7 Best Free Project Management Courses of 2023

The field of project management has skyrocketed over the past two decades.

While project managers' role has always been crucial in the execution of a business plan, the importance of project management productivity has increased even more with the advance of technology, an increase of project planning resources, and other factors.

But don’t let the complexity of project management turn you off. With a huge choice of online project management courses available for free, learning new skills and understanding the fundamentals of project management will be a less rough experience.

This review will:

• tell you what online project management courses are all about
• why they are beneficial for both your personal and professional life
• recommend 10 top free online courses to take in 2022.

Online project management courses: what you can expect and what they offer

Free courses in project management prepare learners for all the things they need:

• to know the most important definitions related to project management
• to shape the project plan idea
• to plan a project
• to execute it successfully
• to review and analyze results
• to learn how to become a certified project manager.

The courses are video-based materials introduced by instructors that guide listeners along the way to the course completion.

The course duration is up to six weeks. Attendants can learn in a self-paced mode by studying materials in specially designed education blocks (lectures, mini-lectures, virtual seminars, peer assessment sessions, etc.).

The high-rated courses are mostly presented on education and professional course provider platforms.

Why Education and Course Provider Platforms?

Online courses are a very viable and accessible option to acquire new skills and improve upon old ones. They can also save you time, as you can learn at your own pace. However, you should also be sure that the online course is accredited by a reputable institution.

Hence, the choice of education platforms is justified for the reasons of professionalism and credibility ad they offer:

• the best instructors
• certification of results
• in-built options for further learning

Benefits of project management courses

Since strategy without tactics is the slowest way to victory, why not try new ways that will speed things up with a guarantee?

One such way is taking professional training. Luckily, with a huge choice of free and paid courses online, it is easy to start.

Additionally, ongoing learning is the best way to cultivate the growth mindset that assists people in fostering creativity, igniting curiosity, and, overall, seeing opportunities rather than obstacles.

Big benefits for small businesses

Are you in need of some project management training? Learning new skills is never a bad idea, and learning project management skills online is always a good investment.

By doing so, you will be able to increase your business productivity and enhance the employee work experience through increased engagement.

For small businesses who are strapped for time and resources, utilizing project management training can be extremely valuable in increasing productiveness and efficiency.

Below, you will find a list of the top 7 free recommended courses on project management including:

• the description of their syllabus
• the audience that would benefit from them
• information on pricing details (what exactly a free offer will deliver).

Introduction to Project Management on edX

The course is presented by 5 highly reputed professionals from the University of Adelaide. The course is available in English (with a video transcript in English).

Whatever your project size, you will learn how to use project management skills effectively. With unlocking the contents, you will explore project management techniques and how they can be applied to you on your own projects.

For Whom: It ideally suits an introductory-level learner, the course does not require any prerequisites. Upon signup, you can instantly join 394 544 listeners that already enrolled and start attending the course.

Structure and Duration: Estimated time for course completion is 6 weeks, which means a learner has to allocate 2–3 hours for studying per week

Pricing Details: Free with limitations. For free you get access to learning materials available within set dates and full support from the platform. To have a shareable certificate and access to graded assessment, the attendant needs to pay $199.

Project Management for Development on edX

Curriculums focus on a specific area of project management introduced through case studies. It also provides an overview that's appropriate for beginners.
In particular, it offers hands-on exercises that can help learners feel more confident when it comes to meeting project management standards regardless of industry.

During the class, students will learn the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).

For Whom: The course does not require preliminary knowledge of Project Management, which means its content will be useful for a wide range of professionals.

Structure and Duration: The course is presented by three instructors, well-recognized experts in the field of Project Management. Content is mostly based on case studies. For your ease of study, there are transcripts and subtitles included in the course.

Pricing Details: Free with limitations (Learners have 10 weeks to take the course from the day they enrolled). To get unlimited access to the course materials, students have to pay $49.

Agile Project Management on Coursera

The agile approach prioritizes simplicity and transparency. To make it work and avoid mismanagement, there is a great course on Coursera that would assist listeners in understanding project management foundations built around the implementation of Agile methodology.

