Online Social Science Courses & Certifications

In the Working Lives on Britain's Railways Railway History and Heritage course by FutureLearn, you will investigate the professional lives of the women and men working in the British railways from the 1840s up until the First World War. This study will be carried out by utilising archival materials from the National Railway Museum. From there, you will get knowledge about the physical and mental hardships endured by railway workers.

Moreover, the FutureLearn Working Lives on Britain's Railway online programme covers all the pleasures and risks that came with working in this novel industry. From female office clerks to Irish Catholic navvies based in industrial cities, this course will take you through a refreshing discovery of the surprising complexity and diversity of the railway workforce in the 19th century.

The Working Lives on Britain's Railways: Railway History and Heritage course is offered by FutureLearn in conjunction with the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and is mentored by three exceptionally experienced faculty, hailing from the same institution. If you opt for an upgraded access subscription, you get a FutureLearn credential to support your knowledge, along with unlimited access to course materials.

An Introduction to Japanese Subcultures online course is designed to answer the questions of the people who are interested in Japanese subcultures but do not know where to look first. You will analyse the culture deeply and examine its historical context. 

If you are familiar with Shonen-manga, Japanese pop music, Shojo-manga, Vocaloid and other elements of this phenomenon and want to learn more, this course is for you. An Introduction to Japanese Subcultures course by FutureLearn serves as an apt gateway into the world of the ‘Cool Japan’. 

You will explore the reasons why Japanese subculture intrigues people all around the world, with a primary focus on defining the dimensions of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘immaturity’ of youth culture from the 1970s. These keywords are meant to explain a new meaning of the cultural phenomenon in Japan.

The Japanese subculture has garnered substantial worldwide popularity and acceptance in the last two decades. An Introduction to Japanese Subcultures MOOC will take you through the causes behind it and how its market is expanding. 

Moreover, the course will let you recognise key Japanese subcultures like comics, anime, J-pop idols, cosplay and the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid emphasising on the themes such as Battle, Fan culture, Love and Technology.

The Hollywood: History, Industry, Art course will help you explore how Hollywood became globally prominent and art that is widely celebrated. The course curriculum covers how the present-day Hollywood industry plays a role in politics using film, TV, and new media. You will also dive deep into the various studios such as Warner Bros, Disney, and Fox and their story in cinema's evolution. 

The Hollywood: History, Industry, Art certification programme will uncover the impact, advanced technological tools had on the process of creating a movie. By taking examples of various independent and Hollywood films, the course will provide insights into the transitions we can expect to see in the future. The four-week training from edX is entirely self-paced but has a time constraint in case the students have selected the audit mode. In case of selection of the verified mode, the candidates will have an unlimited amount of time to complete the programme.

Besides, the Hollywood: History, Industry, Art online programme by Edx is taught by an experienced faculty, Peter Decherney from the prestigious University of Pennsylvania. The introductory level course requires no prerequisites. The training falls into the communication domain and covers synchronised sound, color cinematography, home video, computer graphics, and the internet.  

The Certification course on Invitation to The Tale of Genji: The Foundational Elements of Japanese Culture will provide an insight into the age-old story of “The Tale of Genji”. During the course, many video lectures and references will be provided to elaborate and explain the customs, manners, and sensibilities of the Kyoto city and the society of the Japanese aristocrats. The students will gain a comprehensive and presided view of the then-Japanese society. The Tale of Genji will provide a foundation base for Japanese literature. It will allow the students to learn more about history from a different perspective and will help to understand the spirituality related to Japanese society in ancient times.

Considered to be the world's first prose fiction and novel the “Tale of Genji” is considered to be a central piece of literature. Hence, the Invitation to The Tale of Genji: The Foundational Elements of Japanese Culture program provides students an opportunity to learn more about royal life. Among the 2 paths, if the candidates choose the Audit mode they will be getting only limited-time access to the course whereas the access becomes unlimited if the Verfiied track is selected by the candidates.

Through Poetry in America: The Civil War and Its Aftermath course, the candidates will become acquainted with different historical facts that have taken place in the context of American literature, specifically, poetry during and after the Civil War had taken place. edX takes the learning experience to the next place by providing a course that will not only suit the experienced candidates but also those who do not have any prior knowledge in his field and are interested in knowing more about it. The candidates will draw inspiration from distinguished and world-renowned guests such as Harvard Civil War scholar John Stauffer, Professor, and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Henry Louis Gates Jr., Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner, baritone Davone Tines, and Harvard President Drew Faust. The candidates will not only be just receiving the theory aspect of education but will also become familiar with the real-life applications of those concepts with the help of live examples and case studies. 

