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Algebra and Math are subjects that make us sigh whenever we see them on a timetable because more often than not, they have never been good friends of ours. Well, until now.
Say goodbye to fearing algebraic equations and polynomials by signing up for one of the courses in this article. The items on this list include beginner-level algebra courses and refresher, intermediate, and advanced algebra courses. These courses all come with a certificate of completion, thus boosting both your confidence and resume!
The internet is full of options, and you’ve probably been combing through it in search of the best Algebra courses online. Look no further! We’ve put together a list of the best Algebra courses available online.
We have ranked the following courses based on the highest number of 5-star ratings, student reviews, and instructor quality.
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The Best Algebra Course Online
1. College Algebra and Problem Solving (edX)
This is the best Algebra course online!
We have ranked this course at #1 because of its introductory-level content, self-paced nature, well-delivered material, and ability to help learners of all ages and educational qualifications brush up on their Algebra and math skills.
We would recommend this course to learners of all levels searching for a fun but challenging Algebra-learning experience. You will learn how to apply algebraic reasoning to solve problems effectively, develop skills in linear and quadratic functions, and you will study systems of linear equations in this college-level course.
It is conducted by Arizona State University and taught by Adrian Sannier and Sue McClure. Sannier is Chief Academic Technology Officer for EdPlus and McClure is a Lecturer at the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at ASU. This course is also a part of the Global Freshman Academy (GFA), meaning you can earn transferable ASU credit toward your college degree.
The course is 15 weeks long, self-paced, and requires 8-9 hours of study per week. Please note that while the course itself is free, you can also purchase a Verified Certificate for $49 for this particular course. This is a certificate signed by the instructors with the institution’s logo. It verifies your achievement of completing the course. It has the power to increase your job prospects and is also easily shareable; you can include it on your resume or CV or share it on your LinkedIn profile.
By signing up for the Verified Track, you will gain unlimited access to the course materials, support from the instructors, and feedback and graded assignments.
Over 106,000 students have taken this course, and it has a 5-star rating on coursetalk.com
Review by Colin Paterson:
“This is a good refresher algebra course for those, like me, who completely forgot just about everything learned in school about algebra. ALEKS is an excellent pedagogical method for teaching: it doesn’t let you progress too far until you’ve mastered the content. This forced me to grind through the material and learn it. My constructive criticism is that the pre-tests don’t give you the answers for the questions you get wrong, so it’s difficult to understand how/what mistake you made. It’d be cool if the pre-tests were integrated with ALEKS so that you could practice what you got wrong. All in all, this is a worthwhile and high-value course for those who want to knock out their math prerequisites for college credit or just want to re-learn what you forgot in the classroom. The key is to grind through it make at least some progress each day (even if it’s only one module).”
2. Introduction to Algebra (edX)
This course is perfect for absolute beginners with no prior knowledge of algebra.
SchoolYourself conducts this course. The following instructors teach it:
- Zach Wissner-Gross: He is the CEO of SchoolYourself. Gross has also completed his doctorate in Physics at Harvard, where he won multiple teaching awards. He is also a Hertz fellow and has authored several papers in neuroscience, biophysics, and biotechnology.
- John Lee: He is the CTO of SchoolYourself. Lee is also an MIT graduate who worked at Google as a Senior Software Engineer, leading a data extraction team on experimental projects to mine knowledge from the open Web and push the boundaries of open domain answering.
- Vivek Venkatachalam: He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard. Venkatachalam is using optical tools to study learning and memory in individual neurons. He has also taught quantum mechanics and electromagnetism at both MIT and Harward.
- Kenny Peng: Peng is a software engineer experienced in creating performant technical infrastructure. He is also a former employee at Athena Capital Research as one of the lead engineers on a platform for high-frequency trading.
- Micheal Fountaine: He is a mathematics student at Harvard University and previously worked on the Large Hadron Collider’s ATLAS experiment writing software for its detectors.
- Stephen Face: Face is an MIT physics graduate who has co-authored several papers on simulations of primordial black hols with the Density Perturbations Group in the Center for Theoretical Physics.
Features of the Course:
- Self-paced
- Four weeks long
- Requires 4-6 hours of study per week
- Verified certification available
Please note: that while the course itself is free, you can also purchase a Verified Certificate for $49 for this particular course. This is a certificate signed by the instructors with the institution’s logo. It verifies your achievement of completing the course. It has the power to increase your job prospects and is also easily shareable; you can include it on your resume or CV or share it on your LinkedIn profile.
By signing up for the Verified Track, you will gain unlimited access to the course materials, support from the instructors, and feedback and graded assignments.
Over 138,000 students have taken this course, and it has a 5-star rating on coursetalk.com.
