Coursera

The Science of Well-Being (Coursera)

Offered by Yale University,

In this course you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life.

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

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Introduction

WEEK 2
Misconceptions About Happiness
What do we think will make us happy?

WEEK 3
Why Our Expectations are so Bad
Why do we mispredict what makes us happy?

WEEK 4
How Can We Overcome Our Biases
How we counteract our annoying features of the mind?

WEEK 5
Stuff that Really Makes Us Happy
What can we do to improve our happiness?

WEEK 6
Putting Strategies into Practice
How can we intentionally put these strategies into practice and build healthier habits?

WEEK 7
Start Your Final Rewirement Challenge
What rewirement will you commit to for the next 4 weeks?

WEEK 8
Continue Your Rewirement Challenge
How can you rely on others to help you change your behaviors?

WEEK 9
Continue Your Rewirement Challenge
How can you design your environment to help you change your behaviors?

WEEK 10
Submit Your Final Assignment
What mindset can you have to appreciate your progress so far and continue your progress beyond the course?

Go to Class

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

Related Courses

Coursera

University of Colorado Boulder

Leading Oneself with Personal Excellence (Coursera)

Personal and Professional Development

Before we can lead others well, we must first learn to lead ourselves well. Knowing personal excellence is the culmination of this journey. In this course, you will describe how and why to set goals and create action plans, increase your focus and reduce distraction, harness motivation and flow state for performance, build self-efficacy and agency, and redefine your relationship with stress, anxiety, fear and adversity.

Oct 12th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Leadership Motivation Happiness

Coursera

Rice University

Mindfulness and Well-being: Peace in, Peace Out (Coursera)

Health & Society

The purpose of this course is to introduce mindfulness as a robust tool for spiritual development. Highlighting its rich traditional roots, the course explores the capacity of mindfulness to expand understanding about the nature of human consciousness and facilitate certain transcendent emotional experiences, including awe, wonder and flow.

Oct 12th 2026

4 Weeks

Nature Mindfulness Spirituality

Coursera

University of Florida

Healing with the Arts (Coursera)

Personal and Professional Development

Through art projects—including visual arts, dance, writing, and music—along with spiritual practices and guided imagery, Healing With the Arts gives you the tools to heal what you need to heal in your life: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Nov 2nd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Health Music Art

Coursera

University of Colorado System

Psychosocial and Spiritual Aspects of Palliative Care (Coursera)

Health & Society

In this course, you’ll learn how serious and life-threatening illnesses often affect emotional and spiritual well-being. Illnesses can increase stress as patients and families learn to live with a “new normal” that may often focus on illness. You’ll learn how to tell when normal sadness (or grief) becomes something more serious and needs to be addressed.

Oct 12th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Health Healthcare Psychology

Coursera

Rice University

Mindfulness and Well-being: Living with Balance and Ease (Coursera)

Health & Society

This is the sequel course to Foundations of Mindfulness that will continue to provide a broad overview of the fundamental concepts, principles, and practices of mindfulness. With interactive exercises to help students explore their own attitudes, mental habits and behaviors, Foundations of Mindfulness series offers a pathway for living with more freedom, authenticity and ease. Featured components of the course include experiential exercises, guided meditations, personal reflection and interactive discussions.

Oct 12th 2026

4 Weeks

Health Mind Psychology

Coursera

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology - KAIST

Meditation: A way to achieve your goals in your life (Coursera)

Humanities

Do we truly think that we have lived for ourselves? Perhaps we have lived for money, love, fame, family and pride etc.? Therefore, we don’t seem to be satisfied even though we are full of those things. It is because that we don’t know ourselves. Eric Fromm talked about human nature as two modes of being: “To Have” and “To Be”. If we are “Having” the nature of possessions, we are not satisfied, and feel empty and futile. Then, how can we be “Being” the nature of our inner-selves? Sometimes, we happened to be aware of this “Being” nature and try to change ourselves, but fail. But, because of our daily routines, it’s easily forgotten. And more it is hard to escape from our unwanted minds controlling us.

