What is the Metaverse? (Coursera)

Offered by Meta,
What is the Metaverse? (Coursera)

The metaverse isn’t just for gamers or developers, it will be for everyone. In this free course from the experts at Meta, you’ll learn what the metaverse is, what it means for our world today and into the future, and the opportunities it presents for both professionals and businesses. Understand the metaverse fundamentals.
Experts will guide you through a broad range of topics spanning the metaverse ecosystem, from communication and collaboration to NFTs and cryptocurrency, from avatars and devices to platforms and game engines. You’ll learn about augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), extended reality, NFTs, blockchain, web3, cryptocurrency, and more.

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

Discover new ways to connect, learn, and work
The metaverse provides new ways to connect people, websites, platforms and realities. You’ll explore how it will enhance online social experiences, the future of work and learning.
Opportunities for professionals and businesses
The metaverse will be built by everyone, with creative and practical applications being developed every day by imaginative people. Learn how the metaverse will be applied in areas like healthcare, education, city planning, art, and more—and how you can start creating these experiences today. You’ll also learn how the metaverse can make the world a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive place.
By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped with the fundamental knowledge of the metaverse to determine future areas of interest, learning, or professional growth.

What You Will Learn

  • Access and engage with the metaverse and discuss the potential impact of the metaverse
  • Explore the importance of creating a metaverse that is ethical, safe, inclusive, and accessible.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
What is the metaverse?
In this module, you will take your first steps into the metaverse, exploring what it is, how to interact with it, and how to communicate and connect with others within it. You'll also examine the ecological ramifications of the metaverse, and the role of decentralization in making the metaverse more ethical, inclusive, and accessible.

WEEK 2
Who is creating the metaverse?
In this module, you will explore how the metaverse will be made by identifying the architects of the metaverse, as well as the devices, platforms, and game engines they will use to build it and you will use to interact with it. You will also explore how extended reality (XR) is used in the metaverse, and the role of the creator economy.

WEEK 3
Metaverse verticals
In this module, you will explore how the metaverse will impact various verticals, including education, healthcare, city planning, and civic engagement. You will also examine what communication, marketing, and design will look like in the metaverse, and what it will mean to engage with art, entertainment, and sports in the metaverse.

WEEK 4
Money in the metaverse
In this module, you will define blockchain and crypotcurrency as you examine how commerce will work in the metaverse, explore the implications of a decentralized metaverse economy, and discuss economic trends and opportunities in the metaverse.

WEEK 5
Metaverse responsibility
In this module, you will explore the ways in which the metaverse can—and must—be built with diversity, equity, and inclusion in mind, how to build a safe and secure metaverse, and protecting intellectual property in the metaverse. You will also discuss the importance of centering ethics when building the multiverse.

WEEK 6
How will we build the metaverse?
In this module, you will explore the possibilities of the metaverse, focusing on research and development opportunities, how university and enterprise partnerships will help the metaverse evolve, and the infrastructure changes needed to support the growth and development of the metaverse.

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

Related Courses

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Primitives (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Primitives (Coursera)

DeFi and the Future of Finance is a set of four courses that focus on decentralized finance. The second course is called DeFi Primitives. It is recommended that you take the first course, DeFi Infrastructure, before this course. In this course, we talk about transaction mechanics and introduce both fungible and non-fungible tokens – or NFTs. The course explores the important issue of custody (holding private keys). The course then explores supply adjustment which includes the minting and burning of tokens.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
Introdução às Tecnologias Blockchain (Coursera) Coursera
INSEAD

Introdução às Tecnologias Blockchain (Coursera)

Nesse primeiro curso de especialização, discutiremos as limitações da internet para os negócios e atividades econômicas, e explicaremos como a tecnologia blockchain representa o caminho ara evoluir. Depois de completar esse curso, você será capaz de explicar como a blockchain é, como funciona, e porque é revolucionária.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
3D Interaction Design in Virtual Reality (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,Goldsmiths, University of London

3D Interaction Design in Virtual Reality (Coursera)

