepts involved in chemical reactions and ratios, such as matter and energy, compounds, chemical compositions and reactions, solutions and solubility rules, and acid-base and   redox reactions. Before the end of the course, you will be equipped with the necessary fundamentals to be able to solve chemical problems on your own. 

• College credits: NO — Course Certificate only
• Price: FREE to audit, but there’s a fee to earn and buy a Course Certificate
• Financial aid or scholarships: YES
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: Approximately 29 hours 
• Languages: English with subtitles in English, Spanish, and Hebrew 
• Vendor: Coursera

3. Introduction to Chemistry: Structures and Solutions

Also offered by Duke University and a complementary course to the one above, this course teaches the basic concepts involved in chemical structures and solutions, such as atomic and molecular structure, solutions, and phases of matter. With special emphasis on solving quantitative chemistry problems, this course prepares students for further study in chemistry. Although you can start with either one of the two courses, this and the one above, note that the course above was designed to come first.  

• College credits: NO — Course Certificate only
• Price: FREE to audit, but there’s a fee to earn and buy a Course Certificate
• Financial aid or scholarships: YES
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: Approximately 26 hours 
• Languages: English with subtitles in English, Spanish, and Hebrew 
• Vendor: Coursera

4. General Chemistry: Concept Development and Application 

Offered by Rice University, this course covers the basic concepts of chemistry through the university’s very own “Concept Development Approach,” meaning you will learn the concepts through experimental observations and scientific reasonings rather than mere memorization or application. Although this course requires no prior experience in the subject, some prior familiarity can be helpful. 

• College credits: NO — Course Certificate only
• Price: FREE to audit, but there’s a fee to earn and buy a Course Certificate
• Financial aid or scholarships: YES
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: Approximately 33 hours 
• Languages: English with subtitles in English
• Vendor: Coursera

5. Become A Chemistry 1 Master – Basic Principles of Chemistry 

Taken by more than 3,000 students from all around the globe, this course covers a vast array of topics in chemistry, such as matter, element, compound, atomic theory, the periodic table, stoichiometry, solubility rules, and many different laws of chemistry. Whether you’ve never taken a chemistry class in your life or are familiar, but in need of friendly reminders over the basic concepts, this course can offer what you need. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $11.99 on sale ($199.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 7 hours 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

6. Mastering Chemistry Basics from A-Z

As an introductory course, this course covers all the basic topics of chemistry in comparably shorter amount of time than many other courses on this list. Of course, this can work as a positive or negative depending on your preferences and situations. However, this course seems to do the job right in its short class time, covering topics like atoms, matter, energy, compounds, chemical changes and reactions. Through a quiz following every lecture, you will be able to check whether you understood the concepts correctly or not. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $11.99 on sale ($199.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 6 hours, 30 minutes 
• Languages: English 
• Vendor: Udemy

7. Complete General Chemistry 20+ Hours of Lectures & Examples

This Complete General Chemistry course is intended for students from different fields of science and engineering. By the end of the course, you’ll learn the principles and various key concepts, such as matter, atoms, solutions, phases, chemical reactions, equilibrium, kinetics, acids and bases, and more. The course includes many standard example questions and a step-by-step solution procedure that will give you strategies on how to tackle various types of problems. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $11.99 on sale ($19.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 20 hours, 30 minutes 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

8. The Collection of 3D Digital Content for Chemistry Part – 1

Entirely made up of animated videos, this course is highly visual and easy to follow, making it great for students who learn better through videos. In the first part of the three-part series, you will cover topics, such as chemical equations and reactions, acids, bases and salts, metals and non-metals, carbon and compounds, structure of atoms, the periodic table, and states of matter. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $11.99 on sale ($199.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 13.5 hours 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

9. The Collection of 3D Digital Content for Chemistry Part – 2 

Following the course above, this course covers the major topics of chemistry, such as hydrogen, s- and p-block of elements, some basic concepts of organic chemistry and environmental chemistry, hydrocarbons, chemical solutions and kinetics and electrochemistry. Note that you are recommended to take this series of courses in the order provided. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $10.99 on sale ($199.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 11 hours 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

10. The Collection of 3D Digital Content for Chemistry Part – 3 

The last part of the series mentioned above, this course covers major topics, such as isolation of elements, p-, d- and f-block elements, coordinate compounds, biomolecules, polymers, and a general overview of how chemistry is used in different industries to provide for our everyday lives. Note that you are recommended to take this series of courses in the order provided. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $11.99 on sale ($199.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 13 hours 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

11. General Chemistry Condensed Course (College or High School) 

Using brief, bite-sized animated videos, this course condenses the major topics of general chemistry to make them more understandable to even beginners. Before the end of the course, you will cover topics like mathematics needed in chemistry, the three types of matter, kinetics and equilibrium, thermochemistry, electrochemistry and nuclear chemistry. The course is recommended for all high school or college students without any prior experience with the subject. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $11.99 on sale ($59.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 7 hours 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

12. Introduction to Solid State Chemistry

Offered by MIT, this course teaches the same concepts and principles of any other first-year university chemistry courses, but from the point of view of a solid state material. The goal of this course is not to bog you down with inapplicable concepts, but to supply you with concepts that can be relatable to everyday objects around you, such as semiconductors and batteries. 

