A hand-checked directory of 81 free online courses, or MOOCs, for medicine, dentistry and veterinary applicants to use as super-curricular wider reading. Every course is genuinely free to learn, from universities and organisations including Harvard, Yale, Duke, MIT, the King's Fund and leading UK medical schools. Filter by topic and length to find courses that interest you, and use the guidance below to turn them into strong material for your personal statement and interviews. You never need to pay for a certificate.
Filter by theme, length, cost and platform, sort by length, or search for a topic. Every course is free to study: the cost labels explain the difference between fully free and free to learn. Study hours are approximate.
Theme
Length
Cost (all free)
Platform
Showing 81 of 81 free courses
The Open University
A short look at how new medicines are researched and brought to patients.
The Open University
A quick, clear grounding in how DNA codes for proteins, the essential genetics for interviews.
The Open University
Introduces evidence-based practice and how clinical evidence is gathered and appraised.
The Open University
Introduces health inequalities and issues specific to women's healthcare.
The Open University
Introduces the quality-improvement thinking used across the NHS, giving you language for service-delivery and patient-safety discussion.
The Open University
Reviews the global burden of infectious disease and the public-health strategies that reduce it.
The Open University
Follows a drug from molecule to medicine, linking chemistry to clinical therapeutics.
The Open University
Explores prenatal, childhood and adult genetic testing, a rich source of medical-ethics discussion points.
Harvard University
A short, genuinely clinical course on ventilating critically ill patients, offering concrete talking points about acute care.
The Open University
Explains the physiology of pain and how a common everyday drug relieves it.
University of Glasgow
Walks you through the application process, desirable attributes and life as a medical student, directly strengthening your motivation.
University of Leeds
Introduces how clinical trials and research improve care, giving you vocabulary for evidence-based medicine at interview.
The Open University
Uses a real epidemic to show how pathogens spread and are controlled, useful for public-health and pandemic-preparedness answers.
The Open University
Sets out the scope of public health and health promotion in a global context.
The Open University
Frames the demographic pressures facing modern healthcare, a strong talking point on NHS sustainability and long-term care.
University of East Anglia
Builds the study skills and independent-learning habits needed for a demanding medical, dental or vet degree.
Stanford University
Connects diet to chronic disease and public health, a topical angle for discussing prevention in interviews.
The Open University
Shows how DNA sequencing of whole microbial communities is transforming diagnostics and research.
The Open University
A biological-science look at depression, its mechanisms and its treatment.
Khan Academy
Connects neuroscience to mental health, giving you a biological lens for discussing psychiatric conditions and patient care.
The Open University
Encourages critical thinking about how mental illness is defined and treated, valuable for ethics and empathy-focused stations.
Khan Academy
Links cardiovascular physiology to common conditions like heart failure, connecting basic science to real clinical presentations.
The Open University
Introduces the imaging techniques used in modern biomedical research labs.
The Open University
Explains the cell signalling pathways that underpin physiology, disease and drug action.
Khan Academy
Explains how pathogens cause and spread disease, reinforcing key concepts for public-health and microbiology discussion.
UCL (University College London)
Examines less common dementias through patient stories and research, building empathy and awareness of ageing-population care.
The King's Fund
Gives a structured understanding of how the NHS is funded and organised, essential background for NHS hot-topic interview questions.
The Open University
Explains the biology and psychology behind common mental-health conditions, strengthening insight into holistic patient care.
The Open University
Explores how food and nutrients affect health across the lifespan.
University of Leeds
Introduces core anatomical terminology and abdominal organ structure, a credible taster of undergraduate anatomy teaching.
University of East Anglia
Introduces the biochemistry underpinning medicine such as proteins, enzymes and metabolism, reinforcing your scientific foundation.
University of Cape Town
Broadens your perspective on global health equity and non-Western contributions to medicine, useful for discussing health inequalities.
University of Leeds
A deeper dive into abdominal anatomy and its clinical relevance, demonstrating sustained interest in how the body is studied.
University of Birmingham
Introduces neuroscience and how the brain works, a strong foundation for interest in neurology, psychiatry or physiology.