This course will teach you about one of the most important aspects of VR, how you interact with a VR world. Virtual Reality is completely different from an on screen app or game. You are completely immersed in a VR world, so it doesn't make sense to interact only through buttons or menus. You will get the most out of VR if you can interact with the world just as you would with the real world: with your natural body movements.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
Web3 and Blockchain Leadership for Transformation (Coursera) Coursera
INSEAD

Web3 and Blockchain Leadership for Transformation (Coursera)

For most of the last century, critical advances in technology were happening inside large, well-funded industrial R&D machines that dotted the Western world. Today’s landscape, however, is very different. Even the largest and most sophisticated corporate leaders can no longer dominate their fields or dictate the pace of development. With companies across sectors seeking to harness the transformative potential of blockchain technologies, the blockchain ecosystem is an exemplar of new models of industry collaboration. In this course you will learn about various stakeholders in the blockchain ecosystem and the leadership roles they need to play in order to steward the blockchain revolution in global commerce.

Jun 28th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Análise de oportunidade de Blockchain (Coursera) Coursera
INSEAD

Análise de oportunidade de Blockchain (Coursera)

Neste quarto e último curso da especialização, você sintetizará seu aprendizado em uma entrega do projeto chamada Análise de Oportunidade Blockchain. Os objetivos deste curso são duplos: primeiro, é para você identificar uma necessidade ou problema específico no setor escolhido que pode ser potencialmente resolvido usando a tecnologia blockchain. Segundo, cabe a você investigar possíveis soluções para esse problema, incluindo como essas soluções podem ser executadas.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
User Experience & Interaction Design for AR/VR/MR/XR (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

User Experience & Interaction Design for AR/VR/MR/XR (Coursera)

This second course in the XR for Everybody specialization looks at how to design new user experiences for XR technologies. The course provides learners with a design thinking mindset and equips them with a fundamental toolbox for creating XR applications using rapid prototyping. It starts with a broad overview of the complete XR design process, discussing different paths to becoming an XR creator, what is generally involved in making XR experiences, and how to best get started.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
Making Your First Virtual Reality Game (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,Goldsmiths, University of London

Making Your First Virtual Reality Game (Coursera)

Virtual Reality is one of the most exciting experiences that technology can give us. The immersion and presence you can have in VR is quite unlike any other medium. Like many others, you are excited about the possibilities of this new medium and want to get started developing your own VR experiences. This course will take you through all of the steps you need to create a VR game or other project.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Future Development in Supply Chain Finance and Blockchain Technology (Coursera) Coursera
New York Institute of Finance

Future Development in Supply Chain Finance and Blockchain Technology (Coursera)

This course focuses on future developments in Supply Chain Finance such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). This course covers the basic concepts of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), the key features as well as the benefits the solution represents for Supply Chain Finance.

Jun 22nd 2026
3 Weeks
Blockchain Opportunity Analysis (Coursera) Coursera
INSEAD

Blockchain Opportunity Analysis (Coursera)

In this fourth and final course of the specialization, you will synthesize your learning into a project deliverable called a Blockchain Opportunity Analysis. The goals of this course are twofold: One, it’s for you to identify a specific need or problem in your chosen industry that can potentially be solved using blockchain technology. Two, it’s for you to investigate possible solutions to this problem, including how these solutions might be executed.

Jun 22nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Building Interactive 3D Characters and Social VR (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,Goldsmiths, University of London

Building Interactive 3D Characters and Social VR (Coursera)

Meeting another person is one of the most amazing experiences you can have in Virtual Reality. It is quite unlike communicating through any other medium except a real life face-to-face conversation. Because the other person is life size and shares a virtual space with you, body language works in a way that cannot be done on a flat screen. This course will enable you to create realistic social interactions in VR.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks
Introduction to Supply Chain Finance & Blockchain Technology (Coursera) Coursera
New York Institute of Finance

Introduction to Supply Chain Finance & Blockchain Technology (Coursera)

What is Supply Chain Finance? How does Blockchain apply? In this course, you’ll learn about an emerging set of solutions within trade finance implemented by financial institutions, leading corporate buyers and their trading partners all over the world known as Supply Chain Finance. You’ll learn about the key enablers in Supply Chain Finance and recognize the key challenges in the current market that are responsible for the growing interest in Supply Chain Finance.

Jun 22nd 2026
4 Weeks