An analysis by Class Central has established that, currently, 2704 of Coursera’s 6939 active courses (or 39%) include peer-reviewed assessments — that is, assessments manually scored by other learners.

Online education tends to rely on automation when possible. When it comes to course assessments, this typically translates into courses using (or overusing) multiple-choice questions, since these can easily be autograded.

But multiple-choice questions aren’t always ideal, in particular in disciplines inherently subjective or open-ended. An equation might have one solution. But when it comes to, say, creative writing, there usually isn’t a single “right answer”.

Some learners might prefer the human touch of peer reviews. So we’ve compiled a list of the best Coursera courses that include peer reviews. We’ve broken the list down into subjects. Click on a subject to jump to the corresponding courses:

• Computer Science
• Programming
• Personal Development
• Health & Medicine
• Business
• Humanities
• Education & Teaching
• Data Science
• Social Sciences
• Art & Design
• Mathematics
• Science
• Engineering
• Information Security (InfoSec)

Peer Reviews: Strengths & Weaknesses

Peer reviews are a type of assignment used in online learning — though prior to this analysis, we wouldn’t have guessed that more than a third of Coursera’s courses used them.

Peer reviews on Coursera work as follows:

1. You complete an assignment, typically involving open-ended questions that you address by writing a few paragraphs of text. You submit it, but you don’t get a score just yet.
2. You score other learners’ assignments, according to a specific rubric, giving more or fewer points depending on how well the assignment addressed each rubric item. In addition, you may write comments.
3. You get your assignment score back, but only after (1) you’ve scored enough assignments, and (2) your assignment has been scored by enough learners.

Unfortunately, precisely because they introduce a human factor, peer-reviewed assessments come with limitations. Humans can be cunning. Our colleague @pat has written an article on the issues of peer reviews, which include cheating, delays, and inconsistencies.

That said, in our experience, many learners tackle these assignments earnestly, providing fair scores and useful feedback that can help one gain a better understanding of the course topic.

So if you’re looking for a good online course with peer-reviewed assessments, you can find our selection below.

Personal Development Online Courses

• Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects from Deep Teaching Solutions ★★★★★(23699)
• Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential from McMaster University ★★★★★(7496)
• Apprendre comment apprendre (ACA) : Des outils mentaux puissants qui vous aideront à maîtriser des sujets difficiles from Deep Teaching Solutions ★★★★★(397)
• Aprender from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México ★★★★★(107)
• Introduction to Public Speaking from University of Washington ★★★★☆(14)
• Creative Thinking: Techniques and Tools for Success from Imperial College London ★★★★★(14)
• Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for Becoming a Principled and Persuasive Negotiator from Yale University ★★★★★(13)
• Story and Narrative Development for Video Games from California Institute of the Arts ★★★★★(9)
• Successful Career Development from University System of Georgia ★★★★★(9)
• How to Get Skilled: Introduction to Individual Skills Management (Project-Centered Course) from State University of New York ★★★★☆(8)
• Teamwork Skills: Communicating Effectively in Groups from University of Colorado Boulder ★★★★★(8)
• Positive Psychology: Resilience Skills from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★☆(7)

Programming Online Courses

• An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python (Part 1) from Rice University ★★★★★(3360)
• Predictive Modeling and Machine Learning with MATLAB from MathWorks ★★★★★(60)
• An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python (Part 2) from Rice University ★★★★★(58)
• Introduction to HTML5 from University of Michigan ★★★★☆(51)
• Programming Mobile Applications for Android Handheld Systems: Part 1 from University of Maryland, College Park ★★★★☆(41)
• Object-Oriented Design from University of Alberta ★★★★☆(39)
• Exploratory Data Analysis with MATLAB from MathWorks ★★★★★(38)
• Julia Scientific Programming from University of Cape Town ★★★★☆(30)
• Programming Languages, Part A from University of Washington ★★★★★(27)
• Responsive Website Basics: Code with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from University of London International Programmes ★★★★☆(27)
• Design Patterns from University of Alberta ★★★★★(27)
• C++ For C Programmers, Part A from University of California, Santa Cruz ★★★☆☆(26)
• HTML, CSS, and Javascript for Web Developers from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★★(25)
• Object Oriented Programming in Java from University of California, San Diego ★★★★★(18)
• Introducción a la programación orientada a objetos en Java from Universidad de los Andes ★★★★★(18)

