Extinction Courses and Certifications

Extinction: Biology, Biodiversity, and the Biosphere (Live Online)

40 ratings at CourseHorse

This course examines extinction as a defining force in Earth's history, from early scientific theories to today's biodiversity crisis.

• CourseHorse
• 12 hours
• Self-Paced
• $355.00

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

Permian-Triassic Mayhem: Earth's Largest Mass Extinction

Using Arctic Canada’s geological record, this lecture traces the Permian–Triassic extinction from environmental stress and Siberian volcanism to interrupted recovery.

• YouTube
• 57 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

The Royal Institution

How to Clone a Mammoth - The Science of De-Extinction - With Beth Shapiro

Explore the science, feasibility, and ecological consequences of bringing extinct species back to life.

• YouTube
• 54 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

The Cretaceous-Palaeogene Mass Extinction: What Do We Really Know?

Examines competing explanations for the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction and presents the press-pulse scenario combining long-term environmental stress with meteorite impact.

• YouTube
• 45 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

GEO GIRL

Mass Extinction Causes Nobody Talks About - GEO GIRL

How lesser-known atmospheric, chemical, biological, and astronomical triggers contributed to mass extinctions.

• YouTube
• 24 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

GEO GIRL

The Major Causes of Mass Extinction Events in Earth History

Explains how global warming, rising CO2, ocean acidification, and ocean anoxia trigger mass extinctions and affect life on Earth.

• YouTube
• 25 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

GEO GIRL

Mass Extinction Events from the Precambrian to Mid-Paleozoic That Nobody Talks About

A look at lesser-known mass extinctions from the Precambrian Oxygen Catastrophe through Cambrian, Silurian, and Devonian events.

• YouTube
• 20 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Extinctions: Past, Present, & Future

140 ratings at Coursera

Trace the five mass extinctions of the pre-human past, their causes, and today's ongoing extinction, from the Pleistocene through European colonization into the future.

• Coursera
• 5 weeks, 3 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

Life on Earth: Diversification and Extinctions

26 ratings at Coursera

Trace life's history through five mass extinctions: stromatolites and early bacteria, fish and tetrapod diversification, dinosaur dominance, mammal rise, and the possible sixth extinction.

• Coursera
• 5 weeks, 2 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Free Online Course

American Museum of Natural History

Dinosaurs: Evolution, Extinction, and Paleobiology

70 ratings at Coursera

Explore dinosaur evolution from Triassic origins to modern birds: build phylogenetic trees, infer behavior from trackways, age specimens using growth rings, and weigh K-T extinction theories.

• Coursera
• 6 weeks, 2 hours a week
• Self-Paced
• Paid Course

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

Mammals Inherit the Earth

Explore how the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction reshaped mammalian diversity, body size, and ecological expansion after the dinosaurs disappeared.

• YouTube
• 55 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

GEO GIRL

Marine Life in Triassic and Jurassic - Why Life Recovered Slowly After Permian Extinction

Explains why marine life recovered slowly after the Permian extinction and how Triassic–Jurassic reefs, predators, and vertebrates emerged.

• YouTube
• 21 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

Ya Ha Tinda and Mass Extinction in the Early Jurassic

A fossil-rich Early Jurassic deposit reveals how marine communities collapsed during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event.

• YouTube
• 55 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

GEO GIRL

Life's Comeback After the First Mass Extinction - Understanding the Ordovician Recovery

Explore fascinating new research about life's recovery after Earth's first mass extinction, examining fossil evidence, biodiversification patterns, and implications for modern ecosystem resilience.

• YouTube
• 16 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video

GEO GIRL

Pleistocene Megafauna Extinction: Causes and Notable Species

Explore Pleistocene megafauna evolution and extinction theories, from woolly mammoths to saber-toothed cats. Discover the Ice Age, Younger Dryas cooling, and debates on extinction causes.

• YouTube
• 24 minutes
• Self-Paced
• Free Video