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Understand government principles for public administration and policy-making. Learn about government structures, functions, and political processes.

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Explore the Government Course Catalog

  • Status: Preview
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    U

    University of California, Irvine

    Chemerinsky on Constitutional Law - The Structure of Government

    Skills you'll gain: Social Studies, Political Sciences, Case Law, Legal Research, Public Policies, Governance, World History

    4.8
    Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
    ·
    95 reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

  • Status: New
    New
    U

    University of Maryland, College Park

    Innovation in Government: Navigating the Age of AI

    Skills you'll gain: Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, Business Transformation, Product Improvement, Thought Leadership, Organizational Change, Digital Transformation, Governance, Technology Strategies, Market Opportunities, Product Lifecycle Management, Product Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Product Roadmaps, Public Policies, Automation, Policy Analysis, Market Analysis, Persona (User Experience), Market Research

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

  • Status: Preview
    Preview
    U

    University of Michigan

    Using Public Policy for Social Change

    Skills you'll gain: Policy Analysis, Policy Development, Social Justice, Advocacy, Public Policies, Political Sciences, Health Policy, Economics, Policy, and Social Studies, Social Determinants Of Health, Program Evaluation, Community and Social Work, Public Administration, Case Studies, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Initiatives, Research, Problem Solving

    4.9
    Rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars
    ·
    159 reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

  • Status: New
    New
    U

    University of Maryland, College Park

    Artificial Intelligence in Government

    Skills you'll gain: Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Organizational Effectiveness, Scalability, Organizational Change, Technical Consulting, Responsible AI, Operational Efficiency, Technology Strategies, Process Mapping, Performance Measurement, Procurement

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    I

    Intuit

    Intuit Academy Bookkeeping

    Skills you'll gain: Reconciliation, Financial Statements, Financial Statement Analysis, Inventory Accounting, Payroll, Bookkeeping, QuickBooks (Accounting Software), Payroll Administration, Inventory Control, Payroll Processing, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Financial Reporting, Depreciation, Fixed Asset, Payroll Tax, Property Accounting, Accounting Software, Financial Accounting, Financial Analysis

    4.6
    Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
    ·
    7.8K reviews

    Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

  • Status: Preview
    Preview
    U

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    Governmental Accounting and Reporting I

    Skills you'll gain: Fund Accounting, Governmental Accounting, Financial Reporting, Non-Profit Accounting, Accounting, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), General Ledger, Financial Statements, Cash Flows, Accrual Accounting, Revenue Recognition, Depreciation, Reconciliation, Budgeting, Accountability

    4.8
    Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
    ·
    9 reviews

    Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

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  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    U

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    Market Equilibrium, Government Policy & Elasticity

    Skills you'll gain: Economics, Behavioral Economics, Supply And Demand, Policy Analysis, Market Dynamics, Business Economics, Public Policies, Socioeconomics, Consumer Behaviour, Political Sciences, Decision Making

    4.9
    Rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars
    ·
    23 reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    U

    University of Virginia

    Design Thinking for Innovation

    Skills you'll gain: Design Thinking, Creative Problem-Solving, Ideation, Innovation, Creativity, Strategic Thinking, Case Studies, Market Opportunities, Human Centered Design, Curiosity, Storytelling, Growth Mindedness, Business Modeling

    4.7
    Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
    ·
    9.1K reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    T

    The State University of New York

    Applied Digital Literacy

    Skills you'll gain: Digital Design, Infographics, Content Creation, Graphic Design, Multimedia, Brainstorming, Web Content, Planning, Information Management, Research, Literacy, Lifelong Learning, Computer Literacy, Critical Thinking, Data Ethics, Analytical Skills, Digital Communications, Intellectual Property, Investigation, Peer Review

    4.8
    Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
    ·
    193 reviews

    Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    U

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    Managerial Economics and Business Analysis

    Skills you'll gain: Descriptive Statistics, Supply And Demand, Market Dynamics, Sampling (Statistics), Statistical Inference, Business Analytics, Bank Regulations, Financial Systems, Financial Policy, Banking, Probability Distribution, Statistical Analysis, Statistics, Regression Analysis, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Microsoft Excel, Statistical Methods, Probability & Statistics, Economics, Statistical Hypothesis Testing

    Build toward a degree

    4.8
    Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
    ·
    4.2K reviews

    Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

  • Status: Preview
    Preview
    U

    University of Pennsylvania

    Introduction to Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases

    Skills you'll gain: Legal Proceedings, Civil Procedures, Court Systems, Social Studies, Civil Law, Political Sciences, Case Law, Legal Research, Social Justice, Governance, Case Studies, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Initiatives