Health & Medicine Online Courses

• Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics from University of Cape Town ★★★★★(759)
• De-Mystifying Mindfulness from Leiden University ★★★★★(95)
• Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability: Circles of Care and Education from University of Cape Town ★★★★★(25)
• Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health from The University of Sydney ★★★★★(22)
• Organ Donation: From Death to Life from University of Cape Town ★★★★★(14)
• Herbal Medicine from University of Minnesota ★★★★☆(11)
• Community Change in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★☆(10)
• Introduction to Breast Cancer from Yale University ★★★★★(8)
• Managing Your Health: The Role of Physical Therapy and Exercise from University of Toronto ★★★★☆(8)
• Living with Dementia: Impact on Individuals, Caregivers, Communities and Societies from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★☆(7)
• Science of Exercise from University of Colorado Boulder ★★★★★(7)
• Diabetes – a Global Challenge from University of Copenhagen ★★★★☆(7)
• Chemicals and Health from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★☆(6)

Business Online Courses

• Marketing in a Digital World from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ★★★★★(514)
• The Digital Marketing Revolution from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ★★★★★(333)
• FinTech Foundations and Overview from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ★★★★★(173)
• Preparing to Manage Human Resources from University of Minnesota ★★★★★(145)
• FinTech Security and Regulation (RegTech) from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ★★★★★(94)
• FinTech Risk Management from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ★★★★★(88)
• Financial Markets from Yale University ★★★★☆(37)
• Becoming a changemaker: Introduction to Social Innovation from University of Cape Town ★★★★★(36)
• Digital Marketing Analytics in Theory from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ★★★★☆(35)
• Digital Marketing Analytics in Practice from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ★★★★☆(24)
• The Science of Success: What Researchers Know that You Should Know from University of Michigan ★★★★★(21)
• Foundations of Business Strategy from University of Virginia ★★★★☆(21)
• Protecting Business Innovations via Strategy from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ★★★★★(20)

Humanities Online Courses

• A Life of Happiness and Fulfillment from Indian School of Business ★★★★★(508)
• Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics from Leiden University ★★★★★(95)
• Philosophy, Science and Religion: Religion and Science from University of Edinburgh ★★★★☆(65)
• English for Career Development from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★★(24)
• Philosophy, Science and Religion: Philosophy and Religion from University of Edinburgh ★★★★☆(23)
• The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 1) from Wesleyan University ★★★★★(21)
• Getting Started with Essay Writing from University of California, Irvine ★★★★☆(19)
• Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop from California Institute of the Arts ★★★★☆(19)
• Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot from Wesleyan University ★★★★☆(17)
• Magic in the Middle Ages from University of Barcelona ★★★★☆(16)
• English for Journalism from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★☆(15)
• Tricky American English Pronunciation from University of California, Irvine ★★★★☆(15)
• Writing in the Sciences from Stanford University ★★★★★(14)
• Big History: Connecting Knowledge from Macquarie University ★★★★☆(13)
• Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest from Commonwealth Education Trust ★★★★☆(13)
• Ancient Philosophy: Plato & His Predecessors from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★★(12)
• English for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★★(12)
• Creative Writing: The Craft of Setting and Description from Wesleyan University ★★★★☆(12)

