9 BEST Software Engineering & Development Courses (2023)
Matthew Martin
The best software engineering courses provide critical knowledge, skills, experience, and certification that help you progress professionally. Industry experts and reputed teachers teach some of the best courses. These courses can help you secure high-paying jobs/internships as a software engineer.
It is best for you to rely only on the best courses that provide valuable certification. Our team has reviewed 60+ top online courses to find the nine best software engineering courses best suited for your needs. Our evaluations were based on course duration, rating, pricing, difficulty, etc.
Best Software Engineering Courses for Software Developers
| Course Name | Provider | Duration | Difficulty | Rating | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Development Lifecycle Specialisation | Coursera | 4 Months | Intermediate | 4.6 | Learn More |
| Software Engineering 101: Plan and Execute Better Software | Udemy | 8 Hours | Beginner | 4.6 | Learn More |
| Essential New Skills in Software Engineering | Skillshare | 26 minutes – 1 hour 14 minutes | Intermediate – Advanced | Not Mentioned | Learn More |
| Software Engineering Essentials | edX | 10 Weeks (5-7 Hours per week) | Intermediate | Not Mentioned | Learn More |
| IBM DevOps and Software Engineering Professional Certificate | IBM | 3 Months (10 Hours a week) | Beginner | 4.7 | Learn More |
1) Software Development Cycle Specialisation (Coursera)
Specs: Provider: Coursera | Duration: 4 Months | Level: Intermediate Level | Price: Starts at $50 per week | Certificate: Yes
The Software Development Cycle Specialization course imparts a deeper understanding of various critical concepts and theories related to software development practices. You will learn multiple development philosophies companies use, such as lean, agile, traditional, etc. This course is provided by the University of Minnesota and taught by instructors Praveen Mittal and Kevin Wendt.
It provides you with advanced knowledge of software architecture, software testing, and software design, which are in high demand in the industries. This is an applied learning course, which means you will be doing many projects to learn real-world applications of complicated concepts for better understanding.
Features:
- English audio with subtitles available for English, Arabic, French, German, Spanish, etc.
- Provides a certificate as proof of successful course completion that can be connected to your LinkedIn account to make it more attractive.
- It also has business pricing plans that allow businesses to bulk-purchase this course for their employees.
Key Topics:
- Teaches software development processes and helps apply core engineering practices at given level.
- Helps you become proficient in Agile practices/processes for software development and allows you to apply Agile principles in any situation.
- Learn lean concepts and get knowledge about common techniques like Kanban, Value Stream Mapping, etc.
- Get acquainted with the fundamentals that are used to for building quality software and understand various parameters to judge the quality of a software.
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| It provides you with reports to help you better evaluate your shortcomings and improve further. | No lifetime access is available. |
| All courses come bundled with hands-on projects that help you gain experience and sharpen your skills | |
| It is designed to help you build a mindset for selecting the proper software development methodologies |
2) Software Engineering 101 (Udemy)
Specs: Provider: Udemy | Duration: 8 Hours | Level: Beginner | Price: $17.99 for Full Lifetime Access | Free Trial: 30 Day Money-back guarantees.
Software Engineering 101 course is specifically targeted for beginners and inexperienced professionals. It requires no past programming or technical experience and is among the best software development courses for strengthening core programming concepts. This course is taught by Kurt Anderson, a self-taught computer scientist specialising in design and programming.
It helps you gain complete knowledge of valuable concepts relating to software development cycles, design, modularity, testing, problem-solving, and more. Apart from video lectures, it also offers written material to read and understand concepts at your own pace. It has been designed to suit the needs of novices and requires no past technical or programmatic knowledge.
Features:
- Successful course completion certificate is awarded that can be added to a resume and LinkedIn profile.
- Provides various projects to help you practice the concepts taught and sharpen your skills.
- Content is divided into short sections and lectures to help you efficiently study and revisit any specific topic
Key Topics:
- It teaches you the fundamental principles of software engineering and the development lifecycle.
- Understand requirements and specifications and how to use them while building software.
- Learn various software architectures and philosophies, including Agile Methodology
- Get acquainted with vital concepts of modularity, CS Models, etc.
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| The course is in English with native subtitles in German, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, etc. | It lacks depth and is not ideal for becoming an industry expert. |
| Introduces you to testing, including bug testing, unit testing, incremental testing, etc. | |
| You get lifetime access to all the assignments, documents, and lectures, and they can be referenced in future. |
3) Learn Coding and Become a Software Developer – A Step-by-Step Framework (Skillshare)
Specs: Provider: Skillshare | Duration: 58 minutes | Level: Beginner | Free Trial: Yes, 1 Month
Learn Coding and Become a Software Developer is a group of 9 courses designed to teach students all-around software engineering. This package is explicitly for intermediate and expert-level software developers looking to sharpen their skills and secure high-paying jobs and internships. This course is taught by instructor Tuomas Kivioja.
Features:
- Each course has an intro, guidance, pro tips, best practices, etc., to provide complete knowledge for all topics.
