Massive Open Online Courses, called “MOOCs” are a fantastic opportunity for you to bring college level learning into your homeschool for free. We have a full page about MOOCs, but this post will feature a large Christian MOOC program offered through Hillsdale College.
Hillsdale College Official Course Page
HS4CC page featuring more MOOCS
Hillsdale College (Michigan) is unique because they are a regionally accredited Christian college completely free from government funding or participation in financial aid. Their regular college program is considered conservative/religious and based heavily around the Great Books.
This To my knowledge, they were the first Christian college to offer a MOOCs program. Their current catalog contains 39 courses in politics/government, literature, economics, philosophy, science, and history.
Like all MOOCs, they are open to anyone of any age without testing or admissions criteria. You will not get college credit directly from Hillsdale for these course. But these are perfect courses you can use for high school credit, and then with some exam prep, your teen can pursue college credit by exam (yes, you CAN use Christian courses to prepare for secular college credit exams CLEP, AP, and DSST).
Registration is very fast an easy- it took me under 60 seconds.
The subject category for each course is provided – use that as your guide when building your high school program.
Course length varies, but the format for each is roughly the same. Expect recorded lectures (about a dozen), assigned reading, short quizzes, discussion forums, study guide, and a certificate of completion.
If you prefer to work offline, they do make some (all ?) of their courses available on DVD. To access purchase information, enroll directly in the course.
HS4CC high school credit recommendation: 1/2 credit each
- History Ancient Christianity
- Mathematics & Natural Sciences The Great Principles of Chemistry
- Politics The American Left: From Liberalism to Despotism
- Politics The Real American Founding: A Conversation
- Economics Supply-Side Economics and American Prosperity with Arthur Laffer
- Philosophy & Religion C.S. Lewis on Christianity
- History The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic
- History American Citizenship and Its Decline
- Literature The David Story: Shepherd, Father, King
- Literature Dante’s Divine Comedy
- Mathematics & Natural Sciences Mathematics and Logic: From Euclid to Modern Geometry
- Politics Civil Rights in American History
- Philosophy & Religion Introduction to Western Philosophy
- Literature Classic Children’s Literature
- History The Great American Story: A Land of Hope
- Politics Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution
- Literature The Genesis Story: Reading Biblical Narratives
- Philosophy & Religion Introduction to Aristotle’s Ethics: How to Lead a Good Life
- Second World Wars
- Politics Congress: How It Worked and Why It Doesn’t
- Literature The Young Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey
- Heritage: From the Book of Genesis to John Locke
- Literature Mark Twain: Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and Selected Short Stories
- Politics Introduction to the Constitution
- Philosophy & Religion Theology 101: The Western Theological Tradition
- History American Heritage: From Colonial Settlement to the Current Day
- Literature Shakespeare: Hamlet and The Tempest
- Politics The U.S. Supreme Court
- History Athens and Sparta
- Politics Public Policy from a Constitutional Viewpoint
- LiteratureAn Introduction to C.S. Lewis: Writings and Significance
- History Winston Churchill and Statesmanship
- Politics The Federalist Papers
- Philosophy & Religion A Proper Understanding of K-12 Education: Theory and Practice
- Literature Great Books 102: Renaissance to Modern
- Politics The Presidency and the Constitution
- Literature Great Books 101: Ancient to Medieval
- Politics Constitution 201: The Progressive Rejection of the Founding and the Rise of Bureaucratic Despotism
- Economics Economics 101: The Principles of Free Market Economics
If you are looking for college credit, they also offer 2 options for high school students – both programs carry a cost and require registration.
(1) Summer Study & Travel (10th-12th grades) Learn More
(2) Dual Enrollment (11th 12th grades) Learn More
