8 Best Lambdas, Stream, and Functional Programming Courses for Java Developers in 2025 (original) (raw)

My favorite online courses to learn Lambda Expressions, Stream API, and Functional Programming in Java in 2025 from Udemy, and Educative.

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Hello guys, if you remember, Java 8 changed the way we usually code in Java by introducing some Functional Programming concepts. It brings features like lambda expressions and Streams, which give birth to new patterns that result in clean code in Java.

Now there is a better and more declarative way to write Java. If you use them correctly, they can express the intent of code better and thus makes it easier to read and maintain.

Another bit that many people miss is the introduction of Functional programming concepts like the map, reduce, flatmap, and filter, which enable us to write more readable code in Java.

If you know functional programming or want to learn functional programming in Java, you have come to the right place.

This article will share some excellent courses to learn functional programming in Java. These courses will help you to master Functional Programming and write unique Java code using Streams, Lambda Expressions, Functional Interfaces, and method references.

You will also learn and understand things like map, reduce, fil, filter, and other functional programming patterns, why they were added in Stream API and how to use them properly to write high-performance Java applications.

These courses are for experienced Java developers, someone who knows how to write a Java program and has worked on Java for some time.

If you are a complete beginner in the Java world, it’s better to start with something more fundamental like The Complete Java Masterclass, which covers everything a Java developer needs to know, including some functional programming basics.

Top 8 Java Functional Programming Online Courses to Learn Lambda Expression and Stream API in 2025

Functional Programming was introduced into Java in Java 8. Additional Functional Programming Enhancements were added in Java 9, and this list provides courses that cover all those functional programming features. Without wasting any more of your time, here are the best courses to learn functional programming in Java:

1. Learn Java Functional Programming with Lambdas & Streams

This is probably the best Udemy course to start with Functional Programming in Java. In this hands-on course, we will learn to write some excellent Java code with Functional Programming.

You will not only learn the basics of Java Functional Programming and things like Lambda Expressions, Method References, Streams, and Functional Interfaces but also practice these concepts by solving puzzles, exercises, and writing programs using JShell.

This course also uses Eclipse (Java IDE), and if you are new to Java, then don’t worry; you will learn how to set it up.

If you are new to Functional Programming, it's the best course to start with. Created by Ranga Rao of In28Minutes Official, a fellow Java developer and Udemy best seller instructor, this is the best course for beginners to learn functional programming.

Talking about social proof, more than 26K students have already enrolled in this course.

Here is the link to join this course — Learn Java Functional Programming with Lambdas & Streams.

2. Modern Java: Mastering Features from Java 8 to Java 21 (udemy)

This is another great Udemy course to learn functional programming in Java. This course will show you the new patterns introduced in Java 8, which uses lambda expressions, the functional interfaces, the Collection Framework, and the Stream API for producing cleaner Java code.

Created by Pragmatic Code School, this course will not just teach you lambda expressions, one of the most important concepts introduced in Java 8 but also help you to master Java 8 to Java 21 concepts like Functional Programming, Records, Sealed Classes, Pattern Matching, and more through hands-on.

You will also learn about things like map, flatMap, reduce, and filter, which will help you to work better and efficiently with bulk data in Java and create better patterns and code. Lambdas are a nice thing but would be useless without new patterns to process data.

Here is the link to join this course —Modern Java: Mastering Features from Java 8 to Java 21

3. Mastering Modern Java Programming: Beginner to Pro [2025]

If you have been writing code using Modern Java syntax, then you may have wondered how to implement classical design patterns like Strategy and State using modern Java features like Lambdas and Stream.

This course will teach you how to implement those design patterns using modern Java features. It will help you to write fluent and straightforward code, which is easier to read and maintain.

If you don’t know Madan Reddy, the instructor of this course a Java expert and a popular Udemy instructor. This course, along with the other two I have included in this list, gives you a fantastic opportunity to learn from the expert himself.

