Quick Access:
- With College Credit (Where Applicable): With ACE Credits, With 3 Hours Credit
- General Sociology Courses: With Free Certificate, Most Popular
- Specific Aspects of Sociology: Classical Sociological Theory, Social Change, Human Morality, Poverty, Feminism
Do you want to study an online sociology course? I’ve combed the Class Central catalog with over 1,800 online sociology courses and educational videos, and used ratings and reviews to handpick the best for this Best Courses Guide (BCG).
Some courses in this guide offer a certificate or credit for eligible colleges. Some cover general sociology issues, while others focus on specific fields: social change and inequality, morality, poverty, migration, and feminism.
These courses are self-paced and you can learn anywhere and at at any time of the day or night suitable for you. Watch the pre-recorded video lectures, read the course materials and helpful links, then take the quizzes and exams for courses that offer certificates. Some courses have discussion forums where you can post your thoughts and access opinions and recommended resources provided by other learners.
If you’re looking for a full degree, several universities offer accredited online sociology programs. Class Central’s Sociology subject page lists 1,800+ courses and tutorial videos and can help you explore options by provider. Related subjects are Psychology and Anthropology.
Click on the shortcuts for more details:
- Top Picks
- Why Trust Us and This Guide
- How We Made Our Picks and Tested Them
- Which Course is Right for You?
- What is Sociology?
- Courses Overview
Here are our top picks:
Click to jump to course details.
Why Trust Us and This Guide
Class Central, a Tripadvisor for online education, has helped 100 million learners find their next course. We’ve been combing through online education for more than a decade to aggregate a catalog of 250,000 online courses and 250,000 reviews written by our users. And we’re online learners ourselves: combined, the Class Central team has completed hundreds of online courses, including online degrees. I’ve personally completed over 200 online courses in a variety of topics.
How We Made Our Picks and Tested Them
Trying to find “the best” can be daunting, even for those of us who live and breathe online courses. Here’s how I approached this task.
First, I combed through Class Central’s Catalog and the internet to find a variety of free and paid open courses, some with certificates.
I extracted information from course syllabi and reviews, and compiled their ratings, leveraging the Class Central database with its thousands of course ratings and reviews written by our users as well as available course provider ratings. I watched some course videos to sample courses I hadn’t already taken.
Then, I defined the scope for these recommendations. A sociology course can cover various topics, so I included top courses from several sub-fields.
Ultimately, I used a combination of data and my own judgment to make these picks.
Which Course is Right for You?
- Best free option: Saylor Academy SOC101 (free certificate, 31 hrs)
- Best for college credit: Study.com Sociology 101 (3 semester hours, 2,000+ colleges)
- Best for beginners: CrashCourse Sociology (8 hrs, no prerequisites, 7.5M views)
- Best rated: University of Amsterdam Classical Sociological Theory (4.9/5 from 3,000+ reviews)
- Best for social justice focus: UC Santa Cruz Feminism and Social Justice (4.8/5, 132K enrolled)
What is Sociology?
Sociology is the scientific study of society, social relationships, institutions, and social change. Sociologists use surveys, interviews, observation, and statistical analysis to examine how social structures, cultural norms, and political and economic forces shape human behavior. Key areas of study include inequality, race and ethnicity, gender, crime, family, education, religion, migration, and poverty. Sociology seeks to explain patterns of social order and change by exploring the relationship between individual actions, social interactions, and broader social systems.
Courses Overview
- Three courses are free or free to audit and six are paid
- Eight courses offer a certificate of completion
- Two courses offer credit for eligible colleges
- The most featured provider is Coursera with three courses
- The Sociology subject is followed by 146.2K learners on Class Central.
Best Sociology Course with College Credit (Study.com)
Study.com offers 3 semester hours credit transferable to over 2,000 colleges and universities for Sociology 101: Intro to Sociology. Check out the engaging lessons and expert instruction! CHECK if your college accepts transfer credits from Study.com.
You will learn:
- Foundational concepts: introduction and basics, key sociology theorists and research methods
- Social Structures and Theories: foundations of society, theories of individual social development, social groups & organizations
- Cultural and social diversity: multiculturalism & cultural relativism, race and ethnicity in society
- Social stratification and inequality: inequality and divergence, sex and gender, aging
- Societal Systems and Institutions: economics and politics, social institutions
- Societal dynamics: social change over time.
Other Study.com sociology courses:
- Sociology 305: Sociology of Work (credit for eligible colleges)
- Topics in Sociology (certificate but not college credit).
| Provider | Study.com |
| Workload | 17 hours |
| Cost | Paid |
| Credit for Eligible Colleges | Yes |
Best Sociology Course with Free Certificate (Saylor Academy)
After you finish going through the course materials for SOC101: Introduction to Sociology, gain 70% or more in the exam to receive a free certificate and 3.1 CEUs.