University of Birmingham
Links neuroscience to a specific neurodegenerative disease and its treatment, connecting basic science to clinical medicine.
King's College London
Explores the mind-body link and how depression and anxiety affect physical health, supporting a holistic view of patient care.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Explains how outbreaks are detected and controlled globally, giving credible material on pandemics and public-health preparedness.
University of Cambridge
Explores adolescent mental health and how to promote wellbeing, demonstrating awareness of a major area of clinical need.
University of East Anglia
Builds understanding of anxiety, stigma and supporting young people, valuable if you cite an interest in mental health.
The Open University
Teaches gas exchange and oxygen transport, core physiology that underpins clinical reasoning about respiratory disease.
The Open University
Teaches how healthcare services are analysed and improved, directly relevant to NHS quality-improvement interview questions.
University of Queensland
Covers the treatment of anxiety, depression and schizophrenia, giving grounding in mental illness relevant to psychiatry and MMIs.
The Open University
Builds the core cell-biology foundations every medic, dentist and vet needs before university.
Monash University
Shows the evidence base linking food to gut, brain and disease, demonstrating interest in preventative, evidence-based medicine.
The Open University
Uses a virtual microscope to compare healthy and diseased human tissues, showing how pathologists identify disease.
Khan Academy
Covers the major body systems in accessible video form, an ideal grounding in the anatomy and physiology assumed at medical school.
The Open University
Builds core understanding of pathogens and the immune response, a foundation for discussing infectious disease and vaccination.
University of Bath
Explains the genetics of how normal cells become cancerous, building strong molecular-biology grounding for interviews.
The Open University
Explores how metal-based drugs such as chemotherapy agents work, showing the chemistry-to-treatment link that impresses at interview.
University of Aberdeen
Grounds you in the science of nutrition, macronutrients and diet-related public health, useful for lifestyle-medicine discussion.
The Open University
Connects microbiology, immunity and nutrition through the fast-moving field of the microbiome.
The Open University
Explores ADHD from patient and carer perspectives alongside its neurobiology and management.
University of Edinburgh
A taster of first-year veterinary study covering animal care, anatomy and clinical skills, perfect for vet applicants testing their commitment.
The Open University
Covers the biology of obesity and its treatment, a major public-health and clinical topic.
The Open University
Covers early brain development and the neuroscience of learning, relevant to paediatrics and psychology.
Harvard University
Links climate to air quality, infection and migration, giving you a topical public-health angle for statements and interviews.
University of Pennsylvania
Teaches how temperature, pulse, blood pressure and respiration reveal what is happening in the body, directly clinically relevant.
The Open University
Develops the ability to interpret trials and epidemiological data, a skill central to evidence-based medicine and critical appraisal.
University of California, Berkeley
Teaches evidence-based positive psychology and wellbeing practices, useful for reflecting on resilience and mental health.
University of Edinburgh
A vet-school-authored course on companion-animal behaviour and welfare that demonstrates genuine interest in animal science.
University of Glasgow
Shows how genomic medicine is transforming cancer diagnosis and treatment, a strong point on innovation and personalised medicine.
University of Sheffield
Covers dental team roles, tooth anatomy, disease and specialisms, giving dentistry applicants concrete insight for statements and MMIs.
University of Cape Town
Explores medical humanities and the patient's lived experience, helping you discuss holistic, patient-centred care in interviews.
Yale University
Evidence-based psychology of wellbeing and behaviour change, useful for reflecting on resilience and patient care.
University of Edinburgh
Introduces how animal welfare is defined and measured across companion, farm and captive species, core context for a vet application.
The Open University
A deep dive into the immunology, vaccinology and epidemiology behind the pandemic response, with virtual lab activities.
The Open University
Gives an evidence-based grasp of diet and health that supports lifestyle-medicine and public-health discussion points.
The Open University
A course on neurodiversity that helps you understand patients and communicate with them.
Harvard University
Explains how a health system balances access, quality and cost, giving useful comparison material for discussing how the NHS is run.
Harvard University
Builds a neuron from scratch through interactive simulations, showing you can self-teach demanding pre-clinical science.