An anonymous review on coursetalk.com:
“Laid out in an efficient, accessible manner that limits the information covered by the video lectures to easily digestible pieces of information. I could fit in one of the sub-sections of a lesson (ex: slope formula, from the section on Slopes) into any free time I had, which was important because I am working but would like to go back to school soon. The way the interactive component is set up within the lesson kept me engaged with the material. Additional features like “hints” and the review links that would pop up when applicable made it convenient and simple to navigate through the material. I have almost completed the Algebra course and look forward to taking the other ones offered. I am so thankful for the math programs created by SchoolYourself. The creators of these classes have no idea how much their work has changed my outlook on math.”
3. College Algebra and Trigonometry Explained (Udemy)
This next course is a long and heavily detailed one for college-level students. We’d recommend entering this course with a basic knowledge of arithmetic, pre-algebra, and introductory algebra. Intermediate algebra is highly recommended as well, but not mandatory.
John Greene teaches this bestselling course. He has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Economics. Greene is also the founder of the website GreeneMath that helps struggling students raise their grades in math, regardless of their income or economic background.
Features of the Course:
- 68 hours of video footage
- 407 lectures
- 204 downloadable resources
- 203 articles
- Certificate of completion
- Access on mobile devices and television
What You’ll Learn:
- Linear equations
- Polynomials
- Quadratic equations
- The complex coordinate plane
- Graphic logarithmic functions
- How to graph a parabola
- The binomial theorem
- Angles in trigonometry
Over 300 students have taken this course, and it has a 4.6-star rating on the Udemy website.
Review by Nickolas Aleksandar Nikolic:
“This class is especially atomist, meaning all pieces of information follow one after the other in small quantities; it’s great to learn from!”
4.Linear Algebra – Foundations to Frontiers (edX)
This next challenging course is for intermediate and advanced students interested in learning about the mathematics behind linear algebra. We would recommend it to mathematicians, engineers, scientists, and others working with large datasets.
The University of Texas at Austin conducts this course, and it is taught by faculty members Maggie Meyers and Robert van de Geijn.
Dr. Meyers’ areas of expertise include Probability and Bayesian Statistical Methods, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Curriculum Development, Informal Learning, Formal Derivation of Algorithms. She was also a lecturer for the Department of Computer Science and Division of Statistics and Scientific Computing. Van de Geijn has a Ph.D. in mathematics. He is a professor of Computer Science and a member of the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Science and the Division of Statistics and Scientific Computation at the University of Texas at Austin.
Features of the Course:
- 15 weeks long
- Requires 6-10 hours of study per week
- Self-paced
- Verified certificate available
Please note: that while the course itself is free, you can also purchase a Verified Certificate for $49 for this particular course. This is a certificate signed by the instructors with the institution’s logo. It verifies your achievement of completing the course. It has the power to increase your job prospects and is also easily shareable; you can include it on your resume or CV or share it on your LinkedIn profile.
By signing up for the Verified Track, you will gain unlimited access to the course materials, support from the instructors, and feedback and graded assignments.
What You’ll Learn:
- Connections between linear transformations, matrices, and systems of linear equations
- Partitioned matrices and characteristics of special matrices
- Algorithms for matrix computations and solving systems of equations
- Vector spaces, subspaces, and characterizations of linear independence
- Orthogonality, linear least-squares, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors
Over 93,000 students have taken this course, and it has a 4.5-star rating on coursetalk.com.
Review by Mark Dixon on coursetalk.com:
“Progress through the course was thorough, step by step. It was great to use Matlab and bespoke U of T software to tackle many more complex problems. There were links to more advanced discussions of issues and current research in the area. But at every stage, there were patient explanations of fundamental concepts and opportunities to gain experience handling the basic math with graded problems. I found some parts hard going but enjoyed working through this course. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone wanting to get a good grounding in linear algebra or to revise the fundamentals in an up-to-date presentation.”
5. Complete Linear Algebra for Data Science and Machine Learning (Udemy)
Our following recommendation is for learners with an understanding of basic algebra and math. We would suggest that learners from computer sciences, engineering, and data science backgrounds take this course. It is also perfect for students enrolled or planning to enroll in Linear Algebra classes and professionals who need a refresher course in Linear Algebra.
Kashif Altaf teaches this course. He has over 11 years of teaching experience and is passionate about online education and digital entrepreneurship.
Features of the Course:
- Over 17 hours of video footage
- 211 lectures
- 12 articles
- 13 downloadable resources
- Access on mobile devices and television
- Certificate of completion
What You’ll Learn:
- Fundamentals of Linear Algebra and how to ace a Linear Algebra exam
- Performing elementary row operations and finding Echelon Forms (REF & RREF)
- Matrices as vectors, including vector addition and subtraction, Head-to-Tail rule, components, magnitude, and the midpoint of a vector
- Vector spaces, including dimensions, Euclidean spaces, closure properties, and axioms
This course has a 4.3-star rating on the Udemy Website, and over 3000 students have taken it.