Here is the link to join this course —Mastering Modern Java Programming: Beginner to Pro [2025]

4. Functional Programming in Java (Includes Java Collections)

This is another advanced course on Udemy on Functional Programming and Java 8. This course will teach you advanced patterns to process bulk data in Java 8 using lambdas, streams, spliterators, options, and collectors.

You will learn things like how to build your own spliterators to connect streams to non-standard data sources and to develop your own collectors. You will also learn how to inter-operate between new Stream and old Collection classes like ArrayList, Iterator, and others.

You will also learn about Optional, a new concept introduced in Java 8 to handle the reduction of empty streams and often regarded as saviors from Nulls. Overall an excellent course to learn new patterns for processing data in Java 8 using Stream, Optional, and Collectors.

Here is the link to join this course — Functional Programming in Java (Includes Java Collections)

5. Java Streams API Developer Guide

This is another hands-on course to learn and master Stream class and their class from Java .util. Stream package.

Instructor Nelson Djalo has done an excellent job in explaining confusing Functional programming concepts and methods like map, reduce, filter, and flatmap with some live coding examples.

He will first show you the code and then explains the code. At the same time, he will also show you how you can change the code to change the behavior, which helps you to learn those Stream methods better.

Along the way, you will also learn some useful keyboard shortcuts and productivity tips to work with IntelliJIDEA, the most popular IDE for Java development.

Here is the link to join this best Java Stream course — Java Streams API Developer Guide

6. Java 8 for Experienced Developers: Lambdas, Stream API & Beyond

This is an intermediate Java course from Educative to learn all the functionality of Java 8 and be ready to utilize these new features in your code.

In this course, you will learn about lambdas, Java Stream API, Functional Interfaces, and lots of other new improvements related to Collections, Memory Management, Date & Time API.

Created by SAURAV AGGARWAL, this course will help you learn useful Java 8 concepts that can help in your day-to-day coding and make you a better Java developer. After completing this course, you’ll be well versed in all the functionality of Java 8 and be ready to utilize these new features in your code.

Here is the link to join this course — Java 8 for Experienced Developers: Lambdas, Stream API & Beyond

And, if you like the Educative platform and their interactive courses, particularly Grokking courses, you can also get an Educative Subscription that provides access to not just this course but their 100+ courses in just $18 per month. It’s very cost-effective and great for getting some hands-on learning experience.

7. Modern Java — Learn Java 8 features by coding it

It’s been many years since Java 8 was introduced, but there are still developers who are afraid to learn Lambdas, Streams, new Date APIs, Optionals, and Parallel programming in Java 8, and you can not learn it unless you start coding them.

If you are afraid of functional programming in Java, then this course is for you. This course will teach all the new Java 8 Features by coding them like lambdas and stream.

If you want to learn all the new features such as Lambdas, Streams, Optionals, Functional Interfaces, and Parallel Programming in a guided and coding full way then this course is for you.

Here is the link to join this course — Modern Java — Learn Java 8 features by coding it

8. Refactoring to Java 8 Streams and Lambdas Online Self-Study Workshop

This is another intermediate-level course to learn Java 8 and Stream API and write better code in Java. This course is created by Java Champion Dr. Heinz M. Kabutz, and it's full of practical advice.

Unlike other courses, in this course, you will refactor existing Java code using Stream, Labamds, and new functional programming concepts like a map, reduce, flatMap, filter, etc.

Here is the link to join this course — Refactoring to Java 8 Streams and Lambdas

That’s all about the best courses to learn Functional Programming in Java. These will explain fundamental functional programming concepts like immutability and transformation like the map, flatmap, reduce, and others. Even if you are not looking for functional programming, you will learn many useful tips and tricks to write better Java code.

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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these Java Functional programming courses, please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.

P. S. — If you are new to the Java Programming world and looking for some free courses to start your Java programming journey, you can also check out this list ofmy favorite free Java courses for beginners. It contains some of the best free Java courses from Udemy, Coursera, and Educative for beginners.