Education & Teaching Online Courses

• Uncommon Sense Teaching from Deep Teaching Solutions ★★★★★(408)
• Uncommon Sense Teaching: Part 2, Building Community and Habits of Learning from Deep Teaching Solutions ★★★★★(91)
• Uncommon Sense Teaching: Teaching Online from Deep Teaching Solutions ★★★★★(31)
• Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms from Relay Graduate School of Education ★★★★★(22)
• American Education Reform: History, Policy, Practice from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★★(9)
• Learning to Teach Online from University of New South Wales ★★★★☆(8)
• Disability Inclusion in Education: Building Systems of Support from University of Cape Town ★★★★★(7)
• Get Organized: How to be a Together Teacher from Relay Graduate School of Education ★★★★☆(6)
• ICT in Primary Education: Transforming children’s learning across the curriculum from University of London International Programmes ★★★★★(5)
• What future for education? from University of London International Programmes ★★★★★(5)
• Teach English Now! Second Language Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation from Arizona State University ★★★★★(5)
• Foundations of Teaching for Learning: Learners and Learning from Commonwealth Education Trust ★★★★☆(5)
• Assessment for Learning from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ★★★★★(4)
• Aboriginal Worldviews and Education from University of Toronto ★★★★★(4)

Data Science Online Courses

• Reproducible Research from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★☆(27)
• Data Visualization from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ★★★☆☆(21)
• Developing Data Products from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★☆(18)
• Finding Hidden Messages in DNA (Bioinformatics I) from University of California, San Diego ★★★★★(17)
• Process Mining: Data science in Action from Eindhoven University of Technology ★★★★☆(17)
• Data Visualization and Communication with Tableau from Duke University ★★★★☆(9)
• Quantitative Methods from University of Amsterdam ★★★★★(7)
• Introduction to Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★★(6)
• Genome Sequencing (Bioinformatics II) from University of California, San Diego ★★★★★(5)
• Social Network Analysis from University of California, Davis ★★★★★(5)
• Qualitative Research Methods from University of Amsterdam ★★★★☆(5)
• What is Data Science? from IBM ★★★★☆(4)

Social Sciences Online Courses

• Protecting Business Innovations via Patent from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ★★★★★(159)
• Social Psychology from Wesleyan University ★★★★★(88)
• Protecting Business Innovations via Copyright from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ★★★★★(64)
• Protecting Business Innovations via Trademark from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ★★★★★(53)
• Greening the Economy: Sustainable Cities from Lund University ★★★★★(53)
• EU policy and implementation: making Europe work! from Leiden University ★★★★★(51)
• Chinese Politics Part 1 – China and Political Science from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ★★★★★(36)
• The Science of Well-Being from Yale University ★★★★★(29)
• Introduction to Psychology from University of Toronto ★★★★★(27)
• Introduction to Sustainability from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ★★★★☆(16)
• Security & Safety Challenges in a Globalized World from Leiden University ★★★★★(16)
• Understanding Research Methods from University of London International Programmes ★★★★☆(15)
• Chinese Politics Part 2 – China and the World from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ★★★★★(15)
• America’s Written Constitution from Yale University ★★★★☆(10)
• Risk in Modern Society from Leiden University ★★★★★(8)
• Positive Psychology: Applications and Interventions from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★★(7)

Computer Science Online Courses

• Computational Social Science Methods from University of California, Davis ★★★★★(115)
• Computer Simulations from University of California, Davis ★★★★★(42)
• Computational Social Science Capstone Project from University of California, Davis ★★★★★(31)
• Fundamentals of Reinforcement Learning from University of Alberta ★★★★★(24)
• Algorithmic Thinking (Part 1) from Rice University ★★★★☆(15)
• Introduction to the Internet of Things and Embedded Systems from University of California, Irvine ★★★★☆(13)
• Algorithmic Thinking (Part 2) from Rice University ★★★★☆(9)
• Interfacing with the Arduino from University of California, Irvine ★★★★☆(7)
• C for Everyone: Programming Fundamentals from University of California, Santa Cruz ★★★★☆(5)
• The Unix Workbench from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★★(4)
• Programming Languages, Part B from University of Washington ★★★★☆(4)
• Machine Learning for Data Analysis from Wesleyan University ★★★★☆(4)
• Machine Learning with Python from IBM ★★★★★(4)
• Leading Change in Health Informatics from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★★(3)

