Career advice

Get Creative

Get creative with free online courses from top universities and creative organisations. Explore acting, animation, filmmaking, poetry, songwriting or creative writing courses.

Develop your creative skills with these free online courses

  • Start storytelling

    Discover how to tell compelling stories in different mediums and master how to write successful fiction, poetry and songs.

  • Learn how to make a film

    Explore the process of filmmaking, from learning how to make your own visual effects and promoting a film, to going behind the scenes of feature filmmaking.

  • Make music

    Understand how and why music affects us and then learn how to write powerful music yourself.

  • Find a new creative career

    Discover a creative vocation, find a new hobby or develop a new skill - from commercial photography to performance to running a fashion business.

Develop your creativity with these FutureLearn courses

The University of Sheffield

How to Write Your First Song

4.6 (79 reviews)

Get a practical introduction to the mechanics of songwriting and meet established songwriters with this free online course

6 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
UEA (University of East Anglia)

An Introduction to Screenwriting

4.8 (255 reviews)

This online course explores the key concepts and fundamental principles involved in the process of screenwriting.

2 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
Goldsmiths, University of London

Learn Jazz Piano: II. Improvising on Jazz Standards

Explore improvisation in jazz music and further develop your ability to improvise jazz piano.

6 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
The Open University

Start Writing Fiction

4.7 (196 reviews)

Get started with your own fiction writing, focusing on the central skill of creating characters, with this hands-on course.

8 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
National Film and Television School

Explore Animation

4.7 (22 reviews)

Learn animation techniques, including stop motion, 2D, CGI and pixilation, with award-winning animators, in this NFTS course.

4 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
University of Leeds

Effective Fundraising and Leadership in Arts and Culture

4.8 (13 reviews)

Improve your chances of raising funds for arts and culture by developing your leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

2 weeks

4 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

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University of Leeds

Physical Theatre: Exploring the Slap

Learn about Meyerhold’s form of physical theatre, biomechanics, and understand and perform ‘The Slap’.

2 weeks

2 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

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London College of Fashion & Kering

Fashion and Sustainability: Understanding Luxury Fashion in a Changing World

4.9 (111 reviews)

Get an introduction to issues, agendas and contexts relating to fashion and sustainability in a changing world.

6 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
National Film and Television School

Explore Filmmaking: from Script to Screen

4.9 (91 reviews)

Learn from award-winning filmmakers how films go from script to screen with this film production course from the BFI Film Academy.

6 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
Goldsmiths, University of London

Learn Jazz Piano: I. Begin with the Blues

4.5 (16 reviews)

Get an introduction to the wonderful world of playing jazz piano and learn to play and improvise on the blues and a jazz standard.

6 weeks

2 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
Manchester Metropolitan University

How To Make A Poem

4.8 (257 reviews)

Learn how to 'make' your own poetry by exploring different poetic techniques and styles.

3 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

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Keio University

Exploring Japanese Avant-garde Art Through Butoh Dance

4.8 (9 reviews)

See how Japanese art absorbed, refigured and influenced Western art in the 20th century through Hijikata Tatsumi's butoh dance.

4 weeks

4 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more

The benefits of taking a creative course online with FutureLearn

Learn online, for free, wherever you are

From Filmmaking and songwriting, to creative writing and careers in music, expand your creative skillset for free. Learn on desktop, tablet or mobile.

Upgrade or buy Unlimited for extra benefits

Upgrade your course for ongoing access to the course content, tests, and the chance to gain a Certificate of Achievement. Buy Unlimited for access to hundreds of short courses in a year and the ability to keep access to courses you gain a certificate on.

Meet professional creatives

Learn with experts from top universities and creative organisations. Expand your creative network using social learning.