The Great Courses

The Great Courses
Name	The Great Courses
Type	Private company
Industry	Publishing
Founded	1990
Founder	Tom Rollins
Headquarters	Chantilly, Virginia
Products	Video and audio lecture series

The Great Courses is a producer and distributor of recorded lecture series delivered by university professors and subject-matter experts covering humanities, sciences, arts, and professional topics. It offers long-form courses presented as video and audio programs intended for lifelong learners and independent study. Its catalog spans history, literature, philosophy, science, music, and language, and it has been distributed through direct sales, third-party retailers, and digital platforms.

Overview

The Great Courses publishes lecture series taught by professors associated with institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, University of Oxford, Princeton University, Stanford University and Columbia University, often featuring scholars who have worked with organizations including the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, the British Museum and the National Gallery of Art. Course subjects range from studies of figures like William Shakespeare, Ludwig van Beethoven, Albert Einstein, Charles Dickens and Napoleon Bonaparte to treatments of events such as the American Civil War, the French Revolution, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution and the Cold War. Its offerings include explorations of works like The Odyssey, Divine Comedy, War and Peace, Don Quixote and The Canterbury Tales and examinations of awards and institutions including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, The Royal Opera House, Metropolitan Opera and the Cannes Film Festival.

History

Founded in 1990 by Tom Rollins with backing from investors and advisers connected to universities and cultural institutions, the company developed early partnerships with producers and broadcasters tied to Public Broadcasting Service, BBC, National Public Radio and private media groups. Over time it expanded its catalog through collaborations with professors affiliated with University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University and University of Pennsylvania. The firm underwent corporate changes involving acquisition talks and distribution deals with retailers such as Amazon (company), Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and later alliances with streaming services and educational platforms. Key phases in its history intersected with broader media shifts including the rise of DVDs, the decline of VHS, the growth of digital downloads with companies like Apple Inc. and the emergence of subscription streaming exemplified by Netflix and niche educational platforms.

Course Content and Formats

Offerings are organized into multi-lecture programs spanning from brief surveys to multi-hour deep-dives. Formats have included VHS cassette releases in the 1990s, DVD boxed sets, CD audio, downloadable MP3s, and streaming video compatible with devices from Apple (company), Samsung Electronics, Microsoft, Amazon (company) and set-top boxes from companies like Roku. Course modules have focused on historic campaigns such as Battle of Gettysburg, biographical studies of figures like Alexander Hamilton, technical overviews touching on concepts advanced by Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell, and aesthetic analyses referencing composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Frédéric Chopin. Ancillary materials often include course guides, transcripts, reading lists citing works by scholars connected to Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.

Instructors and Production

Instructors are frequently professors and independent scholars with affiliations to Yale University, Princeton University, Duke University, Brown University, Cornell University, University of Michigan and Northwestern University. Notable lecturers have been senior academics and public intellectuals who have also published with academic presses and appeared at venues like the Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art and TED Conference. Production teams have combined field shoots at locations such as Stonehenge, Pompeii, Gettysburg National Military Park, Versailles and The Louvre with studio recordings produced in facilities used by broadcasters like PBS and documentary producers associated with National Geographic Society. Technical staff often include veteran directors, cinematographers, and sound engineers experienced with long-form documentary production.

Distribution and Business Model

The company has sold courses via direct-to-consumer mail-order catalogs, telephone sales, e-commerce storefronts, big-box retailers, and licensing agreements with libraries and educational institutions including systems like OCLC and consortia that serve public and academic libraries. Revenue streams have included one-time sales of physical media, digital downloads, subscriptions, and corporate licensing partnerships with professional organizations and continuing-education programs tied to entities such as American Bar Association and American Medical Association for select subject matter. International distribution has occurred through partnerships with regional publishers and broadcasters, and through digital storefronts operated by multinational technology firms including Apple (company) and Amazon (company).

Reception and Impact

Courses have been reviewed and discussed in outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time (magazine), and academic journals. Reception has noted strengths in instructor expertise drawn from universities like Harvard University and Yale University, production quality comparable to documentary series from BBC and PBS, and occasional critiques regarding pricing, academic depth relative to university courses, and selection bias toward Western canons exemplified by emphasis on figures such as William Shakespeare, Ludwig van Beethoven and Leonardo da Vinci. The programs have been used by lifelong learners, book clubs, community education programs, and libraries, and have influenced the market for commercial lecture-based learning alongside competitors and platforms associated with Coursera, edX, Khan Academy and professional continuing-education providers.

Category:Publishing companies