All this will be covered within a span of 4 weeks. Candidates need to be regular in their submissions and studies which will prove to be enough for them to score the passing percentage in Poetry in America: The Civil War and Its Aftermath certification course. 

The Introduction to History of Architecture in India program will help you understand architectural works as material expressions of societies, polities, and aspirations of a region. The course also provides a broad perspective on India's five thousand years of rich architectural history.

Moreover, the Introduction to History of Architecture in India course by Swayam is available at the UG level. In just four weeks, you will have acquired knowledge of the various cultural, artisanal, technological, and philosophical processes of every period and place of architecture in India. 

Core topics covered in the Introduction to History of Architecture in India syllabus include Cave & Wooden architecture, Islamic architecture, Sultanate architecture, Medieval temples, Mughals and Rajputs, Neoclassical architecture, and more. 

As such, you will study the complete history of architecture in India, starting from the Bronze Age through the Vedic Culture period, early Buddhist period, early modernity in architecture, and colonial buildings. Finally, the Introduction to History of Architecture in India online course will culminate on the architecture from the Republic of India.

Walter Scott was a writer, collector, and the most enduring cultural icon of Scotland who is famous all over the world. The Walter Scott: The Man Behind the Monument certification will allow exploration of the literature that is responsible for the heritage and Scotland’s national identity. This is a month-long online course where learners give a mere 2 hours as study time every week. Moreover, the certification is given jointly by the University of Aberdeen, Abbotsford Trust, and FutureLearn.

Walter Scott: The Man Behind the Monument training is famous for enlightening Walter Scott’s legacy as a poet and novelist. With this course, candidates can also take part in the conversation by using social learning with their teachers and fellow students. The courses are divided based on weeks so candidates can simply complete the course whenever it is ideal for them.

Walter Scott: The Man Behind the Monument certification syllabus has the course content broken up into video, short articles, and audio in topics like Scott’s work selection, and what led him to be behind the books and monuments in Scotland.

World War 1: Trauma, Memory, Controversy certification course is prepared mutually by The Open University, and FutureLearn. Being a one-month course, this course proves that even today, World War 1 has not yet lost its fascination, and people still want to learn about its brutality, along with its casualties.

World War 1: Trauma, Memory, Controversy certification syllabus inculcates that World War 1 still remains a century-old poisonous legacy, and also states that there were some unresolved issues in the year 1918 which led to another war in the year 1939. It will teach that not only soldiers but also normal people mentally suffered from the consequences of this deadly war as well as there were adverse effects on the culture, society, and medical history of the countries.

World War 1: Trauma, Memory, Controversy which is a part of the History Course will authorize the students to prepare their very own research about the different lives lost during the season of the first World War. This will help to identify the various authentic sources that are mentioned on the web.

Modern Sculpture: An Introduction to Art History certification by the University of York, and FutureLearn helps the candidates jump onto learning the art history while exploring public sculpture. Learning modern sculpture becomes quite easy as candidates will be developing their visual capabilities.

With the Modern Sculpture: An Introduction to Art History certification syllabus, candidates can explore the conceptual, material, and theoretical questions that have risen around 20th-century sculptures like parks, galleries squares, museums and city centres that one finds everywhere. Being a creative art, and Media course, this programme is able to help candidates to start off a conversion regarding purchasing artworks by initiating arts-related conversation.

Modern Sculpture: An Introduction to Art History is run over a period of 4 weeks that is responsible for making the candidates aware of the contemporary sculpture’s epicentre like Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and Henry Moore Institute so that these sculptures can be explored visually.  

The Book of Kells is a 9th-century old manuscript that is kept at the Trinity College, Dublin, contains the four gospels of the new testament, and fascinates almost 1 million people every year. With this The Book of Kells: Exploring an Irish Medieval Masterpiece certification nurtured by Trinity College Dublin, and FutureLearn is a tool through which candidates can discover the History of Ireland in its medieval state.

The Book of Kells: Exploring an Irish Medieval Masterpiece certification syllabus is split into 1 month and teaches how to explore the history, landscape, faith, politics, and theology of Ireland in its medieval era. This weekly course also enables us to understand the importance of The Book of Kells

The Book of Kells: Exploring an Irish Medieval Masterpiece training course enlightens the students on how the manuscript was made which preserves Irelands’ history. Candidates will also come to know about the extended biology of this book, and what effects it has had on the contemporary world.