In this course, you will learn:
- To define sociology and its purpose and describe the sociological imagination or perspective
- How to discuss major theoretical perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism
- Methods of collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data
- To apply sociological thought processes to describe social institutions: culture, socialization, family, media, education, economics, and politics
- To analyze the power of groups over individual behavior
- How to apply sociological imagination to describe social phenomena, such as stratification, racism, sexism, and deviance
- To apply sociological concepts to social events and issues.
| Provider | Saylor Academy |
| Workload | 31 hours |
| Cost | Free |
| Certificate | Free |
Great Course with College Credit (StraighterLine)
Do you want a comprehensive overview of sociology and its relevance to everyday life? Introduction to Sociology covers the impact of social class and various social institutions. It is tailored to help students fulfill general education humanities requirements efficiently and includes tutoring support for those needing extra assistance. Check if your institution allows 3 ACE credits for this course.
Learn about:
- Introduction: key sociological concepts and relevance of sociology in everyday life
- Social Class: influence of social class on individuals and society
- Role of social institutions: churches, education systems, healthcare systems, government structures, economic systems, and environmental impact.
The e-textbook is included with your course.
| Provider | StraighterLine |
| Workload | 30-45 hours (estimated) |
| Cost | Paid |
| Certificate | Transcript available |
| College Credit | 3 credits for eligible colleges |
Most Popular Sociology Course (CrashCourse)
Sociology by CrashCourse covers introductory college-level sociology topics. The course uses the 15th edition of “Sociology” by John J. Macionis as a reference and aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of sociology as a science, the role of social institutions in the U.S., key sociological theories, and the construction of social groupings, interactions, and stratifications. It also explores how social class, stratification, and institutions contribute to or mitigate inequalities.
Syllabus overview:
- Introduction: CrashCourse sociology preview, major sociological paradigms, what Is sociology?
- Research methods and foundational theorists: sociology & the scientific method, research methods, Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Dubois, Harriet Martineau, Max Weber
- Culture and society: symbols, values & norms, cultures, subcultures, and countercultures, how we got here, social development, socialization, social interaction & performance, social groups, formal organizations
- Deviance and Stratification: deviance theory, crime, social stratification in the US, impacts of social class & poverty in the US and globally, social mobility, theories of global stratification
- Systems and institutions: economic systems & the labor market, politics, sex & gender stratification and theories, race & ethnicity, prejudice & discrimination, age & aging
- Theories about family & marriage: stages of family life, religion, education, schools & social inequality
- Health & medicine: population health, the structure & cost of US health care.
“This course was so helpful and the instructor was very entertaining…” – Malik Shafar, Class Central learner.
| Provider | YouTube |
| Channel | CrashCourse |
| Instructor | Nicole Sweeney |
| Workload | 8 hours |
| Views | 7.5M |
| Likes (First Video) | 18K |
| Cost | Free |
| Certificate | Not available |
Best Classical Sociological Theory Course (University of Amsterdam)
Learn about the foundational sociological theories from the 18th to the 20th century in Classical Sociological Theory.
Video lectures and recommended readings are integrated with with small tests to deepen your understanding of complex sociological concepts that remain relevant today.
Syllabus overview:
- Introduction to classical sociological theory: historical roots of sociology, importance of classical theories in modern societies
- Early influences: Bernard Mandeville and Adam Smith, industrialization and its social consequences, division of labour
- Foundational thinkers and concepts: Auguste Comte (positivism, law of three stages, functionalism), Alexis de Tocqueville (liberalism, equality, tyranny, and revolutions)
- Major sociological theorists: Karl Marx (alienation, class struggle, capitalism), Émile Durkheim (social facts, solidarity, suicide, religion), Max Weber (social action, verstehen, ideal types, rationalisation, Protestant ethic)
- Modern sociological perspectives: Norbert Elias (process or figurational sociology, civilization process).
“This course is presented by one of those rare professors who are enthusiastic about their material…I love his style of showing the larger (global) picture, rather than focusing on only a segment of time/geography…” – Dorothy, Class Central learner.
| Provider | Coursera |
| Institution | University of Amsterdam |
| Instructor | Don Weenink and Bart van Heerikhuizen |
| Workload | 12-13 hours |
| Enrollment | 135.8K |
| Rating | 4.9/5.0 (3.0K) |
| Cost | Paid |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Course on Social Change (University of Pennsylvania and Unicef)
Social Norms, Social Change I is designed to educate on social norms and their impact on society. It covers the identification, measurement, and differentiation of social norms from other social constructs such as customs and conventions. This knowledge is essential for developing effective policies to foster beneficial norms or abolish harmful ones. The course uses real-world examples such as child marriage and gender violence, and provides tools for understanding and changing collective practices. It is the first part of a series, focusing on foundational concepts and measurement techniques.
