Financial Markets (Coursera)

Offered by Yale University,
Financial Markets (Coursera)

An overview of the ideas, methods, and institutions that permit human society to manage risks and foster enterprise. Emphasis on financially-savvy leadership skills. Description of practices today and analysis of prospects for the future. Introduction to risk management and behavioral finance principles to understand the real-world functioning of securities, insurance, and banking industries. The ultimate goal of this course is using such industries effectively and towards a better society.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Welcome to the course! In this opening module, you will learn the basics of financial markets, insurance, and CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model). This module serves as the foundation of this course.

WEEK 2
In this next module, dive into some details of behavioral finance, forecasting, pricing, debt, and inflation.

WEEK 3
Stocks, bonds, dividends, shares, market caps; what are these? Who needs them? Why? Module 3 explores these concepts, along with corporation basics and some basic financial markets history.

WEEK 4
Take a look into the recent past, exploring recessions, bubbles, the mortgage crisis, and regulation.

WEEK 5
Options and bond markets are explored in module 5, important components of financial markets.

WEEK 6
In module 6, Professor Shiller introduces investment banking, underwriting processes, brokers, dealers, exchanges, and new innovations in financial markets.

WEEK 7
Professor Shiller's final module includes lectures about nonprofits and corporations, and your career in finance.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Introduction to Economic Theories (Coursera) Coursera
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Introduction to Economic Theories (Coursera)

Wondering why economists have not predicted serious financial crises? Shocked by economic assumptions of human behavior as self-centered and focusing only on what can be measured? Asking yourself if there are no sensible economic alternatives to free markets? Then you are at the right place to learn economics! This is the first online course that teaches economics from a pluralist perspective. Economic pluralism means that a plurality of theoretical and methodological viewpoints is regarded as valuable in itself and is simply the best way in which economics can make progress in understanding the world.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Financial Reporting Capstone (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Financial Reporting Capstone (Coursera)

The Capstone is the culminating project in the Financial Reporting Specialization. You will have the opportunity to combine the concepts and techniques obtained through all the courses in this specialization (Accounting Analysis I: The Role of Accounting as an Information System, Accounting Analysis I: Measurement and Disclosure of Assets, Accounting Analysis II: Measurement and Disclosure of Liabilities, and Accounting Analysis II: Accounting for Liabilities and Equity) and apply them to a real world accounting project.

Nov 2nd 2026
3 Weeks
Risk in Modern Society (Coursera) Coursera
Leiden University,LDE Centre for Safety and Security

Risk in Modern Society (Coursera)

Risk has become one of the defining features of modern society. Almost daily, we are preoccupied with assessing, discussing, or preventing a wide variety of risks. It is a cornerstone notion for businesses and organizations, but also for nation states and their many levels of government. And even for individuals, risk and the avoidance or embracing thereof, is a key theme. The course Risk in Modern Society sheds light on the broad concept of risk.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Engineering Project Management: Risk, Quality, Teams, and Procurement (Coursera) Coursera
Rice University

Engineering Project Management: Risk, Quality, Teams, and Procurement (Coursera)

Many Project Managers focus only on the scope, schedule and budget. However, a successful project requires that you manage risk, control the quality of the deliverables, engage and manage people and procure goods and services. This course will focus on these key support functions that make the difference between a highly successful project and an average one. During the course, you will prepare a Qualitative Risk Analysis and Evaluate the Cost of Quality for a provided Case Study.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
After the Arab Spring – Democratic Aspirations and State Failure (Coursera) Coursera
University of Copenhagen

After the Arab Spring – Democratic Aspirations and State Failure (Coursera)

Learn why the hope and excitement of the Arab Spring is gone, why so many Arab states are falling apart, why the youth are so frustrated, why there are so many refugees, and what can be done about it. The so-called Arab Spring appeared to end decades of exceptionalism and bring the Arab world back into the mainstream of global developments. The rebellions promised the return of politics and the reassertion of popular sovereignty against their corrupt and geriatric leaders. Much hope and flowery language greeted the young men and women who deposed their leaders and tried to build new, better societies.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies (Coursera) Coursera
Case Western Reserve University

Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies (Coursera)

The path for entrepreneurs to grow their companies outside of well-developed entrepreneurial ecosystems like Silicon Valley is challenging. Most markets around the world do not look like Silicon Valley, and they never will. But there are other models to support new businesses. In transitioning markets (where entrepreneurs do not have much access to private sector financing), government officials, donors, and business leaders are experimenting with creative approaches to support the growth of entrepreneurs. Northeast Ohio, whose largest city is Cleveland, is one such community. During our time together in this course, we will be exploring some of these innovative approaches.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Power of Markets I: The Basics of Supply and Demand and Consumer Behavior (Coursera) Coursera
University of Rochester

The Power of Markets I: The Basics of Supply and Demand and Consumer Behavior (Coursera)

This opening module of the Power of Markets course covers the basic assumptions about market participants made by economists, the concept of opportunity cost, and the key determinants of supply and demand. We will then learn how to use the supply-demand framework to explain and predict market outcomes and to show how government policies affect those market outcomes. We will look at how quantity demanded and supplied respond to their key determinants in quantitative (elasticity) as well as qualitative terms. The last two weeks of the first module will investigate consumer behavior more closely and show how consumer choices are driven by the interplay of preferences and budget constraints.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks
Conflict Resolution Skills (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Irvine

Conflict Resolution Skills (Coursera)

Resolving conflict in a positive manner is a skill that can be developed and practiced. Being heard can be one of the most important goals of someone engaged in conflict. Knowing how to listen and deploy appropriate communication tactics is determinative of whether a conflict will have a positive or negative resolution. Examine listening skills, appropriate and strategic verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and how to assemble a conflict management plan likely to yield positive resolutions.

Oct 26th 2026
3 Weeks
Power Onboarding (Coursera) Coursera
Northwestern University

Power Onboarding (Coursera)

Power Onboarding provides practical, easy-to-use tools to guide an individual who is transitioning to a new job. Students will prepare an actionable personal onboarding plan that will set them up for success in their new role. Research has shown that an actively followed power onboarding plan will allow an individual to reach proficiency in a new position up to 30% faster than the typical transitioning manager. In this course, students will develop their own onboarding plan, allowing them to contribute sooner and be eligible for promotion earlier.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks
Finance for Non-Finance Professionals (Coursera) Coursera
Rice University

Finance for Non-Finance Professionals (Coursera)

This short course surveys all the major topics covered in a full semester MBA level finance course, but with a more intuitive approach on a very high conceptual level. The goal here is give you a roadmap and framework for how financial professional make decisions. We will cover the basics of financial valuation, the time value of money, compounding returns, and discounting the future. You will understand discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation and how it compares to other methods. We also step inside the mind of a corporate financial manager and develop the basic tools of capital budgeting. We will survey the how, when, and where to spend money, make tradeoffs about investment, growth, dividends, and how to ensure sound fiscal discipline.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Power of Markets III: Input Markets and Promoting Efficiency (Coursera) Coursera
University of Rochester

The Power of Markets III: Input Markets and Promoting Efficiency (Coursera)

The final module of the Power of Markets course begins by further exploring firm behavior in imperfectly competitive market settings: how firms with monopoly power can increase profits through price discrimination; and the price-output combinations we can expect firms to select in cases of monopolistic competition and oligopoly. We will also analyze monopolies from an efficiency perspective and look at the effects of imperfect information on firm and consumer behavior. We will next turn to exploring input markets and what determines the demand for an input by a firm, an industry, and the overall market.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks