Hundreds of education providers have emerged eager to teach those interested in learning data science and becoming the world’s leading data scientists. From self-paced learning and guided instruction to formal educational programs offered at universities, the ways in which someone can learn data science could seem daunting. Data Science Programs was created to introduce you to the education providers you may not have realized existed and help find your right path to learn data science. We’ve curated a short list of our favorite data science educational providers and resources below to help you start your research journey. We will be adding to this list in the coming months.
Our information has been collected through interviews with the education provider’s founders and administrators, faculty, alumni and current students as well as information gathered from the provider’s website and marketing materials. When possible we connect leading data science professionals [with hiring power] to ask them for their opinions on the data science education providers. Our goal is to arm anyone interested in learning data science with the information they need to make a confident and informed decision.
We strive to provide the most up-to-date information on: education costs and tuition, curriculum, admissions criteria & process, instruction & pedagogy, program rigor and required time commitment, graduate outcomes [such as starting salaries] and educational quality [including background on the institution, accreditation status, instructor profiles and investors]. Feel free to jump ahead in the table of contents to certain data science learning paths or scroll at your leisure. Again, check back soon as we will be adding to this list in the coming months.
Table of Contents
Non-degree granting Data Science Programs
IRL Data Science Programs & Bootcamps
Data Science Certificate Programs
Data Science Corporate training [coming soon]
Data Science Workshops [coming soon]
Data Science Conferences [coming soon]
Degree granting Data Science Programs
Undergrad Majors in Data Science [coming soon]
Online Masters in Data Science
Joint MBA / MS in Data Science [coming soon]
Data Science PhD programs [coming soon]
Self-Paced Data Science Learning
Feeling semi-motivated and want to learn data science through a self-paced pathway? We’ve a curated list of the leading data science books, apps, MOOCs, recorded lectures/videos and podcasts.
Featured Data Science Books
Title:
Data Smart: Using Data Science to Transform Information into Insight
Author
John w. Foreman
Est. Cost
Editorial Comments
Foreman is Chief of Data Science for MailChimp.com and notable industry consultant
Title:
Practical Data Science with R
Author
Nina Zumel & John Mount
Est. Cost
Editorial Comments
Both authors hold Ph.Ds from Carnegie Mellon and run a successful data science consulting firm in SF
Title:
Data Science For Business
Author
Foster Provost and Tom Fawcett
Est. Cost
Editorial Comments
This book is based on the NYU Stern MBA course Provost taught on data science
Title:
Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie or Die
Author
Eric Siegel
Est. Cost
Editorial Comments
An introductory book being used by over 30 leading Universities
Featured Data Science MOOCs
Class Name:
Statistical Thinking for Data Science and Analytics
4.65 (72 reviews)
Instructor
Institution
Platform
EdX
Length
5 weeks
Effort
7-10 hours per week
Price
$XXX
Level
Introductory
Enrollment
XXXX
Class Name:
4.65 (72 reviews)
Instructor
Multiple instructors
Institution
MITx
Platform
EdX
Length
12 weeks
Effort
10-15 hours per week
Price
$XXX
Level
Intermediate
Enrollment
Open
Class Name:
4.9 (72 reviews | 24,000 ratings)
Instructor
Andrew NG
Institution
Stanford
Platform
Coursera
Length
11 weeks
Effort
XXXX
Price
$XXX
Level
XXXX
Enrollment
XXXX
Class Name:
4.65 (72 reviews)
Instructor
Dave Holtz & Cheng-Han Lee
Institution
Facebook & MongoDB
Platform
Udacity
Length
2 months
Effort
XXX
Price
$XXX
Level
Intermediate
Enrollment
XXXX
Featured Data Science Lectures/Videos
Title
Lectures
Multiple
Institution
Harvard University Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Editorial Comments
Popular introduction to data science [clustering, visualization] originally taught in Fall 2014.
Title
Lectures
Derek Kane
Institution
Independently published on YouTube
Editorial Comments
Consultant data scientist, Derek Kane, published a series of data science lectures [complete with slide decks] on YouTube covering topics from predictive analytics to decision trees and programming in R].
Featured Data Science Podcasts
Title
Hosts
Kyle, Linh Da & Yoshi
Editorial Comments
Over 130 episodes to select from. Majority of episodes run from 10 to 20 minutes. Great introductory content. Topics range from data science principles to real world application and case studies.
Title
Hosts
Enrico Bertini and Moritz Stefaner
Editorial Comments
80+ episodes dive into the latest developments and trends in data analytics, visualizations and feature guests from a wide range of experiences and practices.
Non-Degree Granting
Featured Data Science Bootcamps and Programs [IRL]
Program name:
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
LevelCore: $7,995
[intermediate: 8-week & 20-week paths]
LevelSet: $5,250 [intro: 15 weeks]
Scholarships & payment plans available.
