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Data Science · Year 1 · Foundations
S1 Programming and thinking with data
Write your first Python programs, work with files, the web and SQL databases, and build a critical understanding of data and AI.
207hours of coursework
21weeks at 10 h
3steps
15new courses
2universities
Target skills
- Python variables, loops, functions and data structures
- Reading files, accessing the web and APIs, SQL queries
- Algorithmic thinking: interactive programs, basic combinatorics, graphs
- Critical reading of a statistic, a study or an AI prediction
Semester project
The Python for Everybody capstone (collecting, storing and visualizing web data), then the Fundamentals of Computing final exam.
Courses this semester
- 1University of MichiganBeginner
Stated prerequisites: No previous knowledge of data, statistics or AI necessary
Show the 3 courses
Course Level Length Rating (reviews) How to Describe Data Beginner 9 h 4.7 (29) How Science Turns Data Into Knowledge Beginner 11 h 4.7 (18) Decoding AI: A Deep Dive into AI Models and Predictions Beginner 10 h 4.7 (29) - 2University of MichiganBeginnerPython, SQL, SQLite
Stated prerequisites: No prerequisites; designed as an on-ramp to programming
Show the 5 courses
Course Level Length Rating (reviews) Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python) Beginner 17 h 4.8 (233,775) Python Data Structures Beginner 20 h 4.9 (97,365) Using Python to Access Web Data Beginner 19 h 4.8 (44,591) Using Databases with Python Beginner 14 h 4.8 (21,659) Capstone: Retrieving, Processing, and Visualizing Data with Python Beginner 9 h 4.7 (14,483) - 3Rice UniversityBeginnerPython
Stated prerequisites: High school mathematics; no programming required
Show the 7 courses
Course Level Length Rating (reviews) An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python (Part 1) — 19 h 4.8 (3,322) An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python (Part 2) Beginner 16 h 4.9 (1,214) Principles of Computing (Part 1) Intermediate 19 h 4.7 (584) Principles of Computing (Part 2) Intermediate 16 h 4.8 (365) Algorithmic Thinking (Part 1) Intermediate 14 h 4.6 (385) Algorithmic Thinking (Part 2) Intermediate 13 h 4.7 (220) The Fundamentals of Computing Capstone Exam Intermediate 1 h 4.8 (116)
Reading
Python for EverybodyCharles R. SeveranceThe specialization's official textbook: one chapter per week of the course.Free, CC BY 4.0
Think Python, 3rd ed.Allen B. DowneyA second, more rigorous look at functions, recursion and classes; prepares Python 3 and OOP.Free, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Things to watch
- Python for Everybody and Fundamentals of Computing overlap at the start: take Rice alongside the second half of Python for Everybody.
With Coursera Plus
This semester takes 207 hours, about 5 months at 10 hours a week. A Coursera Plus subscription gives access to most of its courses during that time.