Art & Design Online Courses

• Gamification from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★★(58)
• Fundamentals of Music Theory from University of Edinburgh ★★★★☆(25)
• Songwriting: Writing the Lyrics from Berklee College of Music ★★★★★(25)
• Fundamentals of Graphic Design from California Institute of the Arts ★★★★☆(22)
• Guitar for Beginners from Berklee College of Music ★★★★★(22)
• The 3D Printing Revolution from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ★★★★★(19)
• Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★☆(18)
• Developing Your Musicianship from Berklee College of Music ★★★★★(16)
• Introduction to Game Design from California Institute of the Arts ★★★★★(14)
• Roman Architecture from Yale University ★★★★☆(13)
• 3D Printing Software from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ★★★★★(13)

Mathematics Online Courses

• Introduction to Mathematical Thinking from Stanford University ★★★★☆(53)
• Probability and Statistics: To p or not to p? from University of London International Programmes ★★★★★(3)
• Introduction to Complex Analysis from Wesleyan University ★★★★★(3)
• Estadística aplicada a los negocios from Universidad Austral ★★★★☆(2)
• Bayesian Statistics: Techniques and Models from University of California, Santa Cruz ★★★★★(1)
• Improving your statistical inferences from Eindhoven University of Technology ★★★★★(1)
• Introduction to Linear Algebra and Python from Howard University ★★★★★(1)
• What are the Chances? Probability and Uncertainty in Statistics from Johns Hopkins University
• R을 사용한 확률 및 데이터 소개 from Duke University
• Inferenzstatistik from Duke University

Science Online Courses

• Climate Change Mitigation in Developing Countries from University of Cape Town ★★★★★(31)
• Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life from The University of Chicago ★★★★★(28)
• Astronomy: Exploring Time and Space from University of Arizona ★★★★★(23)
• Introduction to Forensic Science from Nanyang Technological University ★★★★☆(17)
• Disaster Preparedness from University of Pittsburgh ★★★★☆(13)
• Epigenetic Control of Gene Expression from University of Melbourne ★★★★★(10)
• Gut Check: Exploring Your Microbiome from University of Colorado Boulder ★★★★☆(10)
• Global Warming I: The Science and Modeling of Climate Change from The University of Chicago ★★★★☆(9)
• Water Supply and Sanitation Policy in Developing Countries Part 1: Understanding Complex Problems from University of Manchester ★★★★★(8)
• Greening the Economy: Lessons from Scandinavia from Lund University ★★★★☆(7)
• Visual Perception and the Brain from Duke University ★★★★☆(6)

Engineering Online Courses

• Our Energy Future from University of California, San Diego ★★★★★(7)
• Introduction to Systems Engineering from University of New South Wales ★★★★★(5)
• BIM Fundamentals for Engineers from National Taiwan University ★★★★☆(3)
• Introduction to GIS Mapping from University of Toronto ★★★★★(2)
• Imagery, Automation, and Applications from University of California, Davis ★★★★★(2)
• GIS Data Formats, Design and Quality from University of California, Davis ★★★★★(2)
• Geodesign: Change Your World from Pennsylvania State University ★★★★☆(2)
• Global Energy and Climate Policy from SOAS University of London ★★★★★(2)
• Solar Energy Basics from State University of New York ★★★★★(1)
• Solar Energy System Design from State University of New York ★★★★★(1)
• GIS, Mapping, and Spatial Analysis Capstone from University of Toronto ★★★★★(1)

Information Security (InfoSec) Online Courses

• Cyber Threats and Attack Vectors from University of Colorado System ★★★★☆(2)
• Introduction to Cybersecurity for Business from University of Colorado System ★★★★★(2)
• Proactive Computer Security from University of Colorado System ★★★★★(1)
• Hacking and Patching from University of Colorado System ★★★★★(1)
• Cybersecurity Capstone: Breach Response Case Studies from IBM ★★★★★(1)
• Security Operations and Administration from (ISC)² ★★★★★(1)
• Systems and Application Security from (ISC)² ★★★★☆(1)
• Identifying, Monitoring, and Analyzing Risk and Incident Response and Recovery from (ISC)² ★★★★☆(1)
• Introduction to DevSecOps from Johns Hopkins University
• Personnel & Third-Party Security from University of California, Irvine