Is Our Energy Future free? Full cost breakdown
The short answer
What you actually pay for Our Energy Future
Our Energy Future carries a free cost classification. You can work through the course content without paying. Where a shareable certificate is offered, that is normally the part that carries a fee. The learning material itself is not gated behind one.
The cost classification above is the one University of California San Diego publishes in the structured data on its own course listing, retrieved 2026-08-14. We report that classification rather than a headline price, because the advertised price changes with promotions, region and subscription bundling. The classification is the part that tells you what kind of purchase you are making.
Our Energy Future cost at a glance
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Course | Our Energy Future |
| Cost model | Free: course material available at no cost |
| Provider | University of California San Diego |
| Taught by | Dr. Stephen Mayfield |
| Time to complete | 39 hours |
| Certificate | Offered on completion |
| Learner rating | 4.7 / 5 from 1,177 ratings |
| Total enrolled | 71,589 |
| Subject area | Science & Engineering |
Is the Our Energy Future certificate worth paying for?
Our Energy Future offers a certificate on completion. Whether it justifies its cost depends on what you need it for. A certificate is evidence that you finished something; it is not evidence that you can do the work. Hiring managers in Science and Engineering weight a portfolio of applied work more heavily than a completion certificate, and that gap widens the more senior the role.
The case for paying is narrower and more specific than the marketing suggests: an employer or professional body that reimburses or requires it, a visa or compliance requirement, or a career change where you have no other artifact to show. If none of those apply to you, the free or audit path plus a project you actually built is usually the better trade.
How long Our Energy Future really takes
University of California San Diego lists Our Energy Future at 39 hours. Treat that as the floor rather than the estimate. Published durations count video and reading time; they do not count re-watching, note-taking, or the time you lose to an exercise that will not compile. A realistic planning figure is roughly one and a half to two times the listed length.
This matters directly to cost when the course is subscription-based, because the time it takes you is what you are actually paying for.
What 1,177 ratings tell you
A 4.7 average across 1,177 ratings is a strong signal, and the volume matters as much as the score. Averages built on a few hundred ratings move easily, and this one is not. 71,589 learners have enrolled in total.
Enrolment counts are cumulative and include everyone who signed up, not everyone who finished. On free and subscription courses in particular, enrolment is a much weaker signal than the rating, because signing up costs nothing.
Who Our Energy Future suits
Our Energy Future is taught by Dr. Stephen Mayfield through University of California San Diego, in Science and Engineering. This course is designed to introduce students to the issues of energy in the 21st century - including food and fuels - which are inseparably linked - and will discuss energy production and utilization from the biology, engineering, economics, climate science, and social science perspectives. This course will cover the current production and utilization of energy, as well as the consequences of t
How Our Energy Future compares on cost to other Science and Engineering courses
Cost model is easier to judge against its neighbours than on its own. Of the 6 other Science and Engineering courses we hold cost data for, 2 are free, which is the context that tells you whether free is normal here or unusual.
| Course | Cost model | Rating | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our Energy Future | Free | 4.7 | 39 hours |
| GIS Data Formats, Design and Quality | Subscription | 4.8 | 27 hours |
| Greening the Economy: Sustainable Cities | Subscription | 4.7 | 10 hours |
| Introduction to Biology: Ecology | Subscription | 4.8 | 18 hours |
| Introduction to Power Electronics | Subscription | 4.7 | 12 hours |
| Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries | Free | 4.8 | 16 hours |
| Introdução ao Controle de Sistemas | Free | 4.8 | 20 hours |
Frequently asked questions about Our Energy Future
Is Our Energy Future free?
Our Energy Future is classified as free, so the course material can be accessed without payment. A certificate, if one is offered, is typically the paid element.
How long does Our Energy Future take?
University of California San Diego lists it at 39 hours. Allow more than that in practice: published durations exclude review time and exercises that take longer than planned.
Does Our Energy Future come with a certificate?
Yes, a certificate is offered on completion. It is normally the paid component even where the course material itself is not.
Is Our Energy Future worth it?
It holds 4.7 out of 5 from 1,177 ratings, with 71,589 enrolled. On cost model it is free, so the question is less whether it is good and more whether the cost model fits how you actually study.
Compare Our Energy Future against alternatives
Run this course against others on cost model, time and certificate value in our free tool.
Open the Course ROI ShowdownView Our Energy Future on University of California San Diego for current pricing and enrolment.
Federal data behind this page
What a programme costs, what its graduates earn, and what aid is available are published by federal statistical agencies rather than by any provider's marketing page, and the sources below are the primary ones. They are linked so a reader can check a figure here directly.
- College Scorecard publishes the federal cost, completion and post-enrolment earnings data used to compare programmes.
- National Center for Education Statistics is the federal statistical agency for education and the source most published figures trace back to.
- IPEDS holds the institution-level survey data behind enrolment, price and completion comparisons.
- Federal Student Aid states what aid exists, who qualifies, and what repayment actually obligates a borrower to.
- CFPB paying for college documents how education financing works and where its common traps are.
- US Department of Education sets the policy framework the accreditation and aid systems operate under.
- Department of Education laws and policy carries the rules that decide whether a provider or credential is recognised.
This page compares programmes on published data. Outcomes vary by student, and a reader's own aid package and circumstances decide what a programme actually costs them.