Examine how football evolved from the old era to today’s modern-day with the 4 weeks English Football: a Social History online course. This short certification course is outlined by the joint efforts of De Montfort University, the University of Leicester, and FutureLearn. With this course, people will be able to understand the evolving nature of English football with a special interest in Leicester City Football Club and the World Cup.

Both the universities have partnered with Leicester City Football Club to develop the English Football: a Social History certification syllabus that gives us detailed information on how the Premier League; the World Cup, and LCFC transformed into Premier League Champions.

This English Football: a Social History training course comes under the History course of Futurelearn that gives a unique insight of both history and sociology of this fantastic sports football, and portrays the whole inside story of how a premier league club is formed and plays football.

The World Bank states that Africa’s working-age population is likely to increase by almost 70% by 2035. However, to achieve sustainable development, industrialisation is crucial to create jobs. While rapid manufacturing has been beneficial for east Asian countries, will it be useful for Africa? Industrial Policy in the 21st Century: The Challenge for Africa online course explores this and many other questions related to Africa’s industrialisation policy requirements. 

The Industrial Policy in the 21st Century: The Challenge for Africa course surveys various ways to promote economic growth in Africa. The prime focus will be on ‘industries without smokestacks’, an industrial policy that encourages industry growth and economic development in Africa, foregoing the manufacturing policies. 

Industrial Policy in the 21st Century: The Challenge for Africa is a four-week online course. However, you can learn at your own speed. With a weekly effort of two to four hours, you will be able to complete the course on time. The educator for this course is John Page, a representative of the SDG Academy.  The self-paced course is free to join and access it for a limited duration. To get the certificate and unlimited access to the programme, they learners will need to pay the prescribed fee. 

Amid the rise of fake, misleading, and polarising news, and the deplorable state of mainstream media, the need of the hour is to produce trustworthy journalism. And that is just what the Journalism for Social Change certification course aims to do. You will learn about solution-based journalism, which is the practice of giving equal weightage to a problem and its solution.

By the end of the Journalism for Social Change training by edX, you will learn how to use journalism and the media as a tool to implement positive social change. You will also become an effective change agent yourself. You will study outstanding examples of solution-based journalism, focusing mostly on vulnerable children, and other issues that affect all other vulnerable and marginalised peoples.  

Your research and report during the Journalism for Social Change online course will be published over the semester, and will, in turn, have an immediate and direct impact. It can be anything - women’s rights, immigration, child exploitation, criminal justice, or poverty. This four-week programme is brought to you by the University of California, Berkeley.

The Global ethics: an introductory course developed by the open university and offered by the platform of future learn is a course created under the guidance of four philosophers to help learners frame their opinions about the global challenges.

Through this course, the learners will become familiar with the key ethical theories surrounding global challenges and the implementation of philosophy for addressing them. This will make learners think about major global problems and help them develop their views about them. 

They would be able to analyze the problems like migration, climate change, widespread poverty, and global inequality and the course will help them present their unbiased thought and views on them. Frequent tests, quizzes, and assignments make learning more effective and efficient. At the end, of the course, a certification is awarded to the learners after qualifying a test, to help them demonstrate their dedication towards continuous learning and unending personal growth. 

Many Faces: Understanding the Complexities of Chinese Culture certification is a one-month course that is provided by the University of Exeter in alliance with FutureLearn. In all these years, the culture of the Chinese people still remains unexplored when compared to the history of China, and its political aspect. This course brings out the richness of the Chinese culture so modern China can be understood better.

Many Faces: Understanding the Complexities of Chinese Culture certification syllabus has 3 aspects that are important to Chinese culture. This course will provide an idea of what the concept of ‘noble hero’ is, and how it is showcased on political, and cultural platforms. Other than this, the course also helps find out the cause of tension that is brought upon both by the modern, and traditional values in the art, literature of China that is created by the immigrant marginalised group.

Many Faces: Understanding the Complexities of Chinese Culture training is divided into steps, activities over a period of 4 weeks so the candidates can easily learn the course without any hassle.

The ‘Cognition, Transformation and Lives’ online course is developed to enable the students to understand and comprehend the act of transformation from within and the psychological perspective towards transformation from the life of Mahatma Gandhi. This online certification program is provided by the Swayam online education portal and the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL). The classes of this online course that are categorized under the domain of humanities and social sciences are held for four weeks.

The course instructor for this faculty development program is Dr. Alok Bajpai from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. The students of this course are given the opportunity to gain theoretical knowledge and practical perspectives on transformation and change in the context of psychology and neuroscience.

The ‘Cognition, Transformation and Lives’ online training equips students with the course certificate according to the eligibility standards and after completion of the course study with the academic credit points.