Review by John Ross:
“Everything is very well explained and going at an excellent speed for a beginner. The instructor does not just teach techniques but explains why the techniques exist and what we are trying to do with them – very valuable. It also includes necessary refreshers for fundamental topics.”
6. Become an Algebra Master (Udemy)
We have included this next course because aside from the fact that it is perfect for high school students and parents of homeschooled students, it is also very detailed, with hundreds of downloadable resources and reading materials.
Krista King teaches this course. She is a self-labeled “geeky, trusty math tutor” who, in addition to this course, also teaches eight other math-related courses on Udemy, including trigonometry, calculus, probability, and statistics.
Features of the Course:
- Over 14 hours of video footage
- 336 lectures
- 297 downloadable resources
- 170 articles
- Certificate of completion
- Access on mobile devices and television
What You’ll Learn:
- Operations, including order of operations (PEMDAS) and like-terms
- Fractions, exponents, and radicals
- Equations and systems of equations, including inverse operations, direct and inverse variation, and distance/rate/time problems
- Graphing, including parallel and perpendicular lines and parabolas
- Polynomials and factoring, including the quadratic formula and completing the square
- Functions, including domain and range, and sums and products of functions
- Inequalities, including trichotomy and graphing inequalities and conjunctions on a number line
- Exponential and logarithmic functions, including laws of logs, change of base, and graphing
This course has a 4.8-star rating on the Udemy website, and over 45,000 students have taken it.
Review by Guilherme de Castilho Henrique:
“This was an incredible course!
I’ve been out of school for about ten years, and I decided to broaden my horizons towards new career opportunities. Even after such a long time without using most algebra problems, this course made it seem easy to refresh, giving me an even better understanding than when I first studied the subject.
Recommended!”
7. Introduction to Linear Models and Matrix Algebra (edX)
We think that this course is suitable for students getting started with data analysis. This course is also part of a Professional Certificate titled Data Analysis for Life Sciences, but you can take it individually.
Harvard University conducts this course, and Rafael Irizarry and Micheal Love teach it. Irizarry is a Professor of Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Professor of Biostatistics and Computational Biology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Irizarry is also one of the founders of the Bioconductor Project, an open-source and open development software project for the analysis of genomic data. Love is an Assistant Professor in Biostatistics and Genetics at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Dr. Love uses statistical models to infer biologically meaningful patterns from high-throughput sequencing data and develops open-source statistical software for the Bioconductor Project.
Features of the Course:
- Four weeks long
- Self-paced
- Requires 2-4 hours of study per week
- Verified certificate available
Please note: that while the course itself is free, you can also purchase a Verified Certificate for $149 for this particular course. This is a certificate signed by the instructors with the institution’s logo. It verifies your achievement of completing the course. It has the power to increase your job prospects and is also easily shareable; you can include it on your resume or CV or share it on your LinkedIn profile.
By signing up for the Verified Track, you will gain unlimited access to the course materials, support from the instructors, and feedback and graded assignments.
What You’ll Learn:
- Matrix algebra notation
- Matrix algebra operations
- Application of matrix algebra to data analysis
- Linear models
- A brief introduction to the QR decomposition
Over 96,000 students have taken this course, and it has a 4.5-star rating on classcentral.com.
Review by David Chen on classcentral.com:
“This was one of the first MOOC courses I’ve taken, back when platforms such as edX and Coursera were just becoming popular. I remembered struggling a lot with this course. Still, the videos and exercises were very informative and guided me towards understanding basic linear algebra and applying linear models and statistical tests to biological data sets. Since then, I have recommended this data to many students, especially those who are getting started with data analysis.”
Here are some FAQs about Algebra
How can Algebra be used in real life?
Algebra is a subject used by professionals outside of the Mathematics field, such as astronomers, chemists, architects, statisticians, oceanographers, and even dieticians and nutritionists.
It can be used for various purposes, such as measuring the dimensions of a living room or trying to determine the size of an electronic item like a TV or an oven to see how it could fit comfortably in a given space. Algebraic notations and symbols are also essential for deciphering and understanding the force of gravity, the behavior of solids, liquids, and gases, and many more.
Algebra can also boost logical thinking and help students like you make sense of other mathematical branches.
What are the benefits of learning Algebra?
These are some of the reasons why algebra is practical:
- It is beneficial when studying statistics and calculus
- It is a powerful job skill to have
- Algebra is useful outside the workplace
- It reinforces logical thinking
Algebra can be a challenging subject to make sense of and master, but by signing up for one of the courses in this article, you will be one step closer to becoming an Algebra expert!
Sign up for one of the courses on our list today!
What if I hate algebra But want to learn about math?
Then I recommend you check out the Terence Tao MasterClass. It helps you learn mathematical reasoning (without doing a single equation).