    4.8
    Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
    ·
    1.3K reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

  • Status: Free Trial
    Free Trial
    R

    Rice University

    Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics - The Big Picture

    Skills you'll gain: Economics, Supply And Demand, Economic Development, Financial Policy, Market Dynamics, Business Economics, Business Metrics, Public Policies, Performance Metric, International Finance, Fiscal Management, Investments, Labor Relations, Financial Market, Financial Regulations

    4.8
    Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
    ·
    59 reviews

    Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

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In summary, here are 10 of our most popular government courses

  • Chemerinsky on Constitutional Law - The Structure of Government: University of California, Irvine
  • Innovation in Government: Navigating the Age of AI: University of Maryland, College Park
  • Using Public Policy for Social Change: University of Michigan
  • Artificial Intelligence in Government: University of Maryland, College Park
  • Intuit Academy Bookkeeping: Intuit
  • Governmental Accounting and Reporting I : University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Market Equilibrium, Government Policy & Elasticity: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Design Thinking for Innovation: University of Virginia
  • Applied Digital Literacy: The State University of New York
  • Managerial Economics and Business Analysis: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Frequently Asked Questions about Government

The subject of government encompasses the systems that a nation, state, or other political community is administered and regulated. Governments may be democracies structured by constitutional law, as in the United States, a socialist country governed by a single Communist Party, as in China, or any other form of rule. However, in all jurisdictions, government plays a centrally important role in establishing and enforcing laws, collecting and allocating tax revenues, directing the use of public resources, and other activities that are fundamental to society.

Governance is always evolving, and recent years have seen the role and nature of government changed by the same revolutions in information technologies that have disrupted countless private sector industries. E-government promises to make governance much more efficient, replacing decades-old bureaucracies with “smart” cities and countries administered and regulated with the help of real-time data. At the same time, the advent of social media has led to upheaval in many countries, from the revolutions of the Arab Spring to struggles with the spread of disinformation in many Western democracies.

Learning about government isn’t only important if you want to work in politics or a government agency. Businesses must stay abreast of changes in governments and the laws they propagate, as they are typically subject to regulatory compliance requirements in areas like taxation and financial reporting, environmental performance, and more. Understanding politics and government is especially important for strategic planning in industries such as oil and gas or mining, where business opportunities may depend on government decisions surrounding the use of natural resources.‎

If you’re fascinated by the important and ever-changing world of government, working in political science can be a gateway to an interesting and rewarding career. Using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, political scientists study the development and working of political systems, structures of government, the effectiveness of different policies and regulations, and trends in public opinion. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, political scientists earned a median annual salary of $122,220 in 2019, and typically had at least a master’s degree in political science.‎

Absolutely. Coursera has opportunities to learn about government across a variety of perspectives, including legal topics like constitutional law, the rise of e-government and smart cities, and ensuring business regulatory compliance. Regardless of what you choose to learn about, you’ll learn about government from top-ranked schools like University of California, Irvine, University of Pennsylvania, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and National Research University Higher School of Economics, so you’ll get a great education while learning remotely.‎

Some of the skills or experience you might already need before learning government is a basic understanding of what is written in the United States Constitution. If you have ever worked or volunteered in your local community or worked within any department of government at any level, then you may have the experience needed to learn concepts of government.‎

The kinds of people best suited for roles in government are passionate about shifts in the cultural and political climate at the local, national, or global level. Those in government roles typically want to work for the good of the public to better citizens’ lives. Someone well suited for working in roles in government will also be interested in reading, interpreting, and debating the contents of the United States Constitution to understand how it affects these shifts. They'll also be interested in the composition, abilities, and rulings of the Supreme Court.‎

A common career path for someone who has studied government would typically include working within a governmental agency at the local, state, or national level. A common career path on the business side would include working in a corporation on governmental regulations and compliance. A third common career path for someone in government is to go into law or to move forward with more training to become a lawyer. Yet another career path for someone in government is to go into the field of law enforcement.‎

There are many topics related to government that you can study, including areas of corporate and commercial law that often rely on governmental policy. Other topics related to government include city, urban, or town planning, including the concept of Smart Cities, because any funding and transformation of a place’s infrastructure rely on governmental support. In addition, another related topic to government would be to study leadership and management to gain practical skills and strategies to becoming an effective government leader. Also, corporate or global finance and banking or economics are topics to study related to government because the financial sector and the economy are affected by government and vice versa.‎

Online Government courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Government skills. Choose from a wide range of Government courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.‎

When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Government, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here.‎

This FAQ content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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