- Topics in the course have been selected with industry research done by Skillshare.
- It focuses on providing you with the most up-to-date engineering skills demanded by top employers.
Key Topics:
- The Learning to Code Equation
- Gain professional-level knowledge and skills about Agile development practices and pro tips for improving your software workflow.
- How to Be Motivated to Learn to Code
- You will learn about various concepts and understand how to model, design, code, and test your code.
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| An easy-to-understand framework | Not ideal for beginners with a lack of experience in programming. |
| Topics covered include Software Design, Dependency Updates, etc. |
4) Essentials of Software Engineering (edX)
Specs: Provider: edX | Duration: 10 Weeks (5-7 hours per week) | Level: Intermediate | Price: $49 for Full Lifetime Access | Free Trial: Lifetime Free Basic Plan
Essentials of Software Engineering course is among the best software engineering training courses for budding developers and computer science students. All the programming assignments would be done in JAVA so that you can become proficient in programming using it.
This is one of the best software engineering courses that would teach you various concepts relating to your code’s security, performance, and stability. You are provided with state-of-the-art terms designed by some of the most experienced and well-known course instructors. The instructors of this course include CS Professor Bernd Bruegge, scientific researcher Stephan Krushe, and research assistant Andreas Seitz.
Features:
- The course is divided into weekly lectures and is taught at an instructor-led pace.
- You receive a course competition certificate which can boost your resume and be useful in securing a job.
- You are provided with weekly multiple-choice questions, drag-and-drop exercises, and more to clear concepts.
- This course will provide guidance on creating quality code that meets industry requirements.
Key Topics:
- The course covers Object Oriented Programming, Agile Software Development, Project Management, and more.
- It teaches you critical concepts like system design that are necessary when seeking a job in a software engineering course.
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| All course materials, including video lectures and assignments, are available for your entire lifetime. | Instructor-led pace means you cannot pursue it based on your schedule and preferences. |
| All your assignments get graded and marked, helping you analyse and improve your shortcomings. | |
| Available in English with transcripts for English, Español, and Français. |
5) IBM DevOps and Software Engineering Certificate Course (Coursera)
Specs: Provider: Coursera | Duration: 3 Months (10 Hours a week) | Level: Beginner | Price: Starts at $39 per month | Free Trial: Yes, 7 Days
IBM DevOps and Software Engineering Professional Certificate course is an ideal software engineering course for learning development philosophies. It covers critical DevOps concepts such as Agile, Scrum, CI/CD, and Cloud Native. The various assignments are designed to provide a real-world experience to better understand all the concepts. It helps you become a become expert in DevOps with proper mindset building for Agile philosophy and Scrum technology.
You would receive a certificate from IBM upon successful course completion. With the growing demand for cloud computing, software engineering courses online like this are ideal for learning the workings of cloud services like AWS, Google Cloud, etc. This course is taught by the top 9 instructors from IBM.
Features:
- You can work on this course at your own pace with its flexible scheduling to manage time with freedom.
- This course is available in English, along with native subtitles in German, French, Spanish, Korean, etc.
- It provides you with resources such as resume review, interview preparation resources, and career support.
Key Topics:
- You will be taught how to use, manage, and deploy apps using containers like Docker, Kubernetes, etc.
- You will be introduced using APIs and languages like Python, REST API, etc.
- It will impart your knowledge in Cloud Computing, Agile Software Development, DevOps, and more.
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| Learn concepts of application security and write safe code following using OWASP principles. | Requires a lot more time investment compared to other courses. |
| Self-paced learning allows you to work on your schedule. | |
| You will learn collaborative coding, versioning, and the importance of open-source using GitHub |
6) IBM Full Stack Software Engineering Professional Certificate (Coursera)
Specs: Provider: Coursera | Duration: 4 Months (10 hours a week) | Level: Beginner | Price: Starts at $49 per month | Free Trial: Yes, 7 Days
IBM Full Stack Software Engineering Professional Certificate Course is ideal for learning the industry’s most valuable and in-demand skills. This full stack web development course teaches frontend development with programming languages like React and backend with Django.
It provides you with resources to become job-ready with complementary free access to IBM’s People and Soft Skills Specialization. Their robust resume review helps you to improve your resume and LinkedIn profile to be better aligned for securing a job. This course is taught by 9 of the IBM’s most skillful full-stack developers.
Features:
- You’ll receive a valuable certificate from IBM for course completion that will be helpful in getting a job.
- This course’s audio is available in English and provides subtitles in French, Italian, German, Russian, etc.
- Seek guidance and plan your future with the help of Coursera’s job search guide.
- Its flexible schedule puts no restrictions on you for course completion.
- Helps apply your skills on a project involving Applied AI and Application development using Python.
Key Topics:
- Helps you learn and solidify the basics of HTML, CSS, JS, React, Bootstrap, and more.
- Learn Database Management through the knowledge of SQL, Databases, and Django.
- You will work on a significant final project involving JavaScript, React, Node.js, and Express.