Harvard University
Extends single-neuron biology to synapses and circuits, demonstrating sustained commitment beyond the A-level syllabus.
Harvard University
Follows real orthopaedic patients from injury to operating room, giving clinically framed anatomy insight you can discuss at interview.
Harvard University
Introduces measuring and improving healthcare quality and safety, ideal for discussing patient safety and NHS improvement at interview.
University of Chicago
A neuroscience course linking brain biology to everyday behaviour and its clinical relevance.
Yale University
A broad grounding in the global burden of disease and health systems that enriches ethics and public-health discussion.
Harvard University
Uses real case studies to show how social factors shape disease, building the awareness of health inequality that admissions value.
Harvard University
Michael Sandel's landmark moral-philosophy course gives you a genuine framework for reasoning through medical-ethics dilemmas.
Wageningen University & Research
Explores how diet drives obesity and metabolic disease, supporting discussion of lifestyle-related illness that dominates NHS demand.
Harvard University
Covers proteins, enzymes and metabolism at university depth, strengthening the scientific foundation medical and dental schools expect.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A rigorous course on genetics and molecular medicine that gives a serious biology grounding supporting the whole application.
Duke University
A rigorous, medical-school-level tour of the human nervous system that signals serious academic capability.
Online courses occasionally move or close. If a link has changed, searching the course title usually finds its new home. Always confirm current details on the provider's site.
In 14 years as an NHS GP helping students into medicine, I have read thousands of personal statements. The ones that stand out never just list online courses. They pick one idea, explain what it made them think, and link it to why they want to be a doctor. A MOOC is only as good as the reflection you take from it, so choose a couple that genuinely interest you, take notes, and think hard about what they taught you. That is what wins places.
A course only helps if you use it well. These habits turn a couple of free online courses into strong personal-statement material.
Two courses you can talk about with genuine insight beat a long list you skimmed. Depth and reflection are what tutors reward, so resist the urge to collect certificates.
Pick subjects that add something new to your statement rather than repeating your work experience or wider reading. Two courses on different areas show range and genuine curiosity.
Do your courses well away from your UCAT preparation, for example over the summer or once the UCAT is done. That way neither your revision nor your reflection gets rushed.
On Coursera, edX and FutureLearn the learning is free and the certificate is optional and paid. Admissions tutors never ask for it, so keep your money and focus on what you learned.
This is the part almost everyone gets wrong. The course title is worth nothing; the idea you took from it is worth everything. Here is the difference.
Weak: just listing it
"To further my interest in medicine, I completed an online course on cancer from a leading university."
This tells the tutor nothing about how you think. Anyone can enrol on a course.
Strong: reflecting on an idea
"Studying how a single faulty gene can drive a cell to divide uncontrollably made me realise how much of modern treatment depends on understanding disease at a molecular level, which is what draws me to a science I will keep learning for life."
This shows curiosity, understanding and motivation in one sentence.
Do not write 'I completed a MOOC on cancer.' Write about the specific concept that stayed with you, for example how a single faulty gene can drive a cell to divide out of control.
Explain what the idea made you realise or question about medicine, the NHS or patient care. This is where curiosity and insight come through, which is exactly what tutors are marking.
Connect the reflection back to why you want to study the course, or to something you saw in work experience. One well-linked sentence is worth more than three describing the syllabus.
Ready to write it up? See real personal statement examples or get personal statement help from our team.
On Coursera, edX and FutureLearn the learning is free and the certificate is an optional paid extra. UK medical, dental and veterinary schools never ask to see one, and it adds nothing to your application. On Coursera, look for the free "Audit" option when you enrol; on edX, choose the free track. Take the course, take your notes, and keep your money. What counts is the idea you walk away with, not a PDF.
Online courses are one form of wider reading. The strongest applicants combine them with a couple of books, a podcast and, above all, real experience.
A single well-chosen book you can discuss, such as a doctor's memoir or a popular science title, adds depth. As with MOOCs, reflect on one idea rather than summarising the plot.
Medical and science podcasts are an easy way to keep up with NHS hot topics on the go. Note anything that sparks a question you would enjoy exploring at interview.