• College credits: NO — Verified Certificate only 
• Price: FREE, , but in order to receive a certificate, you need to pay $99
• Financial aid or scholarships: YES
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 15 weeks (12 hours per week) 
• Languages: English 
• Vendor: edX 

Advanced Courses on Chemistry 

13. Advanced Chemistry 

Offered by the University of Kentucky, this advanced course covers the basic concepts of chemistry, such as kinetics, chemical equilibrium, acid-base equilibria, aqueous equilibria and thermodynamics. You are required to have prior knowledge in basic chemistry, including reactions, stoichiometry and thermochemistry, which are taught in the basic course offered by the university.  

• College credits: NO — Course Certificate only
• Price: FREE to audit, but there’s a fee to earn and buy a Course Certificate
• Financial aid or scholarships: YES
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: Approximately 13 hours 
• Languages: English with subtitles in English
• Vendor: Coursera

Courses to Help You Prepare for Chemistry Exams

14. Chemistry Exam: Electron Configuration, Mass & Atomic Number 

This course teaches specifically on how to solve chemistry questions involving electron configuration, mass number and atomic number. This course provides almost no theory, but just problem sets and formulas. In order to check if you’ve understood the materials, you can go through multiple quizzes and an example final exam at the end of the course. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $10.99 on sale ($49.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 1.5 hours 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

15. Chemistry 101 – Part 1 Principles of Chemistry

The first of a four-part series on basic chemistry, this course covers topics like matter and atomic structure, relative formula mass and chemical equations, chemical formulas, reacting masses and ionic and covalent bonding, and metallic crystals and electrolysis. Requiring no prior knowledge on the subject, this introductory course encompasses many topics in comparably short amount of time. According to the instructor, the content of this series of courses is based on the International GCSE exam requirement.

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $10.99 on sale ($19.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 2 hours 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

16. Chemistry 101 – Part 2 Chemistry of the Elements

The second part of the four-part series, this course covers topics like the periodic table, different elements and gases, and reactivity series. Since it is a part of the series, this course recommends students to take the series in the order provided, but doesn’t require prior knowledge on the specific topics of elements. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $10.99 on sale ($19.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 2 hours 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

17. Chemistry 101 – Part 3 Organic and Physical 

The third part of the four-part series, this course covers topics in organic and physical chemistry, such as pH scale, energy in reactions, rates of reaction, and reversible reactions. As mentioned for the course above, this course also recommends students to take the series in the order provided, but doesn’t require prior knowledge on the specific subjects of organic and physical chemistry. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: $10.99 on sale ($19.99 regular price)
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 2 hours 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

18. Chemistry 101 – Part 4 Chemistry in Society 

As the last bit of the four-part series, this course teaches on how chemistry is used in industries, such as how to extract metals from their ores, how crude oil is formed and extracted, how to produce plastics, and some very important industrial processes like the Haber process for producing ammonia. As the final part of the series, you are recommended, but not required, to take the other three courses before taking this one. 

• College credits: NO — Certificate of Completion only 
• Price: FREE
• Financial aid or scholarships: NO 
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 1 hour 
• Languages: English with English subtitles  
• Vendor: Udemy

19. Preparing for CLEP Chemistry: Part 1

Offered by the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, this course and the accompanying course — Preparing for CLEP Chemistry: Part 2  — are intended to help you prepare for CLEP (College Level Examination Program) Chemistry. The courses together cover the basic principles of chemistry, such as modern atomic theory, periodic table and trends, stoichiometry, chemical bonding, kinetics, acids and bases and states of matter, electrochemistry and solubility. As a self-paced, asynchronous course, you will not get much staff support or involvement as they are unnecessary for you to go through this course. If you’re specifically looking for interaction with your instructors, this course may not be the perfect fit. To take either of the two courses, you are required to have some prior knowledge on chemistry and mathematical concepts, such as algebra, logarithms and significant figures. 

• College credits: NO — Verified Certificate only 
• Price: FREE, but in order to receive a certificate, you need to pay $49
• Financial aid or scholarships: YES
• Mobile learning: YES
• Self-paced learning: YES
• Flexible deadlines: YES
• Time needed for completion: 8 modules (8–12 hours per module)
• Languages: English 
• Vendor: edX 

For more online courses, check TUN’s list of curated classes, or use the online classes search engine to find the best online courses in any subject.