About the Atlas

Why this Atlas

Coursera’s catalogue has thousands of courses and no suggested order between them. The Atlas offers 87 complete paths, each designed for a specific profile: a target job, a career change or a passion.

Each path answers three questions: where to start, in what order to continue, and how much time to plan for.

Where the data comes from

The paths rely on seven spreadsheets built from coursera.org pages: Data Science Specializations, Computer Science Specializations, General Science Specializations, Economics & Finance Specializations, Business & Management Specializations, Humanities & Social Sciences Specializations and Education Specializations.

For each specialization they record the university, level, prerequisites, tools, rating and number of reviews, and the same for each of its courses.

How the paths are built

• Universities only. Specializations offered by companies or publishers are left out.
• The order follows prerequisites. A step comes only once the ideas it assumes are in place: mathematics before physics, Python before data science, quantum mechanics before quantum chemistry.
• Real lengths. Hours add up the length stated for each course. Coursera’s header estimates, such as “3 months at 10 hours a week”, often differ and are not used.
• No double counting. A course that appears in two steps is counted once and marked “already taken”.
• Single courses when needed. As Coursera has no university specialization in general chemistry, some paths include single courses.

How to read a path

• The card shows the audience, total length, and number of steps and courses. The coloured bar shows the weight of each step.
• The path page lists the steps in the recommended order. Each step links to its Coursera page and lists its courses with level, length and rating.
• Ratings are Coursera’s. A rating below 4 shows in orange; a dash marks a course too new to be rated.
• Weeks are calculated at 10 hours of study per week.

Tips for success

• Pace. Ten hours a week, split into four or five sessions, beats one long day.
• Projects. End each step with a small personal project, on top of the course exercises.
• Study partner. Work in pairs: a weekly check-in and one idea explained to each other without notes.
• Cost. Most courses are included in Coursera Plus. Coursera’s financial aid and free audit access remain options. Check current prices on coursera.org.

Limitations

Coursera regularly changes its courses, lengths and ratings: check each page before enrolling. The paths replace neither a degree nor laboratory work, and academic credit conditions must be confirmed with each university.