Nothing replaces time in a caring or clinical setting. Use our free work experience finder to find placements near you.
For more ideas, see our guide to extracurricular and super-curricular activities for your personal statement.
The directory covers all three. Here is where to start for each, and how to connect your courses to the rest of your application.
Use the global health, NHS, ethics and anatomy courses above as super-curricular reading, then show tutors how you reflected. Pair them with real experience using our free finder.
Free work experience finder→Discover Dentistry from Sheffield is the standout free course for dentistry applicants, alongside the anatomy and health courses here. See how to write it all up in your statement.
Dentistry application guide→Edinburgh's EDIVET, animal welfare and companion-animal courses are excellent free wider reading for vet applicants testing and evidencing their commitment.
Vet work experience guide→Everything applicants ask us about free online courses, super-curriculars and wider reading for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science.
Yes. Every course in the directory is free to access and learn. Courses from OpenLearn (The Open University) and Khan Academy are completely free with no paywall at all. Courses on FutureLearn, Coursera and edX are free to enrol on and study, and only the optional certificate costs money. That certificate makes no difference to a medicine, dentistry or veterinary application, so you never need to pay for anything.
A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course: a free online course, usually made by a university or a respected organisation, that anyone can take. They are typically self-paced or run over a few weeks, use short videos, readings and quizzes, and cover a specific topic such as cancer genetics, global health or the NHS. For applicants they are one of the most accessible forms of super-curricular learning, because you can do them from home for free.
There is no single best MOOC, because the strongest choice is one that genuinely interests you and connects to your reasons for applying. That said, courses that consistently give applicants rich material to reflect on include Yale's Essentials of Global Health, the King's Fund's The NHS Explained, Harvard's Justice for medical ethics, and the cancer and neuroscience courses from UK universities. Use the filters above to find ones on topics you care about, then focus on reflecting well.
They can, but only if you reflect on them rather than just list them. Admissions tutors are not impressed by the number of courses you have completed. They are looking for evidence of genuine curiosity and the ability to think about medicine beyond the syllabus. A single MOOC that you can discuss thoughtfully, linking an idea from it to your motivation or to what you saw in work experience, is far more valuable than a long list of course names.
No. On Coursera, edX and FutureLearn the course content is free and the certificate is an optional paid extra. UK medical, dental and veterinary schools do not ask to see certificates and gain nothing from them. What matters is what you learned and how you reflect on it, so there is no reason to pay. Save your money and put your energy into taking notes and thinking about the ideas.
Focus on one specific idea rather than the course as a whole. Name the concept that stayed with you, explain what it made you realise or question about medicine or patient care, and link it back to why you want to study the subject. Avoid simply stating that you completed a course: that tells the tutor nothing. One reflective sentence about an idea is worth more than three describing the syllabus.
Around two is plenty. Quality beats quantity every time: two courses you have thought about carefully are more useful than ten you rushed through. Ideally choose topics that are different from what you already cover elsewhere in your statement, such as your work experience or wider reading, so your courses add range rather than repeating yourself. Admissions tutors would much rather read a thoughtful reflection on one idea than a list of course titles.
Super-curricular activities extend your academic subject beyond the school syllabus. They include MOOCs and online courses, wider reading of books and journals, an EPQ on a medical or scientific topic, science lectures and podcasts, and science competitions. They are different from extracurricular activities such as sport or music, which show broader skills. MOOCs are a popular and accessible form of super-curricular learning because they are free and can be done from home.
Yes, to study. FutureLearn lets you join a course and access the material for free, usually for the length of the course plus a couple of weeks. Unlimited long-term access and a certificate require payment, but you do not need either for an application. Start the course, take your notes, and reflect on what you learn while you have free access.
Yes, if you choose the free option. On Coursera look for the 'Audit' link when you enrol, which gives you free access to the videos and readings. On edX, courses have a free track alongside the paid verified certificate. In both cases the learning is free and only the certificate and some graded assignments are paid, none of which you need for a medicine, dentistry or veterinary application.
