Whether you’re a backyard naturalist, a pest management professional, or simply someone who’s always been fascinated by the six-legged world around us, there’s a free online course you need to know about. Discover the world of insects through one of Canada’s top universities online course.
Bugs 101: Insect-Human Interactions, offered by the University of Alberta through Coursera, is a beginner-friendly but genuinely substantive deep dive into entomology. Best of all? It’s completely free to audit.
What the Course Covers
This isn’t your average “here’s a butterfly, here’s a beetle” overview. The course takes a thoughtful look at how insects and humans have co-evolved, competed, and depended on each other throughout history. Topics include:
- Insect biology, anatomy, and life cycles
- How insects impact agriculture — as both pests and pollinators
- The role of insects in medicine and forensic science
- Insects as a sustainable food source for a growing global population
- Vector-borne diseases and public health implications
- Insect conservation and the consequences of declining populations
Why We Recommend It
Discover the world of insects through instructors that bring genuine enthusiasm to the material. The production quality makes it easy to stay engaged across the full course. It’s structured for self-paced learning, so you can work through it on your own schedule — no deadlines, no pressure.
For those of us already passionate about insects, it’s a fantastic way to formalize knowledge you’ve picked up over years of hands-on experience. For newcomers, it’s one of the most accessible entry points into entomology available online today.
How to Enroll
Head over to Coursera’s Bugs 101 page, click Enroll for Free. Then, select the option to audit the course at no cost. A Coursera account is all you need to get started.
The insect world shapes ecosystems, food systems, and human health in ways most people never stop to consider. This course changes that — and we think you’ll come away from it looking at the world around you a little differently.
Go ahead. Give bugs a chance.