Control engineering
MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems
Model, simulate and tune control systems in MATLAB and Simulink, from transfer functions to PID and state-space designs.
MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students and control engineers. It has 15 modules and takes about 23.3 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$28.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Intermediate
- 23.3 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$28.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Engineering students and control engineers
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: PLC programmer, controls engineer, automation technician and commissioning engineer. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- MATLAB and Simulink with Control System Toolbox; the later modules also use System Identification Toolbox and Simscape. Check which products your licence, trial or MATLAB Online plan includes. Hardware: none required.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Model a system as a transfer function and in state space
- Analyse time response, frequency response and stability
- Design and tune PID and lead-lag controllers
- Design pole-placement and LQR controllers
- Identify a model from data and run a controller in discrete time
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Engineering students and control engineers.
Level: Intermediate. Intermediate. Engineering mathematics (Laplace transforms) is assumed.
What you need
Software: MATLAB and Simulink with Control System Toolbox; the later modules also use System Identification Toolbox and Simscape. Check which products your licence, trial or MATLAB Online plan includes.
Hardware: None required.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
15 modules in order, at your own pace. 23.3 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1The MATLAB and Simulink Environment1h 16m
- 2What Control Engineers Do and Control Theory Overview48m
- 3Transfer Functions and Block Diagrams44m
- 4Time Response, with lab practice: 47m
- 5Stability: Routh-Hurwitz and Root Locus58m
- 6Frequency Response: Bode, Nyquist and Nichols57m
- 7Control Design with Bode Plots32m
- 8PID Design and Tuning, with lab practice: 59m
Show the other 7 modules
- 9Feedforward, Gain Scheduling, Delays and Notch Filters1h 53m
- 10State Space39m
- 11Modern Control: Pole Placement, LQR and Observers56m
- 12Modelling Physical Systems and System Identification1h 34m
- 13Simulink for Electrical Engineers: PWM, Converters and Drives1h 0m
- 14Implementation: Discrete Time and Real Time1h 47m
- 15Final Assessment
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Show what to download (1 tool)
Required
- 01Free edition with limits
MATLAB and Simulink
MathWorks
- Runs on
- Browser for MATLAB Online; desktop on Windows 10 or 11, macOS or Linux
- Account
- A free MathWorks account
- Size
- about 5 to 8 GB of disk space for a typical desktop installation
Every MathWorks account gets MATLAB Online (basic): 20 hours a month in the browser with MATLAB, Simulink and nine common toolboxes. A 30-day trial adds desktop and online access to MATLAB, Simulink and over 80 products. MATLAB Onramp and Simulink Onramp are free self-paced courses.
Steps
- 1.Create a free MathWorks account at mathworks.com.
- 2.Take MATLAB Onramp and Simulink Onramp in MATLAB Academy to learn the basics.
- 3.Open MATLAB Online in your browser to use the free 20 hours each month.
- 4.If you need the desktop version, start the 30-day trial from the Trials page.
- 5.Download the MathWorks installer, sign in and select MATLAB, Simulink and the toolboxes your course uses.
- Onramp courses and MATLAB Mobile do not count against the 20 monthly hours.
- Start the 30-day trial only when you are ready, as it runs continuously from activation.
Official download pagemathworks.comAlternatives
- MATLAB Onramp: Free two-hour interactive course in the browser.
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
See in a real loop what your step responses and PID designs mean: overshoot, settling time and tuning on a tank level loop.
- Tune the level loopProcess lab, about 45 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Tune the level loop
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 20 hours
Tote positioning at a pick-station: identify, design, simulate and trace one loop in Simulink
Take one conveyor positioning loop from numbered requirements to a discrete controller ready for a PLC. You identify the plant, design and check the controller, test the Simulink model and trace every requirement.
- 7documents in the pack
- 8steps to follow
- 6things to hand in
- 20 hof work, at your pace
- URSUser Requirements: Pick-Station 3 Tote Positioning Loop
- ReportPlant Model Report: Identification of the Belt Drive from Step Tests
- ReportController Design Report: PD Position Loop by Root Locus, Verified on Bode
- SDSSoftware Design Specification: Simulink Model PS3_Positioning and PLC Transcription
- Test reportSimulation Test Report: Model Release v1.2 against URS Rev B
- Traceability matrixRequirements Traceability Matrix: URS Rev B to Design and Test, Release v1.2
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$28.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
Instrumentation and Process Control
Eight short weeks of measurement, calibration and control loops: notes, diagrams, a few videos and practice in the Panel Lab and LADX Mini. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipPart of a learning path
Courses in a planned order, so each one builds on the last.
More free courses
Roles that use this skill
- PLC programmer
- Controls engineer
- Automation technician
- Commissioning engineer
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: KKDexplains, MATLAB, emobility-in, Safey El-Deen Abdo. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
KKDexplains · MATLAB · MATLAB · emobility-in · Safey El-Deen Abdo. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab
Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Is MATLAB free?
No, but MathWorks offers MATLAB Online, student licences and trials. What each includes depends on the plan, and the later modules also use System Identification Toolbox and Simscape, so check the product list of your licence before you start.
How much maths?
Laplace transforms, complex numbers and matrices. Module 2 recaps the transform pairs the course uses, but it is not a full maths course.
Is this useful for PLC people?
Yes: it is the theory behind the PID block, the VFD tuning screen and the servo autotune.
Is the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a vendor qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
How long does the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course take?
Plan on about 23 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the fifteen modules at your own speed.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course cover, module by module?
The MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course has 15 modules. It opens with "The MATLAB and Simulink Environment", goes through "What Control Engineers Do and Control Theory Overview", "Frequency Response: Bode, Nyquist and Nichols", "State Space" and "Implementation: Discrete Time and Real Time" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course?
After the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course: Use MATLAB and Simulink for modelling and simulation; Analyse transfer functions, time response and stability; Read Bode, Nyquist and Nichols plots and shape loops. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course, and does it cost anything?
For the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course, software: MATLAB and Simulink with Control System Toolbox; the later modules also use System Identification Toolbox and Simscape. Check which products your licence, trial or MATLAB Online plan includes. Hardware: none required. The course itself is free.
Is the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course suitable for me, and what level is it?
MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems is rated intermediate. Intermediate. Engineering mathematics (Laplace transforms) is assumed. It is written for engineering students and control engineers, and takes about 23.3 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course?
Skills from the MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems course (for example: use MATLAB and Simulink for modelling and simulation) are used in roles such as PLC programmer, controls engineer, automation technician and commissioning engineer, and in control engineer work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
MATLAB and Simulink for Control Systems, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.