This course covers:
- Introduction to social norms and social change: understanding social norms and differentiating norms from customs and conventions
- Foundational concepts: interdependent and independent actions, empirical expectations, normative expectations and personal normative beliefs, conditional preferences
- Understanding and identifying social norms: assembling foundational concepts to define social norms
- Measurement and analysis: pluralistic ignorance, techniques for measuring norms and assessing interventions
- Real-world applications: examples and case studies on norms related to child marriage, gender violence, and sanitation practices.
“…The vocabulary and concepts are fairly complex, so I found it important to take notes…” – Linda Saalman, Class Central learner.
| Provider | Coursera |
| Institution | University of Pennsylvania and Unicef |
| Instructor | Cristina Bicchieri |
| Workload | 12-13 hours |
| Enrollment | 119.8K |
| Rating | 4.6/5.0 (2.1K) |
| Cost | Paid |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Course on Human Morality (Yale University)
Yale psychologist Paul Bloom uses research from psychology, philosophy, and behavioral economics to examine where morality comes from and why people disagree about it. Moralities of Everyday Life covers the trolley problem, the limits of empathy, the moral instincts of babies, and how culture shapes ethical judgment. A guest lecture from Laurie Santos adds depth to the evolution module.
The structure is clean: six modules, each with a quiz, readings, and TED talks. Office hours videos give it a seminar feel. No prerequisites, and the pacing is forgiving.
With 145K enrollments and a 4.8 rating from more than 3.4K Coursera reviews, it’s a popular and highly-rated course. Class Central also rates it a Best Course of All Time.
“I finished this course like you finish a great book: with sadness of leaving it behind and happiness of having it within…” – Genevieve De Lacaze, Class Central learner.
| Provider | Coursera |
| Institution | Yale University |
| Instructor | Paul Bloom |
| Workload | 24 hours |
| Enrollment | 145K |
| Rating | 4.8/5.0 (3.4K) |
| Cost | Paid |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Course on Poverty and Inequality (SDG Academy)
In Understanding Poverty and Inequality, SDG Academy explores the definitions, scale, and scope of poverty and inequality globally, aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goals 1 (no poverty) and 10 (reduced inequalities). Delve into the multifaceted nature of poverty and inequality, examining their links to well-being, socioeconomic mobility, and challenges faced by marginalized groups. The course also addresses how these issues intersect with climate change, migration, and conflict, concluding with policy strategies for tackling poverty and inequality. It targets policy professionals, development practitioners, and students in related fields.
Learn about:
- Definitions and measurements of poverty and inequality, economic growth impacts, and case studies
- Multidimensional measures of poverty: comparing multidimensional and income poverty, measuring and addressing multidimensional poverty
- Explaining global inequality: definitions and measurements, global and domestic disparities, economic winners and losers, approaches to reducing inequality
- Poverty and subjective well-being: concepts and measures of well-being, psychological aspects of poverty
- Identity and exclusion: social identity impacts on poverty and inequality, case studies on racial, gender, and indigenous inequalities
- Poverty and inequality, Today and Tomorrow: modern challenges and inequalities, effects of COVID-19 on poverty and inequality, climate change implications, global middle class, migration, and fiscal policies, cash transfers and potential reforms.
| Provider | edX |
| Institution | SDG Academy |
| Instructor | John McArthur, Chandrika Bahadur, Sabina Alkire, et al |
| Workload | 12-24 hours |
| Enrollment | 6.5K |
| Cost | Free audit |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Course on Feminism (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Feminism and Social Justice explores feminism through a broad lens, focusing on three historical events: the Empire Zinc strike, the trial of Angela Davis, and the #metoo Movement. The course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of feminism’s role in advocating for social justice, highlighting its evolution and impact across different eras.
You’ll learn about:
- Introduction to Feminism: definition and scope, discussion on the meaning and purpose of feminism
- Historical case studies:
- Salt of the Earth (Empire Zinc Strike, 1951), background and outcomes of the strike, analysis of the 1954 film “Salt of the Earth”
- Free Angela! (Angela Davis Trial, 1971-1972), context of Angela Davis’ arrest and trial, insights into the support movement for Davis
- The #metoo movement, origins and impact of the #metoo movement, discussion on recent societal changes due to the movement
- Optional additional materials include access to ongoing works and lectures by Dr. Aptheker.
“I am honored to take this insightful short course and listen to one of the modern pioneers of feminism as we know it today…” – Aedrian Abrilla, Class Central learner.
| Provider | Coursera |
| Institution | University of California, Santa Cruz |
| Instructor | Bettina Aptheker |
| Workload | 9 hours |
| Enrollment | 132.5K |
| Rating | 4.8/5.0 (6.4K) |
| Cost | Paid |
| Certificate | Paid |
What next?
If you want to discuss sociology with other interested students, try the Reddit community: r/sociology. And you can choose from over 1,800 courses, videos, and conference talks on many aspects of sociology in the Class Central Sociology subject.
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