Behind every Atlas path there are teachers and universities. We made a fairly strict choice from the start: only keep specializations offered by universities, leaving out courses produced by companies or publishers. The result is fifty-three universities and institutions sharing our 87 paths. But they don’t all carry the same weight: about ten of them supply most of the content.
This article tours those ten universities: what each one brings, and the courses learners have rated most highly. For each, we give three figures: the number of its courses in the Atlas, the number of its specializations, and the number of paths that use them.
A word about ratings. They are the ones Coursera shows in our data. To avoid flattering but fragile ratings, those based on a few dozen reviews, we only quote courses with at least 1,000 reviews, unless stated otherwise.
University of Michigan — 85 courses, 21 specializations, 38 paths
This is by far the most present university in the Atlas. Its famous Python for Everybody specialization, designed for complete beginners, is the first step of twelve paths: for many of our readers, it is where learning to program begins. Its second course, Python Data Structures, is rated 4.9 from nearly 100,000 reviews, a very rare score at that scale.
Michigan is not limited to computing. It also supplies a large share of the Atlas’s medicine and biology, including Human Neuroanatomy (4.9), in the Anatomy specialization.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — 84 courses, 20 specializations, 20 paths
Almost as present as Michigan in number of courses, Illinois mainly feeds the management and economics paths. Two courses stand out: Leading Teams: Developing as a Leader (4.8), in the Strategic Leadership and Management specialization, and Microeconomics Principles (4.8), an excellent gateway to economics.
University of Colorado Boulder — 65 courses, 18 specializations, 32 paths
Boulder is probably the most eclectic university on the list. You will find it in computing, education and science. Algorithms for Searching, Sorting, and Indexing (4.7, 544 reviews) opens the Foundations of Data Structures and Algorithms specialization, one of the most demanding in the Atlas. On the teaching side, SEL for Students (4.8, 326 reviews), in The Teacher and Social and Emotional Learning, is much appreciated by teachers. And the Biology Everywhere specialization underpins six paths.
Johns Hopkins University — 47 courses, 11 specializations, 17 paths
Johns Hopkins brings two valuable things: medical biology and mathematics. Its Cancer Biology specialization contains two of the highest-rated courses in the whole Atlas, Understanding Cancer Metastasis (4.9) and Introduction to the Biology of Cancer (4.8). In mathematics, Linear Algebra from Elementary to Advanced is used by six paths: it is one of the most shared building blocks in the Atlas.
Rice University — 34 courses, 10 specializations, 19 paths
Rice is behind a great classic of learning to program: the Fundamentals of Computing specialization. Its two An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python courses, in which you learn by programming small games, are rated 4.8 for part one and 4.9 for part two. Rice also offers Introduction to Mechanics, the gateway to physics for five paths.
UC San Diego — 29 courses, 5 specializations, 10 paths
Fewer specializations, but a very clear speciality: algorithms and Java. In Object Oriented Java Programming: Data Structures and Beyond, Data Structures and Performance and Advanced Data Structures in Java are both rated 4.8. Its discrete mathematics specialization, Introduction to Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science, is used in five paths.
Duke University — 27 courses, 7 specializations, 15 paths
Duke brings two solid foundations. The first, Introductory C Programming, teaches C with remarkable rigour; its first course, Programming Fundamentals, is rated 4.7. The second, Introduction to Chemistry: Reactions and Ratios (4.7), appears in six science paths.
University of Pennsylvania — 24 courses, 6 specializations, 11 paths
Penn brings a more unexpected field: positive psychology, taught notably by Martin Seligman, one of its founders. In Foundations of Positive Psychology, Positive Psychology: Martin E. P. Seligman’s Visionary Science and Positive Psychology: Resilience Skills are both rated 4.9.
UC Irvine — 24 courses, 6 specializations, 9 paths
UC Irvine is the Atlas’s reference for project management. In Project Management Principles and Practices, Initiating and Planning Projects is rated 4.7 from more than 23,000 reviews, and the final project course reaches 4.8. It is a very solid base for anyone getting into project management.
Arizona State University — 21 courses, 5 specializations, 5 paths
Arizona State is mainly present in one field: teaching English as a foreign language. The courses of TESOL Certificate, Part 1: Teach English Now! are among the highest rated in the whole Atlas, at 4.9.
A few other gems
Beyond these ten universities, several courses deserve a mention. At the University of Virginia, Foundations of Business Strategy (4.8), in Business Strategy. At the University of Minnesota, Preparing to Manage Human Resources (4.8), in Human Resource Management. At Vanderbilt, Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT (4.8), in Generative AI and ChatGPT for K-12 Educators. And at Rutgers, Supply Chain Operations (4.8), in Supply Chain Management.
How to read a rating
These figures are useful, but they should be read with a little distance.
First, ratings are tightly bunched. The weighted average of our six curricula sits between 4.6 and 4.7. A course rated 4.5 is therefore not a bad course, and a 4.9 doesn’t guarantee it will suit you.
Second, the number of reviews matters as much as the rating. A 4.9 from fifty reviews says little; a 4.7 from twenty thousand reviews says a lot.
Finally, reviews judge the experience, not the level. A demanding course that makes you sweat may be rated lower than an easy, pleasant one. That is why we also show the level and prerequisites on each specialization page.
Every Atlas specialization, with its university, is listed on the all specializations page.