Oct 26th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Health Mind Happiness

Coursera

Universidad de los Andes

Diseño de proyectos para promover el bienestar (Coursera)

Social Sciences

Tú y yo, al igual que la mayoría de personas, con las acciones que realizamos tenemos el propósito de mejorar las circunstancias en las que viven las personas. Pero ¿Cómo llevamos a cabo esa tarea? ¿Qué tan claro tenemos qué es lo que queremos hacer, para qué lo queremos hacer y cómo lo vamos a hacer? ¿Qué tanto anticipamos los posibles resultados de lo que proponemos y los factores del contexto que pueden facilitarlos u obstaculizarlos para aprovecharlos o contrarrestarlos? ¿Cómo sustentamos que con lo que hacemos efectivamente podemos contribuir al bienestar de las personas? Nuestra experiencia nos muestra que muchas iniciativas para promover el bienestar se realizan sin que previamente se adelante un proceso riguroso de planificación.

Oct 26th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Wellbeing Project Design

Coursera

University of California, Santa Cruz

The Career Design Lab: Change your Job, Change your Life (Coursera)

Personal and Professional Development

If your work isn’t fulfilling, now is the time to change direction and design a life you love. This course is for people at any life stage who want a job they enjoy and a career aligned with their values. If you’re languishing at work or feel like quiet quitting is your only option, why not change careers and flourish professionally? University of California Santa Cruz life design educator Remy Franklin will guide you through the career design process from start to finish in 4-8 weeks.

Oct 19th 2026

4 Weeks

Career Mindfulness Positive Psychology

Coursera

University of Pennsylvania

The Science of Generosity: Do Good...Feel Good (Coursera)

Personal and Professional Development Lifestyle

What does it mean to be generous? Can doing good actually make you feel good? In this course, we’ll hear from multiple experts and explore the many facets of generosity by looking closely at the meanings, traits, and motivations behind giving behaviors across communities and cultures. We’ll discuss how generosity contributes to our own happiness and well-being as well as the happiness and well-being of our loved ones, our local communities, and our global society.

Nov 2nd 2026

4 Weeks

Personal Development Happiness Wellbeing

Coursera

University of Colorado Boulder

The Changing Status and Perception of Animals (Coursera)

Social Sciences

In this course, we explore how mainstream understandings of animals and human-animal relationships have changed in recent years. Module 1 focuses on the roles of animals in human physical health and psychological well being. Module 2 explores animal selfhood, particularly in light of their inability to use spoken language. Finally, Module 3 examines some of the collective efforts undertaken when the treatment or use of animals comes to be seen as inhumane, immoral, and worthy of ameliorative social action.

Oct 19th 2026

3 Weeks

Animals Animal Welfare Human Health

Coursera

Berklee College of Music

Music for Wellness (Coursera)

Film & Audio

You love music. You listen to music all the time. Maybe you sing, play an instrument, or compose music. You don’t need to have musical talent to use music to enhance your well being, and even your health. Learn simple techniques to enrich your mind, body, and spirit through music. The methods can be applied in your daily life, particularly when you are feeling down or stressed out.

Oct 12th 2026

4 Weeks

Music Art Creativity

Coursera

Yale University

The Science of Well-Being for Teens (Coursera)

Personal and Professional Development

A recent survey found that 37% of teens say they have poor mental health. This 6-week course aims to curb this mental health crisis by bringing together the best insights from Dr. Laurie Santos’ popular Yale course Psychology and the Good Life. In this course, you will explore what the field of psychology teaches us about how to be happier, how to feel less stressed, and how to thrive in high school and beyond. The lessons along with short weekly ‘happiness homework’ assignments will ultimately prepare you to put these scientific findings into practice. The ultimate goal is for you to feel better and build healthier habits. Parents, teachers, and other professionals supporting teenagers may also find the course beneficial.

Oct 19th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Psychology Mental Health Happiness