Courses in London & Online

The biggest choice of adult education short courses in London and online

Looking for courses? City Lit offers thousands of courses, guided walks, expert talks, and events—more than any other college in London. Whether you’re interested in a one-off talk, a short course over a few weeks, or a year-long programme, you’ll find flexible options to suit your schedule and goals.

We offer online courses as well in-person courses from our Covent Garden campus and we offers a variety of classes 7 days a weekin order to fit into your lifestyle whether you want to learn in the daytime, evenings, or on weekends.

Looking for an online course? Browse our online courses.

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Use our subject categories to find the right course for you. Narrow down your selection using the filters to find your course by level, location, start date, duration, and price.

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City Lit is the UK’s leading adult education provider. Over 30 000 learners choose City Lit every year to learn something new. From mastering new languages and honing creative skills to advancing your career with professional development courses. Whatever your passion or goal, our diverse curriculum has the perfect course to inspire your next step.

Taught by experts and practising professionals

All our courses are led by expert tutors including published authors, academics, practising artists, and experienced professionals; and they look forward to sharing their valuable knowledge and experience with you.

Dive into an unparalleled range of online courses with City Lit, the UK’s leading adult education provider. From mastering new languages and honing creative skills to advancing your career with professional development courses. Whatever your passion or goal, our diverse curriculum has the perfect course to inspire your next step.

Courses in London & Online

Thousands of short courses in London and online as well as longer skills-based courses and qualifications available to book online now!

Whether you want to try something new, revive your passion, or take your skills to the next level; we have a huge range of courses for you to explore. Discover Languages, Art & Design, Drama, Music & Dance, Technology & Business, Writing, British Sign Language and much more!

All our courses here at City Lit are taught by expert tutors such as published authors, academics, practising artists, and experienced professionals. Our friendly, supportive, and inspiring tutors are here to boost your confidence and motivate you at every step. We always ensure that your journey with us is enjoyable, positive, and thought-provoking.

We offer online courses and in-person courses. Our interactive online courses are taught live and in small groups. Read our guide to online learning for more information. In-person courses are delivered at our modern college campus in London near Covent Garden

Please use the filters on this page to search by subject, location/delivery mode, time of day, price and more to ensure you find the perfect course for you.

If you can't decide which subject to study, why not try some of our short taster courses?

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12 Items

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  1. How to read a film: a beginners' guide to cinema
    Last Few Places, Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 18 Feb 2025 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Paul Sutton
    This course will develop your critical appreciation of the cinema by teaching you how to read and understand film texts. We will look at the elements that underpin film form – narrative, mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound – alongside its historical development. We will consider film style by exploring classical, post-classical and art cinema and we will examine influential critical modes of analysis, such as genre, authorship and spectatorship.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00
    Rating:
    87% of 100
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  2. Electronic music: a brief history
    Course start date:  Tue 25 Feb 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Edward Henderson, Trish Shaw
    From the sound you phone makes to wake you up in the morning to pop, club music and concert music – electronic music is everywhere an available to everyone. This course tells the story of electronic music from computers as big as rooms in the WDR studios in Cologne to GarageBand on your iphone and the music that was made along the way.
    Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £90.00
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  3. Art of medieval empires
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 4 Mar 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Richard Plant
    This course will explore a range of arts, painting, metalwork sculpture and architecture of the lands ruled, sometimes rather tenuously by the German Kings and Emperors, from the time of Charlemagne to the 15th century. For much of the period this was the dominant political entity in Europe, and the geographical reach will be broad: though focussing on central and northern Europe, some works in Italy will also be considered.
    Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00
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  4. Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £90.00
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  5. Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £149.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
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  6. Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £65.00
    Rating:
    96% of 100
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  7. Representing nature in early modern Europe
    Course start date:  Tue 29 Apr 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Thomas Balfe
    Explore the links between the visual image and ideas of nature in early modernity (c.1500-1750). At this time, tools like the microscope were visualising nature in new ways, changes were afoot in how humans related to animals, and the environments of Asia and the Americas were becoming more familiar to Europeans. We will focus on how artists and skilled artisans engaged with these subjects.
    Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00
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  8. Cult TV: David Lynch's Twin Peaks
    Course start date:  Tue 29 Apr 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Paul Sutton
    When it hit UK TV screens in October 1990, David Lynch’s Twin Peaks was more than just another US television series, it was as one critic describes it, ‘a seismic event in popular culture’ (Tobias 2020). In an era when TV aired live it was a must-see series with fevered pre-episode speculation and critical post-broadcast discussion characterising viewers’ engagement with this cult phenomenon. The mystery over who killed Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) preoccupied TV viewers across the autumn and winter of 1990. For me it was the first live series that I watched from start to finish.
    Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00
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  9. Writing for magazines
    Course start date:  Wed 30 Apr 2025 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Susan Grossman
    Get inspired to write on this practical course for freelance journalists and bloggers. Learn to carry out research, interview people, pitch and publish stories, and build your presence on social media.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00
    Rating:
    98% of 100
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  10. Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £149.00
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  11. Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00
    Rating:
    95% of 100
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  12. Imposters, Fakes and Hoaxes in Fiction
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 4 Feb 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Kate Wilkinson
    Why assume a false identity? What could be the risks and rewards of pretending to be someone else? And what can fictions about ‘faking it’ tell us about ourselves, what we believe, and why? This literature course takes a deep dive into remarkable stories of impersonation and identity: Patricia Highsmith’s classic thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley; psychiatric intrigue in Graeme Macrae Burnet’s Case Study; and a notorious Victorian trial in Zadie Smith’s The Fraud.
    Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00
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