Discover Dentistry from the University of Sheffield is the standout free course made specifically for aspiring dentists, covering the dental team, tooth anatomy, disease and specialisms. Beyond that, the anatomy, biochemistry and health courses in this directory are all relevant wider reading for dentistry. As with medicine, choose a couple, reflect on them, and be ready to discuss them at interview.
Yes. The University of Edinburgh, a leading vet school, offers several excellent free courses, including EDIVET: Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Veterinarian?, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, and Animal Behaviour and Welfare. They are ideal for testing and evidencing your commitment to veterinary science, and give you genuine material to reflect on in your application. Filter to the Veterinary theme above to find them.
It varies a lot. Some are short, focused courses of only a few hours, while others are university-level courses of a hundred hours or more. You can filter by length above to find quick reads under ten hours, medium courses of ten to twenty-four hours, or in-depth courses of twenty-five hours and up. You do not need to finish a long course to benefit: even a few well-chosen sections can give you something worth reflecting on.
Yes. MOOCs are open to anyone, anywhere in the world, and they are a particularly good option for international applicants who may find UK work experience harder to arrange. They are also useful for showing UK universities that you have engaged seriously with the subject in English. The same rule applies wherever you are: reflect on what you learn rather than simply listing courses.
No. Work experience and reflection on real caring or clinical settings remain the most important part of a medicine or dentistry application, and MOOCs do not replace them. Think of online courses as a complement: they show academic curiosity and give you extra material to draw on, but they sit alongside work experience, wider reading and your grades. If you are short on time, prioritise arranging experience first.
Not directly. The UCAT tests aptitude and situational judgement rather than medical knowledge, so a MOOC will not raise your score. What MOOCs help with is the rest of the application: your personal statement and interviews, where showing genuine interest in medicine matters. For UCAT preparation specifically, structured practice and tutoring are what move your score.
Any time before you write your personal statement, but Year 12 is ideal, and the key is to keep them well away from your UCAT preparation. Doing a course in the year before you apply means the ideas are fresh, and the summer before Year 13, or the period after you have sat the UCAT, is perfect because neither your revision nor your reflection gets rushed. There is nothing wrong with starting earlier in Year 11 if you are curious, as long as you can still remember and discuss what you learned.
Most are accessible to a motivated sixth-form student, and some, such as the Khan Academy and OpenLearn courses, are gentle introductions that GCSE students can follow too. A few, like Duke's Medical Neuroscience or MIT's biology course, are genuinely university-level and demanding. Start with a shorter, introductory course, and do not worry if you do not understand everything: engaging with challenging ideas is itself worth reflecting on.
Every course in this directory was checked to confirm it exists and is free to access. They come from universities and organisations such as Harvard, Yale, Duke, MIT, the NHS-focused King's Fund and leading UK universities, hosted on FutureLearn, Coursera, edX, OpenLearn and Khan Academy. Online courses do occasionally move or close, so if a link has changed, a quick search for the course title will usually find its new home. We review the list regularly.
The learning is only half the job. Schools want to see how you reflect on it. That is what we help with, and you can talk it through with our team for free first.
Every course was checked to confirm it exists and is free to access. Details on third-party platforms can change, so always confirm on the provider's site before you rely on a course. Last updated 4 July 2026.
Ultimate Package students from our 2025/26 cycle, with their UCAT scores and offers, who trained with us for the UCAT, personal statements and interviews.
“Harry got my UCAT up to 2,590, working through the sections I kept dropping marks on week by week. Gemma then ran my interview practice so the MMI stations didn't catch me out, and Dr Akash mentored me the whole way through. I'm off to King's for Medicine.”
“The interview prep was the part that actually moved the needle. Proper mock MMIs, not just lists of questions, and feedback that was honest about what I was getting wrong. I ended up with four offers and firmed UCL.”
“The Ultimate Package kept me organised from UCAT through to interviews. They knew what dental schools actually ask and tightened up my personal statement. Four offers in the end, and I'm going to Birmingham.”
“Vet applications come down to the written SAQs as much as the interview. Dr Rebecca went through my SAQs line by line, sharpened my answers and prepped me for the panels. I came away with four offers and chose the RVC.”
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