Locations
Boston, Charlotte, Seattle, Silicon Valley
Editorial Comments
Impressive curriculum designed by Northeastern University faculty, Academic Elites (Harvard, MIT & more) and through partnerships with Fortune 100 companies (Amazon Web Services, AT&T, Cisco Internet of Things & more). 10:1 student teacher ratio. All instructors are DS practitioners with advanced degrees. 40% of students are female and ~ 30% of incoming students have prior DS experience.
Students are paired with a career services counselor and in a recent survey of their 100 alumni, 85% of respondents reported Level helped advanced their personal and professional goals! Recent hiring companies include: Uber, IDC, AAA, Raytheon & VMWare.
LevelEDU also offers learning paths in Internet of Things & AWS: Foundations of Cloud Computing [6 weeks; $2,950].
Program name:
NYC Data Science Academy
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
12 week, full-time program $16,000 [financing available with Skills Fund]
Locations
NYC
Editorial Comments
Curriculum focuses on teaching r, python, hadoop and spark. Job placement services is included in the cost of tuition. Application is on a rolling basis but does include a written submission and interview. It is recommended that all applicants hold a Masters of PhD in one of the following disciplines: Math, Science, Engineering or Technology.
According to the NYC Data Science Academy website, recent hiring companies include: Barclays, CITI Bank, Mindshare, Bloomberg, Booz Allen, IBM Watson, Spotify and many others.
The school maintains a license from the NYC Department of Education.
Program name:
Divergence Academy
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
12-week, full-time program: $13,300 [financing available with TAD tuition management system]
Locations
Dallas
Editorial Comments
Students interested in data mining and predictive analysis should consider Divergence Academy. The curriculum is based in Python and utilizes tools and libraries including pandas, matplotlib, Numpy, Pymc, and scikit-learn. SQL and NoSQL are also taught. Students are recommended to have some experience in statistics and programming. Application requires a written submission and interview. Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis to the program.
Divergence Academy is not an accredited institution.
Program name:
Ivy Data Science
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
Data Science Immersive: 12-weeks. $10,000 [financing available]
Locations
Boston, NYC, SF Bay Area
Editorial Comments
Ivy Data Science’s immersive bootcamp is designed for candidates with a background in statistics, mathematics or computer engineering. Without prior Python experience, candidates will need to take a crash course offered. The curriculum covers technologies such as: Spark, Hadoop, Julia, Python and principles such as: machine learning, deep learning and data visualization.
Program name:
Galvanize
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
Data Science Bootcamp: 12-week program [Scholarships & Financial Aid is available]
Locations
Austin, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco
Editorial Comments
Galvanize has raised over $85m USD in venture capital from prominent investors (ABS Capital, University Venture Fund) and provides bootcamps in data engineering, web development as well as a Master’s in Data Science program (12-month program as part of the University of New Haven). The program has produced nearly 800 graduates since its founding in 2012.
Admissions is on a rolling basis. An application, skills assessment and two technical interviews are required. Applicants need to demonstrate proficiency in Python and the majority of enrollees have a background in analysis, software engineering and or math/statistics.
The 8-week curriculum is grounded in Python with a focus in teaching the foundations of machine learning, statistical inference, machine learning and big data. Tools used included SQL and NoSQL. Upon completion of the curriculum, students partake in a 2-week capstone. The final 2-weeks of the program focus on job preparation and placement provided by Galvanize’s Career Services Management.
The Data Science Bootcamp claims a 92% job placement rate for graduates and $111,000 average starting salary. An impressive list of employers are listed on the Galvanize website including: Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, IBM, Lyft and GE among others.
Program name:
General Assembly Data Science Immersive
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
$14,500, 12-week, full-time immersive [Financing options through Climb, Pave and the Skills Fund]
Locations
17 locations in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Singapore
Editorial Comments
General Assembly (GA) based in NYC with locations around the world has received $119m in venture funding from over 20 venture investors including Advanced Publications, IVP, Bezos Expeditions (Jeff Bezos), GSV Capital & ReThink Education. Since opening its doors in 2011, GA has graduated 35,000 students in 20 cities worldwide.
The Data Science Immersive’s curriculum is designed to help teach “hard skills” such as UNIX, Git, SQL, Python, machine learning and data modeling. Courses are taught by instructors and teaching assistants hired by GA. Many of which are data science practitioners. Application is on a rolling basis. Candidates are expected to have a “good grasp” of programming, college-level statistics and probability. Ability to program in Python or R is also recommended. GA focuses on career support and job placement services to their network of 2,500 employers.
Upon completion of the course, a letter of certification is provided to graduates. General Assembly is not an accredited and recognized by the US Department of Education.
Program name:
BitBootcamp: Data Science and Machine Learning Immersive
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
$15,500, 8-week immersive [Scholarships and Financing are offered through Pave]
Locations
NYC
Editorial Comments
BitBootcamp’s curriculum focuses on Computer Science and Statistics to teach fundamental data science skills. Foundational technologies [Unix, SQL, Python, Git & R] are introduced in the first week of the curriculum. Machine learning, Big data, Data modeling, Data processing and learning algorithms are the major themes of the curriculum.