For Whom: The course caters to the needs of marketers, web developers, graphic designers, and other professional groups whose success relies on the efforts of the onsite, hybrid, and remote teams.

Structure and Duration: This is the 5th course in Coursera Project Management Program (students are supposed to spend 22 active study hours).

The course rating is 4.8 out of 5. This course will deliver materials related to the history and philosophy of Agile methodology. Listening and participating will help students develop the following skills: coaching, influencing, Agile management, and problem-solving.

Pricing Details: Free. Listeners get certificates upon completion.

Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management on edX

Scrum is the most straightforward and simple way of managing work at the team level, so you can find it helpful to learn more about its fundamentals, assigned roles, and processes while taking this course on edX.

For Whom: This course will be a suitable choice for those who are aiming at preparation for taking certified exams to become a project manager. There is no certification in this course, for instance, PMI-ACP or CSM, but it provides learning materials based on agile principles that can be applied to any industry today.

Structure and Duration: It is a 4-week course delivering lectures and case studies to learners of a wide range of professional groups. Students who successfully complete this course will earn 10 Professional Development Unit (PDU) credits from PMI, the Project Management Institute.

Pricing Details: Free with limitations. To get a shareable certificate and access to graded assignments, students have to pay $49.

Project Management Crash Course on Udemy

To borrow a line from Abraham Lincoln, 'The best way to predict the future is to create it.' This crash course can be a stepping stone in creating foundations for mastering the necessary expertise and elevating to a new professional level.

For Whom: It will be useful for students aiming at taking PMP exams.

Structure and Duration: It is a 32-minute crash course for quick dive into Project Management basics. It is presented in 5 short lectures introducing the questions of initiation and summary stages of the project, preferred tools, etc.

Pricing Details: Free access to video-based learning (certificates are included in paid packages).

Project Management (Short Course) on Oxford Home Study Centre (OHSC)

This free project management course online covers three essentials of project management studies: an introduction to Project Management and main definitions, the role and functions of the Project Manager in delivering the project results, the Project Life Cycle, and its stages.

Students can enroll by creating an account and getting access to Student Area.

For Whom: For people starting their professional journey and requiring basic PM skills.

Structure and Duration: It takes 20 hours of learning.

Pricing Details: Enrolment is available with a click. The course is free to take, and it allows learners to get certified and, thus, strengthen their CV.

Introduction to Project Management on Simplilearn

Taking this course means that learners have the option to claim accredited certificates recognized by awarding bodies. Students get a certificate upon course completion. Students are expected to acquire skills in Project Management, Program Management, Risk Management, Stakeholder Management, and Agile Project Management.

For Whom: The professional groups that will surely benefit from learning include team leaders, project managers, project executives engineers, and software developers. For listeners who prefer self-paced studies.

Structure and Duration: This Course includes 2 hours
of self-paced video lessons.

Pricing Details: Free Course allows 90 days of access to learning materials.

Project Management Reinvented for Non-Project Managers on LinkedIn Learning

Nowadays, lots of vacancies require PM skills, and this course will be the best start in getting to know what belongs to the scope of these skills and how to acquire them.

In the series of mini-lectures, the attendants will be able to:

• to listen to high-quality content on a modern version of waterfall project management methodology with lots of insightful examples demonstrating the introduced questions
• to take chapter quizzes
• to get a certificate on course completion (downloadable) and add it to your LinkedIn profile.

For Whom: perfectly suits anyone interested in understanding Project Management as a field of study and practice.

Structure and Duration: Introduction, 3 Chapters of 18 Lectures, Conclusion, 3 Chapter Quizzes (the duration of the lecture on average is 3 minutes)

Pricing Details: Free with limitations (if you want to get access to quizzes and certification options, you need to be a LinkedIn Learning subscriber).

Conclusion

What we see today is a glimpse at what the future can look like for many businesses. Online learning and training are becoming more common for companies of all shapes, sizes, and industries, and this could mean an improvement in business efficiency, employee engagement, and overall productivity.

It’s clear that companies need to up their project management game. If you’re looking for new ways to do just that, the online courses we recommended above are an excellent resource.

With the tools and strategies available in these superb project management courses, your business, as well as your employees, will manage better and achieve more.