Best Data Science Courses 2021 | edX

A Brief Introduction to Data Science

Let us give you a basic overview of data science before jumping into the edX data science courses. Data science works with inhuman amounts of complex data gathered from relevant sources. Data scientists collect these data, process them, and come out with meaningful results that an organisation can utilise. It is an essential element of the decision-making purpose.

Data science was established as its own profession in 2001. But this profession uses machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). The job opportunities of data science are growing with the continuous advancement of technology.

Being a data scientist is now an honour. The Harvard Business Review 2012 called out data scientists as the “sexiest job of the 21st century”. The demand for data science has risen recently, so did its opportunities for education. Many prestigious universities like Harvard University and MIT offer their data science courses and programs on many online platforms. We are going to introduce you to some of the best data science courses available in edX, an online education platform for all.

edX Data Science

edX is an online platform that offers many certified courses on diverse subjects for all. Some of them are free while other courses will cost some money. There are over 2000 courses provided by 140+ institutions on this platform now. You can find many data science edX courses here.

The types of edX data science courses are: Big Data, Binomial Distribution, Business Intelligence, C++, Data Mining, Data Visualisation, Excel, Inference, Inferential Statistics, Informatics, Keras, Predictive Analytics, R Programming, Simulation, SQL, Statistics, Stochastic Processes, TensorFlow, and TinyML. It is a wide selection of data science courses. The best part about them is that they are designed by many prestigious institutions and the courses are certified courses for your professional career.

edX Data Science Courses

The data science edX courses are very detailed and professional. They are all real college courses from the leading universities and institutes such as Harvard, MIT, and more. There are a total of 244 data science courses available on edX. Speculations and reviews say that they are as good as offline courses.

The edX data science courses can be as basic as edX Microsoft data science, or they can be as advanced as the Basics of Statistical Inference and Modelling Using R course.

The course materials and syllabuses are the same as the offline data science courses. So you need not worry about missing out on anything while completing the course online. However, some minor and necessary changes have been made to implement these complex courses online. Here is a list of a number of courses to choose from with edX:

Introduction to Machine Learning

From ITMO University, this course is all about teaching you the essentials of machine learning and algorithms of statistical data analysis. It is an introductory level course. You can get all the basics of data science in machine learning from this course. The duration of this course is 5 weeks if you invest 2 to 4 hours per week in this course.

Data Science: Inference and Modelling

Straight from Harvard University. This course will teach you about inference and modelling. These are two of the most widely used tools in Data Science. After completion, you can successfully use models to aggregate data from different sources.

This course is an introductory course, so don’t worry if you are new to data science. Complete this course and you will be able to guide yourself in the intermediate and advanced courses. This edX data science course will take 8 weeks (1 to 2 hours per week) for completion.

Data Analysis Essentials

An introductory course all about teaching you the basics of data science. It is for those who seek to learn all the qualitative knowledge of data science before jumping into the complex stuff. This course is offered by Imperial College London. It will take 6 weeks for completion (4 to 6 hours per week).

Analytics for Decision Making

This data science edX course is designed by Babson College. It will take 4 weeks for completion (4 to 6 hours per week). This course will teach you how to analyse various data forms and make smart business decisions based on the data. This course is perfect for business students as well as for professionals. It can be a great help in your business and professional career.

Statistics and R

An intermediate course, designed by Harvard University. This course will teach you the R programming language for data statistics and relevant sectors. The R programming language is very crucial in data science.

You should compete in the introductory courses of data science before enrolling yourself in this course. As a standard, it will take 4 weeks for completion, with 2 to 4 hours per week.

Analysing and Visualising Data with Excel

An intermediate course from the world-leading brand, Microsoft. This edX Microsoft data science course will teach all about data model creation. You will be able to explore, analyse, and visualise data after completing this course. It is arguably going to be the best Excel course because it is designed by Microsoft themselves. This course will take you 6 weeks for completion with 2 to 4 hours spent per week.

Stochastic Processes: Data Analysis and Computer Simulation

From Kyoto University, this course will teach you how to simulate and analyse stochastic processes. It is for those who are working in fluid engineering. The course will take 6 weeks to complete (2 to 3 hours per week).

High-Dimensional Data Analysis

This advanced data science edX course is offered by Harvard University. It will teach you all the techniques used in analysing high-dimensional data. You can learn Mathematical Distance, Dimension Reduction, Factor Analysis, Batch Effects, Clustering, and Heatmaps. This course will take 4 weeks for completion with 2 to 4 hours spent each week.

Data Analytics Basics for Everyone

An introductory course designed by IBM, this course will teach you about all the fundamentals and principles of data science. If you are looking forward to starting your data science career, we suggest you start with this introductory course and then move up to the intermediate and advanced levels. This course will take around 5 weeks – with 2 to 3 hours per week – for completion.

Business and Data Analysis Skills

This data science edX course is brought to you by Fullbridge. This self-paced introductory course will teach you about the tools and methods for analyzing data and summarising their results. It is meant for those who are in the business profession. This course will need 3 weeks for completion. You will need to spend 3 to 4 hours per week on this course.

It’s safe to say that there’s plenty to choose from with edX. These courses are free to enrol in and complete. However, you will need to pay money if you want to experience the professional version of these courses. The professional courses come with a certificate, which is recognised and appreciated throughout the industry.

The edX Microsoft data science course we talked about on the list is yet to be made public. The announcement will happen soon. So, keep your eyes on their webpage if you are interested in that particular excel course. It is an edX Microsoft data science course from Microsoft itself. So it will be the most quality excel course.

Alternative edX Data Science Courses

As we’ve already mentioned, there are many edX data science courses available on this platform. These programs are designed by some quality institutions. They are just like your real-life study programs, complete with a dedicated syllabus, discussion board, and instructors. Here are some of the best data science courses on the edX platform.

Data Science Foundations

Data science foundations is a course developed by IBM. This program consists of four data science skill-building courses from IBM. The estimated time of completing this course is six months, considering that you will spend 3 to 6 hours every week on it.

From this self-paced course, you will be able to learn about all the tools and methodology used in data science. You will also be able to write SQL to explore relational database concepts. It is for those who want to develop their foundation of data science before diving into the advanced level.

Statistics and Data Science

Developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this program will teach you the foundation and basics of data science, statistics, and machine learning. This course is designed for those who seek to become a Data Scientist, Data Analyst, Business Intelligence Analyst, and Data Engineer. 

After completing this course, you will be able to develop machine language, algorithms and extract meaningful information from the data they collect. This program consists of five graduate-level courses from MIT. It will take just over a year to complete, assuming that you can spend 10 to 12 hours every week behind this course.

Data Analysis for Decision-Making

Designed by the Rochester Institute of Technology, this program consists of three skill-based courses. The knowledge you will gain from this program can be utilised in every aspect of your life.

This course will teach you about critical thinking, how and when to apply it, how to use Microsoft Excel and Tableau in data analysis etc. It will take three months to complete this course (6 to 8 hours every week).

Data Science for Executives

This edX data science course is designed by Columbia University. It consists of three skill-based courses. They will give you an all-around practical idea of the fundamental tools and methodologies of data science. You will also get some insight into the history of data science to enhance your perception. It is a course that will take around four months to complete, which will require 7 to 10 hours from you every week.

Excel for Everyone

This Excel program is designed by the University of British Columbia. This course will teach how to use Excel in data science. This program consists of 3 skill-based courses relating to excel.

After completion, you will be able to use various data analysis and collection models and use excel to analyse them. It will take 5 months to complete if you dedicate 3 to 5 hours every week to it.