Best Online Data Science Courses With Certificates

Data science is an interdisciplinary field that blends computer science and statistics to compile, analyze, and store datasets. It's a field that is based on the computer but has many real-world applications.

While a data science degree is usually needed in the field, a certification can help you develop foundational skills or sharpen your data science skills in a specific topic. Keep reading to discover some of the best online data science certification courses.

Top Online Data Science Courses With Certificates

Several online platforms offer data science courses that come with certificates. These courses can help students build a better overall understanding of data science or focus on a specific aspect of data science.

We've listed several excellent online data science courses with certificates below.

1. A Crash Course in Data Science

Through the online learning platform Coursera, Johns Hopkins University offers A Crash Course in Data Science course for those just starting out in data science. It's a seven-hour course that provides the foundations of data science, statistics, and machine learning.

The course is self-paced, meaning you navigate through it at your own speed and on your own time. Once you've finished, you'll earn a shareable certificate of completion.

2. Applied Data Science with Python

The University of Michigan offers the Applied Data Science with Python specialization through Coursera. This program introduces learners to the Python programming language with five courses:

• Introduction to Data Science in Python
• Applied Plotting, Charting, and Data Representation in Python
• Applied Machine Learning in Python
• Applied Text Mining in Python
• Applied Social Network Analysis in Python

Students can take individual courses, all of which offer certificates, or complete the entire specialization and earn that certification. The program is self-paced and takes about four months, and students should have some knowledge of data science before beginning.

3. Data Science: Machine Learning

Data Science: Machine Learning is a course that Harvard University offers through the online learning platform edX. Students in this course learn popular machine learning algorithms, principal component analysis, and regularization through hands-on projects.

This course is part of Harvard's Professional Certificate Program in Data Science. The program is self-paced, and most students finish within eight weeks. It's an introductory course, although the university does recommend taking the preceding courses in the series as prerequisite courses.

4. Data Science: R Basics

Another course that Harvard University offers on edX is the Data Science: R Basics course. This course introduces learners to the basics of R programming, including data types, data sorting, and data wrangling through data science projects.

This course is another part of the Professional Certificate Program in Data Science. It's intended for beginners and takes about eight weeks for most learners to complete. Upon completion, you'll receive a sharable certificate.

Harvard also offers several other free data science courses online that you can complete, but you may need to pay for the certificate.

5. Foundations of Data Science

Another option through Coursera is Google's Foundations of Data Science course. It provides a fundamental overview of data science and helps students understand a data project workflow and develop effective communication skills. It has five modules:

• Introduction to Data Science Concepts
• The Impact of Data Today
• Your Career as a Data Professional
• Data Applications and Workflow
• Capstone Project

This course is part of the Google Advanced Data Analytics Professional Certificate, but students still earn certificates of completion for each course. This is the first course in the program and takes about 25 hours to complete.

6. IBM Data Science Professional Certificate

The IBM Data Science Professional Certificate from Coursera is a beginner-level certificate program. It includes 12 total courses that cover topics like:

• artificial intelligence and generative AI
• databases and SQL
• data analysis
• data visualization
• libraries such as Pandas, Numpy and Scipy
• predictive modeling

The entire course series takes six months to complete, but learners are welcome to take individual courses instead. You'll receive a certificate for each course you finish as well as the entire program.

7. The Data Science Course: Complete Data Science Bootcamp 2024

Online course platform Udemy offers The Data Science Course: Complete Data Science Bootcamp 2024. It covers data science concepts such as:

• fields of data science, including data analysis, data analytics, business intelligence, machine learning, and AI
• data analysis techniques for working with big data
• programming languages like Python and R
• common software and tools, such as Tableau and Excel
• deep learning with TensorFlow
• statistical analysis

The course includes 31 hours of on-demand video, hands-on coding exercises, articles, and downloadable resources. Students have the opportunity to apply their skills to real-life case studies.

What Skills Will I Learn in an Online Data Science Course?

The skills that you learn in an online data science course will vary depending on the course, but will often include:

• data management skills
• data mining skills
• decision-making skills
• programming skills
• project management skills

You can also take courses that cover specific topics. For example, a course in artificial intelligence and machine learning may cover concepts like deep learning, neural networks, and natural language processing.

Is a Data Science Certificate Worth It?

While a data science certificate won't give you the same kind of in-depth training in data science as a bachelor's degree or master's degree data science program, it will help you hone your data science skills and refine or expand your skill set.

Certificates are a great option if you want to test out the field of data science without committing to a degree. They're also a great way to learn a facet of data science, like big data analytics or forecasting.

What Can I Do With a Data Science Certificate?

While most employers prefer to hire those with at least a bachelor's degree, earning a certificate in data science can put you on the path to reaching your career goals. A strong skill set in data science can lead to jobs like:

• data scientist
• data analyst
• data engineer
• healthcare analyst

Learn Data Science Online

If you're ready to learn data science online, check out the programs featured on Learn.org. Reach out to individual programs today to learn more about their data science courses and how to enroll.