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Attention to all scientists and researchers! Are you frustrated with programming languages that slow down your research efforts?
Meet Fortran, a high-performance programming language specifically crafted for scientific and engineering tasks. With a rich history dating back to the 1950s and the capability to efficiently leverage every core and thread on supercomputers, Fortran has been integral to some groundbreaking scientific simulations, from detailed blackhole renderings to precise weather forecasts.
Curious to learn more? Fortunately, many of the best Fortran courses are available for free, to audit, or include trial periods. Keep reading for more details!
Use the links below to navigate directly to course specifics:
What is Fortran?
Fortran, which stands for FORmula TRANslation, is the oldest high-level programming language still in widespread use today. Developed by an IBM research team led by John Backus in the 1950s—who is also noted for his work on BNF—Fortran has transformed scientific and engineering computing. It remains a leading language in these domains and significantly influences contemporary scientific programming.
There’s a prevalent misconception that Fortran is obsolete; this couldn’t be further from the truth! As of April 2025, it ranks 11th on the TIOBE index of programming language popularity. Fortran is continuously evolving, with the recent introduction of Fortran 2023, although Fortran 90, 95, and 2008 remain the most utilized versions. Thus, despite its age, Fortran is a staple in high-performance computing (HPC), regularly deployed in weather modeling, materials science, molecular dynamics, and computational physics.
This programming language is continually relied upon by national laboratories, universities, and various research institutions, particularly in astrophysics, aerospace and defense sectors, and government agencies. Additionally, Fortran is experiencing a revival in open-source contributions, bolstered by a vibrant scientific community eager to support this enduring language. Learning Fortran can be a valuable asset for individuals involved in scientific and engineering research, enhancing career prospects and enabling significant contributions to various fields.
Courses Overview
Approximately 1,500 individuals are currently following the Fortran subject on Class Central. Most of the courses are offered at no cost, with free trials or audit options available. Most courses do not require prior programming experience.
The Modern Fortran workshop hosted by West Virginia University aims to provide participants with an understanding of contemporary programming practices using features from Fortran 95, 2003, 2008, or even the latest versions. Participants will engage with four different parallel programming paradigms (OpenMP, OpenACC, CUDA Fortran, and MPI) and learn how to apply them for high-performance computing.
You can find the course video lectures here: Modern Fortran.
This free course is primarily targeted at graduate students and researchers. While no previous knowledge of Fortran is necessary, familiarity with basic programming concepts is beneficial.
This course includes:
- Introduction to Fortran syntax and semantics
- Anatomy of a standard Fortran program
- Variables, control flow constructs, data structures, procedures, and modules
- Best practices for writing common and modern Fortran code
- Writing user-friendly and maintainable programs
- The significance of parallelism in scientific computing
- Advanced parallel programming techniques
- Using paradigms like OpenMP, OpenACC, CUDA Fortran, and MPI
- Writing programs that effectively utilize multiple cores and accelerators
The course spans four days, requiring about three hours of study each day. Participants will learn through lecture articles, video presentations, and coding exercises.
This course is an open-source initiative from The Carpentries, which promotes foundational coding and data science skills through interactive workshops worldwide. You can find ways to contribute here.
Institution: West Virginia University
Instructor: Guillermo Avendano-Franco
Level: Intermediate
Workload: 12 hours
Certificate: Not available
If you’re a student or researcher preparing to use Fortran for numerical computation and scientific programming, consider the short Introduction to Fortran course. This free beginner-to-intermediate level course focuses on Fortran 90 and covers key elements, intrinsic functions, best practices, and essential open-source tools. By the course’s conclusion, you should have sufficient examples to independently explore the language.
No programming experience is necessary.
The course website can be found here: Intro to Fortran.
This course covers:
- Installing Fortran on your system
- Analyzing standard program structure
- Examining variables and intrinsic data types
- Understanding implicit and explicit type setting
- Exploring control constructs for program execution
- Covering conditionals, switches, loops, and branches
- Understanding sub-units like subroutines, functions, and modules
- Preventing code repetition using sub-units
- Utilizing arrays for multi-dimensional data storage
- Engaging with user input and file handling
- Concluding the course with a hands-on demonstration
Abishek Gopal, an assistant research scientist focused on high-performance computing, applied fluid dynamics, and turbulent flows, is the course instructor. His current work involves enhancing the Regional Community Earth System Model (R-CESM) and optimizing the Community Earth System Model (CESM) for various high-performance computing platforms.
Institution: Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University
Provider: YouTube
Instructor: Abishek Gopal
Level: Beginner–Intermediate
Workload: 2–3 hours
Certificate: Not available
LinkedIn Learning’s Introduction to Fortran course offers a free trial, covering foundational programming concepts with Fortran 90. By course end, you’ll have grasped essential computing principles leading to a finished project—a To-Do application.
No programming background is required.
Topics covered include:
- Setting up Fortran on your operating system
- Walking through Fortran program structure
- Debugging with compiler error messages
- Understanding variables, named constants, and arrays
- Efficient coding practices
- Handling user input and file operations
- Organizing code into logical modules
- Advanced features and common practices in Fortran
Brad Richardson, a Nuclear Engineer with over a decade’s experience in Fortran programming and a consultant for research software engineers, leads this course. He also shares his expertise as an instructor on Udemy with multiple published courses.
