COYale University · on Coursera
Financial Markets
Beginner English Professional CertificateFREE
What you'll learn
Understand how core financial instruments and markets fit together
See how risk is priced, pooled, and mismanaged
Grasp diversification and why it matters for any portfolio
Recognise behavioural forces behind bubbles and crashes
Understand the role of banks, insurance, and regulation
Read financial news with more context and less noise
This course includes
Yes
Certificate
Yes
Mobile access
English
Language
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Instructor
RS
Robert Shiller
Coursera instructor
— learners— courses — instructor rating
Robert Shiller is a Nobel Prize-winning economist at Yale, known for his work on market behaviour, speculative bubbles, and the index that bears his name. He brings a behavioural lens to finance — less about formulas, more about why people and markets do what they do — which is what makes the course readable for beginners.
Requirements
- No finance background required; basic numeracy helps
Who this course is for
- Non-finance professionals wanting financial literacy
- Students considering a finance or economics path
- Anyone curious about how markets actually behave
About this provider
CO
Coursera
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4.6 trust score
Frequently asked questions
As an introduction, very much so — it's a popular first finance course from Yale, taught by a Nobel laureate, and free to audit. Just go in expecting a broad overview rather than deep, specialised coverage.
It covers a lot of material relatively quickly, so it rewards steady effort, but it isn't mathematically heavy. Shiller is known for breaking complex ideas into approachable pieces, so beginners generally find it manageable.
Not directly. It builds understanding of how markets and instruments work rather than offering trading advice — that foundation is more durable than any single tip.
Yes — you can audit all the lectures free on Coursera. The certificate is optional and requires a Coursera subscription.
Possibly. It's pitched as an accessible introduction and stays fairly broad, so if you already have finance coursework or work experience you may find parts familiar — it shines most for newcomers.