Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT (Coursera)

Offered by Vanderbilt University,
Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT (Coursera)

ChatGPT and other large language models are going to be more important in your life and business than your smartphone, if you use them right. ChatGPT can tutor your child in math, generate a meal plan and recipes, write software applications for your business, help you improve your personal cybersecurity, and that is just in the first hour that you use it. This course will teach you how to be an expert user of these generative AI tools. The course will show amazing examples of how you can tap into these generative AI tools' emergent intelligence and reasoning, how you can use them to be more productive day to day, and give you insight into how they work.

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

Large language models respond to instructions and questions posed by users in natural language statements, known as “prompts”. Although large language models will disrupt many fields, most users lack the skills to write effective prompts. Expert users, who understand how to write good prompts, are orders of magnitude more productive and can unlock significantly more creative uses for these tools.
This course introduces students to the patterns and approaches for writing effective prompts for large language models. Anyone can take the course and the only required knowledge is basic computer usage skills, such as using a browser and accessing ChatGPT. Students will start with basic prompts and build towards writing sophisticated prompts to solve problems in any domain. By the end of the course, students will have strong prompt engineering skills and be capable of using large language models for a wide range of tasks in their job, business, personal life, and education, such as writing, summarization, game play, planning, simulation, and programming.

What You Will Learn

  • How to apply prompt engineering to effectively work with large language models, like ChatGPT
  • How to use prompt patterns to tap into powerful capabilities within large language models
  • How to create complex prompt-based applications for your life, business, or education

Syllabus

WEEK 1: Course Introduction
WEEK 2: Introduction to Prompts
WEEK 3: Prompt Patterns I
WEEK 4: Few-Shot Examples
WEEK 5: Prompt Patterns II
WEEK 6: Prompt Patterns III

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

Related Courses

Navigating Generative AI: A CEO Playbook (Coursera) Coursera
Coursera Instructor Network

Navigating Generative AI: A CEO Playbook (Coursera)

Created by Coursera's CEO, this course is your key to unlocking the transformative power of GenAI. It features hands-on labs with access to Google Gemini Pro in a secure, private environment. These labs not only teach you how to use GenAI, but also how to apply it to design your GenAI strategy, identify specific opportunities to enhance customer value, increase productivity, and navigate risks and ethical considerations in order to move quickly but safely in adopting generative AI.

Jun 25th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The AI Awakening: Implications for the Economy and Society (Coursera) Coursera
Stanford University

The AI Awakening: Implications for the Economy and Society (Coursera)

This course explores how the advances in artificial intelligence can and will transform our economy and society in the near future. You will hear insights from esteemed AI researchers and industry leaders in technology, economics, and business. The curriculum addresses the technological underpinnings of Generative AI, its profound implications for businesses and the broader economy, and the potential risks associated with AI-driven transformations in the workforce.

Jun 22nd 2026
3 Weeks
The Role of the CEO in Navigating GenAI (Coursera) Coursera
Coursera Instructor Network

The Role of the CEO in Navigating GenAI (Coursera)

This course is designed to guide CEOs and senior leaders on their journey to understanding and leveraging Generative AI. It focuses on the critical role of the CEO in navigating the transformative potential of GenAI. Guest speakers, Andrew Ng (Co-founder and Chairman of Coursera) and Hayden Brown (CEO of Upwork) provide their perspectives on the importance of this journey and how leaders can maximize their impact.

Jun 22nd 2026
1 Week
AI for Business: Generation & Prediction (Coursera) Coursera
Coursera Instructor Network

AI for Business: Generation & Prediction (Coursera)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not a new technology, it has been in development for decades. Today, however, AI is in the spotlight as it reshapes the way businesses operate, innovate, and engage with customers. Generative AI stands at the forefront of this transformation. This course demonstrates the foundations and practices of using Generative AI in Business settings.

Jun 22nd 2026
1 Week
Building Generative AI Capabilities (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

Building Generative AI Capabilities (Coursera)

The Building a Generative AI Capabilities course provides you with the holistic insights of AI in marketing and the impact of the internal and external strategic considerations of AI to support and sustain marketing strategies. You will learn how to successfully develop an AI strategy and roadmap for your organization using the AI Marketing Canvas and understand how the AI Marketing Canvas supports AI from a non-traditional data-based approach as a competitive advantage.

Jun 22nd 2026
3 Weeks
Advertising in the Age of Generative AI (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

Advertising in the Age of Generative AI (Coursera)

The Advertising in the Age of Generative AI course provides you with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to build and maintain a clear and strong brand that is distinguishable from the competition and builds customer loyalty, familiarity, and comfortability. This course will allow for you to appropriately practice using Generative AI to generate compelling and effective logos as part of a brand strategy.

Jun 22nd 2026
2 Weeks
Customer Service in the Age of Generative AI (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

Customer Service in the Age of Generative AI (Coursera)

The Customer Service in the Age of Generative AI course provides you with the essential knowledge to use Generative AI to build and develop chatbots for customer engagement and customer support. In this course, you will learn how personalized chatbots are impactful and essential for customers and how the continuous need to evaluate and enhance chatbots to meet customer expectations and needs effectively. In this course, you will ,learn how chatbots can be leveraged to provide more targeted and customized messages to deliver more relevant and engaging information, support, and service to customers.

Jun 22nd 2026
2 Weeks
Building Generative AI-Powered Applications with Python (Coursera) Coursera
IBM

Building Generative AI-Powered Applications with Python (Coursera)

Ready for an interactive learning experience to develop applications and chatbots for diverse use cases using generative AI? This course provides an opportunity to work on guided projects that provide step-by-step instructions to build generative AI-powered applications. You'll utilize Python, along with related libraries like Flask and Gradio, and frameworks such as Langchain.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Generative AI: Prompt Engineering Basics (Coursera) Coursera
IBM

Generative AI: Prompt Engineering Basics (Coursera)

This course is designed for everyone, including professionals, executives, students, and enthusiasts interested in leveraging effective prompt engineering techniques to unlock the full potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT. Prompt engineering is a process to effectively guide generative AI models and control their output to produce desired results. In this course, you will learn the techniques, approaches, and best practices for writing effective prompts.

Jun 22nd 2026
3 Weeks