OCW Scholar courses are designed for independent learners who have few additional resources available to them. The courses are substantially more complete than typical OCW courses and include new custom-created content as well as materials repurposed from MIT classrooms. The materials are also arranged in logical sequences and include multimedia such as video and simulations.
Fundamentals of Biology focuses on the basic principles of biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and recombinant DNA. These principles are necessary to understanding the basic mechanisms of life and anchor the biological knowledge that is required to understand many of the challenges in everyday life, from human health and disease to loss of biodiversity and environmental quality. Instructors: Prof. Eric Lander, Prof. Robert Weinberg, Prof. Tyler Jacks, Prof. Hazel Sive, Prof. Graham Walker, Prof. Sallie Chisholm, Dr. Michelle Mischke |
Introduction to Psychology is a survey of the scientific study of human nature, including how the mind works, and how the brain supports the mind. Topics include the mental and neural bases of perception, emotion, learning, memory, cognition, child development, personality, psychopathology, and social interaction. Instructor: Prof. John Gabrieli
|
Introduction to Solid State Chemistry is a one-semester general chemistry class with a focus on solid-state materials and their application to engineering systems. Starting from the relationship between electronic structure, chemical bonding, and atomic order, the class explores material forms ranging from solutions to polymers and biomaterials. Instructor: Prof. Donald Sadoway |
Principles of Microeconomics is an introductory undergraduate course that teaches the fundamentals of microeconomics. This course introduces microeconomic concepts and analysis, supply and demand analysis, theories of the firm and individual behavior, competition and monopoly, and welfare economics. Students will also be introduced to the use of microeconomic applications to address problems in current economic policy throughout the semester. Instructor: Prof. Jonathan Gruber |
Introduction to Computer Science and Programming is aimed at students with little or no programming experience. It aims to provide students with an understanding of the role computation can play in solving problems. It also aims to help students, regardless of their major, to feel justifiably confident of their ability to write small programs that allow them to accomplish useful goals. The class uses the Python programming language. Instructor: Prof. John Guttag |
Introduction to Electrical Engineering and Computer Science I provides an integrated introduction to electrical engineering and computer science, taught using substantial laboratory experiments with mobile robots. Students learn how to use the fundamental design principles of modularity and abstraction and how to make mathematical models to design and analyze real systems. Instructors: Prof. Leslie Kaelbling, Prof. Jacob White, Prof. Harold Abelson, Prof. Dennis Freeman, Prof. Tomás Lozano-Pérez, and Prof. Isaac Chuang |
Probabilistic Systems Analysis and Applied Probability introduces students to the modeling, quantification, and analysis of uncertainty. The tools of probability theory, and of the related field of statistical inference, are the keys for being able to analyze and make sense of data. These tools underlie important advances in many fields, from the basic sciences to engineering and management. Instructor: Prof. John Tsitsiklis |
The laws of nature are expressed as differential equations. Scientists and engineers must know how to model the world in terms of differential equations, and how to solve those equations and interpret the solutions. This course focuses on the equations and techniques most useful in science and engineering. Instructors: Prof. Arthur Mattuck, Prof. Haynes Miller, Dr. Jeremy Orloff, Dr. John Lewis |
Engineering Dynamics is an introduction to modeling the motion of mechanical systems. Topics include kinematics, force-momentum formulation for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion, work-energy concepts, vibration, virtual displacements and virtual work. Instructors: Prof. J. Kim Vandiver, Prof. David Gossard |
Physics II is the second semester of introductory physics. The focus is on electricity and magnetism, including electric fields, magnetic fields, electromagnetic forces, conductors and dielectrics, electromagnetic waves, and the nature of light. Instructors: Prof. Walter Lewin, Prof. John Belcher and Dr. Peter Dourmashkin |
Physics III the third course in the core physics curriculum at MIT. Topics include mechanical vibrations and waves, electromagnetic waves, and optics. Students will learn about musical instruments, red sunsets, glories, coronae, rainbows, haloes, X-ray binaries, neutron stars, black holes and Big Bang cosmology. Instructors: Prof. Walter Lewin, Prof. Wit Busza, Dr. George Stephans, Prof. Martin Connors |