Provider: LinkedIn Learning
Instructor: Brad Richardson
Level: Beginner
Workload: 2–3 hours
Enrollments: 26.1K
Rating: 4.7 / 5.0 (95)
Certificate: Paid
Fortran Video Tutorials consists of a series of free instructional videos focused on Fortran 95, specifically tailored for Ubuntu Linux users. This course is best suited to those with some programming experience.
Topics include:
- Compilation and script launching
- Writing a “Hello, World!” script
- Variables and mathematical operations in Fortran
- Control constructs such as conditionals and loops
- File I/O, including data generation
- Precision and data formatting
- Subroutines for repeated tasks
Cyprien Rusu, a French engineer working in simulation and passionate about language learning and development, leads this course on his YouTube channel.
Channel: Cyprien Rusu
Provider: YouTube
Instructor: Cyprien Rusu
Level: Intermediate
Workload: 2 hours
Views: 115K
Likes: 1.2K
Certificate: Not available
Fortran Programming Tutorials is a collection of free guides that introduce fundamental concepts of the language, aimed at students in science and engineering. While primarily for beginners, experienced programmers will find value as well.
Find the course materials at the GitHub repository here.
This course covers:
- Simple coding with “Hello, World” in Fortran
- Understanding variables and data types
- Implicit vs. explicit type casting
- Available operators and their applications
- User input processing
- Control flow structures for decision making
- Working with strings and arrays
- File input/output operations
- Linear algebra computations
Fluidic Colours’ channel echoes a commitment to equipping researchers and academics with programming skills and knowledge, including an advanced course on Fortran programming.
Channel: Fluidic Colours
Provider: YouTube
Instructor: Arun Prasaad Gunasekaran
Level: Beginner
Workload: 11 hours
Views: 622K
Likes: 1.1K
Certificate: Not available
In this free, two-part introductory course on Fortran for Physics, participants will learn the basics of Fortran 95 and progress to implementing complex algorithms, including advanced topics like object-oriented programming.
No prior programming knowledge is necessary, but users should install a recent version of Fortran.
This course teaches about:
- The Fortran programming language
- Syntax, structure, data types, and loops
- Applying concepts in various contexts
- Subroutines, functions, and modules
- Creating your own subroutines and functions
- Implementing algorithms like Lanczos
- Utilizing advanced concepts including Object-Oriented Programming
- Package management and CUDA core usage
For additional opportunities to engage, you can join the Physics Discord server, which hosts seminars and discussions with noted physicists and researchers.
Channel: Discord Physics Seminars
Provider: YouTube
Instructor: Slenderman
Level: Beginner
Workload: 4–5 hours
Certificate: Not Available
Beginning Fortran for Science and Engineering Students is a short paid course covering essential concepts of Fortran 90/95. It introduces necessary components, including the DISLIN graphics package, designed for STEM students to develop practical scientific code. Example codes and course notes are downloadable, aiding in comprehension.
Prior programming experience can be beneficial, but not mandatory.
This course encompasses:
- Variables and data types
- Control flow with conditions and loops
- User Input/File processing with formatting
- Functions, subroutines, modules
- Timing code and DISLIN use
- OpenMP for parallel programming
Robert Spall, a professor emeritus with extensive teaching experience, leads the course. His research focuses on aerodynamics and environmental flows.
Provider: Udemy
Instructor: Robert Spall
Level: Beginner
Workload: 2–3 hours
Enrollments: 1K
Rating: 3.9 / 5.0 (182)
Certificate: Paid
Exercism is a free online coding platform featuring a set of engaging programming exercises across varying difficulty levels. By practicing on Exercism, you can effectively sharpen your Fortran skills.
Upon completing exercises, you will receive automated feedback on your code. If an exercise proves challenging, you can request mentorship for personalized advice, a beneficial feature of the platform. Currently, 26 contributors are enhancing the Fortran syllabus, supported by over 70 mentors.
What to expect from Exercism:
- 30+ Fortran exercises categorized into three levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard
- Easy challenges: “Hello World”, converting numbers to strings
- Medium tasks: working with DNA sequences, and solving classic problems
- Hard projects: matrices, perfect numbers, and age calculations
Provider: Exercism
Level: All levels
Workload: N/A
Enrollments: 1.9K
Cost: Free
Certificate: Not available
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Class Central, a leading platform for online education, has assisted over 100 million learners in finding their next course. With more than a decade of experience, we provide access to a catalog of 250,000 online courses and a wealth of reviews from users. Our team members are also avid online learners, collectively having completed over 400 courses, including various online degrees.
Best Courses Guide (BCG) Methodology
The ranking of these courses was conducted using a refined methodology employed in prior BCGs (accessible for review). The process involves three key steps:
- Research: Utilizing Class Central’s expansive database complemented by information gathered from the internet, I compiled an initial list of Fortran courses based on ratings, reviews, and bookmarks.
- Evaluate: I reviewed user feedback from platforms like Class Central and Reddit, merging these insights with my personal learning experiences.
- Select: Courses with high-quality content were chosen based on their curriculum comprehensiveness, affordability, recent updates, ratings, and enrollment statistics.
In sum, I combined data analysis with personal judgment to curate these recommendations, reflecting confidence in their reliability for anyone looking to learn Fortran.
This article has been refined for clarity and precision.
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