Top 10 Most Sought-After Courses for Online Education

Online learning—whether remote or virtual—has gained immense popularity, particularly since the global shutdowns of 2020. It provides a flexible method to acquire new skills without the need for commuting or relocation. While there are countless subjects available online, certain ones attract more attention than others.

The education specialists at Class Central compiled the following list using Google Keyword Planner's monthly search volume data. The platform gathered information over the last year to identify the most popular online study fields in the U.S. They analyzed specific subject-related search terms, such as 'learn Spanish online' and 'free Japanese course,' as well as broader queries like 'language learning' and 'art courses' to reveal the most in-demand topics.

Class Central discovered that foreign language courses were particularly favored by online learners. Language-related searches accounted for almost 262,000 monthly searches across the nation. Spanish emerged as the most popular language for online learning, likely because it is the second most-spoken language in the U.S. According to the study, English, Japanese, and French also ranked among the top 10 most searched languages.

Online programming courses come just behind language learning with almost 122,000 average monthly searches. Computer science is considered one of the most lucrative college majors, making courses in this field a valuable investment. Statista highlights that some of the top programming languages in 2024 include JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and Python.

Business-related courses rank as the third most-searched subject in online education, with approximately 68,500 average monthly searches. This broad field includes areas like project management, entrepreneurship, and business finance. Similar to computer science, business degrees often provide a high return on investment.

Below are the remaining top 10 most popular online study fields.