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| Various projects to strengthen your resume and be better equipped to score a job/internship. | No lifetime access to the contents/videos. |
| You will learn how to create Git and use GitHub for programming and maintaining your code. | |
| Teaches backend languages that are very high in demand, like Express, Node.js, Python, Django, etc. |
7) Software Development Processes (Udacity)
Specs: Provider: Udacity | Duration: 3 Months | Level: Intermediate | Price: Free
Software Development Processes Course is ideal for learning fundamental concepts of the software development process. The deliverables would include instructor videos from a skilled and trained professional, experimental activities, interactive quizzes, and more.
It includes various examples to help you better understand some difficult concepts. Alex Orso and Sarah Spikes from the Georgia Institute of Technology teach this course. It was made keeping in mind the needs of the employers. Moreover, you will be provided interviews with industrial experts, including guidance, pro tips, and advice for growing as a software engineer.
Features:
- Allows you to learn and work at your pace. You are entirely free to study whenever you want.
- Helps you familiarise yourself with Integrated Development Environments and use them for coding.
- It has various activities and tasks you gain experience that will be critical in real jobs.
Key Topics:
- You will be learning how to proficiently build Android applications with the knowledge of Unified Modelling Language and Git
- They teach various concepts that are valuable in the industry. These concepts include Failure, Fault, Error Testing, Black-Box Testing, and White-Box Testing.
- You would also learn how to create Git and use GitHub for your projects. Along with that, you will learn versioning.
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| It helps you get started with DevOps and learn software-building basics. | Lacks transcripts/subtitles in other languages. |
| After completing this course, you can continue studying for a Nano Degree in Full Stack Development. | Requires strong familiarity with Android development. |
| Teaches you to work with an Agile development philosophy. |
8) The Essential Types of Software Development & Engineering (Udemy)
Specs: Provider: Udemy | Duration: 1 hour and 13 minutes | Level: Intermediate | Price: $16.99
The Essential Types of Software Development is among the best software engineering courses for all users. It is hosted by one of the leading Test Engineering Experts that provides valuable insights from software testing. This is one of the best online courses with certification. Jon Peck, senior director of Engineering at Insider, is the author of this course.
This ideal software development course teaches penetration testing apps, APIs, servers, web services. You will also be taught test management and get guidance tips from the best industry experts. You will also be taught how to create secure and efficient programs compliant with all the testing standards.
Features:
- Course completion certificate that can be linked to your LinkedIn profile, downloaded as PDF, and added to CV.
- Provides you with real-world case studies to help you better understand concepts.
Key Topics:
- Types of Software Development present in todays world
- Tools Technologies used in different types of software development
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| They are designed to be short, straightforward, and easy to understand for the average engineer. | Lacks multilingual audio/transcripts |
| Provides unique pricing plans when purchased for larger teams. | |
| Accessible through its app on phones and tablets. |
9) UML Software Development Course (edX)
Specs: Provider: edX | Duration: 3 weeks (4-5 hours a week) | Level: Beginner | Price: $49 for lifetime access | Free Trial: Free Basic Plan
UML Software Development Course teaches you valuable concepts of UML that can help you score some of the most high-paying jobs as a software engineer.
This course is hosted by highly experienced instructors with a lot of experience in requirements engineering. You will get acquainted with various concepts such as UML class diagrams, functional fits, information systems, etc. Upon course completion, you will be awarded a certificate. This can be used to prove your worthiness in job interviews and other places. Monique Shoeck, the author of this course, is a renowned professor of Information Systems at KU Leuven
Features:
- All course materials, including video lectures and assignments, remain available for your entire lifetime.
- You will be provided multiple assignments to grade you and highlight any shortcomings that you may have.
Key Topics:
- You will be taught critical concepts of Unified Modelling Language for conceptualizing and designing systems. Along with that, you will be provided with in-depth knowledge.
- Learn about UML class diagrams, and how they can be used to create a business domain’s structure with the help of business objects, their attributes, and associations.
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| Available in English audio with native English transcripts. | Requires essential abstract thinking and knowledge of set theory. |
| Provides specific plans for businesses interested in buying these courses for their employees. | |
| Self-paced learning allows you to create and learn according to your own schedule. |
FAQs
Best Software Engineering Courses for Software Developers
| Course Name | Provider | Duration | Difficulty | Rating | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Development Lifecycle Specialisation | Coursera | 4 Months | Intermediate | 4.6 | Learn More |
| Software Engineering 101: Plan and Execute Better Software | Udemy | 8 Hours | Beginner | 4.6 | Learn More |
| Essential New Skills in Software Engineering | Skillshare | 26 minutes – 1 hour 14 minutes | Intermediate – Advanced | Not Mentioned | Learn More |
| Software Engineering Essentials | edX | 10 Weeks (5-7 Hours per week) | Intermediate | Not Mentioned | Learn More |
| IBM DevOps and Software Engineering Professional Certificate | IBM | 3 Months (10 Hours a week) | Beginner | 4.7 | Learn More |