Much like other bootcamps, admissions is on a rolling basis. The application process takes one to two weeks. 30% of BitBootcamp Data Science applicants are PhDs or postdocs transitioning into the private sector. 30% are programmers with relevant work experience and the remaining 40% are students with analytical experience interested in transitioning into a career in data science. Cohorts are limited to 8 to 10 students.
Program name:
Insight Data Science
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
$0 in tuition, 7-week postdoctoral training fellowship
Locations
Silicon Valley, NYC, Boston & Remote
Editorial Comments
Insight Data Science (HQ in Palo Alto) provides a tuition-free, seven-week immersive to prepare postdoctoral students for the workforce. The goal of the fellowship is to help place their fellows into jobs. The program is underwritten by their mentoring companies. Fellows have been placed in over 200 leading firms including: Facebook, Linkedin, IAC, Uber, Salesforce, Amazon and Palantir.
Fellowships are provided in data science, data engineering, artificial intelligence and health data science. Refer to their FAQ for more information about the application process.
Featured Online Bootcamps
Bootcamp Name
Springboard: Data Science Immersive
EST. COST [$] & TIME COMMITMENT
Cost dependent on commitment. Estimated 120 hours is required to complete the program.
7-11 hours/wk = $1996
10-15 hours/wk = $1497
15-23 hours/wk = $998
Editorial Comments
Springboard (formerly SlideRule) is a San Francisco based start-up which has raised $1.7m in venture funding from prominent ed tech angel investors, Blue Fog Capital and 500 StartUps. Springboard’s data science immersive features 5 units (programming tools, data wrangling, data story telling, inferential statistics, machine learning), a capstone (25 hour project, required for all students) and a career resources unit to help prepare students for data scientist jobs (interviewing, design thinking and portfolio development).
The immersive pairs students with an experienced, data science mentor for 30 minute 1-on-1 video calls. Springboard recommends that students have a strong background in Statistics, Probability and proficiency in at least one programming language.
A completion certification is provided to all graduates.K2 encourages applicants with at least 1 to 3 years of professional experience in an analytical or technical role [data analyst, software engineer, etc]. MS and PhD students are also encouraged to apply.
A Career Support team helps students prepare for getting a data scientist job by providing lifetime access to K2 alumni and support in building a GitHub profile.
Bootcamp Name
Thinkful Data Science in Python
EST. COST [$] & TIME COMMITMENT
$1,500 [$500/mo for 3 months]
3 month commitment if studying 15 hours/wk
Editorial Comments
Thinkful has raised over $5m in venture funding from FLOODGATE, RRE Ventures, Peter Thiel and others to teach technical skills to professionals. Thinkful hosts in-person bootcamps in data science (6 months for $9,000) and web development as well as online bootcamps and skills training courses. Thinkful claims that over 3,000 students are actively engaged in their learning programs.
Thinkful’s Data Science in Python skills course helps business analysts transform their analytical skills with Python. The program pairs a student with an experienced Data Science mentor for weekly, 45 minute video sessions. Curriculum is project-based and features virtual workshops and Q&A sessions with other students and mentors over Slack.
Bootcamp Name
K2 Data Science
EST. COST [$] & TIME COMMITMENT
$5,500 tuition.
480 hour commitment is required.
12-weeks @ 40 hours/wk, 24 weeks @ 20 hours/wk or 32 weeks @ 15 hours/wk.
Editorial Comments
K2 Data Science was founded in August, 2016 and offers a part-time online data science bootcamp. Similar to Thinkful, K2 offers 1-1 mentorship with experienced Data Scientists. Mentors come from leading technical companies. The self-paced curriculum covers programming, machine leaning and mathematics and is designed to help introduce fundamental data science skills.
K2 encourages applicants with at least 1 to 3 years of professional experience in an analytical or technical role [data analyst, software engineer, etc]. MS and PhD students are also encouraged to apply.
A Career Support team helps students prepare for getting a data scientist job by providing lifetime access to K2 alumni and support in building a GitHub profile.
Featured Online Data Science Courses
Program name:
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
Technical track: $59 for 3 months of access. $149 for 12 months of access or $349 for lifetime access.
Executive track: $349 for lifetime access.
Editorial Comments
DataSociety is a Washington DC based company which was established to help working professionals learn to build predictive models with data. No background in math or programming is required! The curriculum is targeted towards individuals who are looking to take their data analysis skills to the next level. The program is really geared to building immediately, applicable skills and is designed for the self-paced learner.
There are two tracks. A technical track which focuses on teaching R and an executive track which is designed to give managers an overview of data analytics tools, data science methods and how to build data driven teams. The curriculum was developed by in-house instructional designers & data scientists. Coursework includes: Intro to R & Visualization, Data clustering, Network analysis, Regression, Text mining and Natural language processing and Prediction and classification.
Every DataSociety membership includes: practical exercises, reusable coding templates, downloadable reference guides and access to the program’s end-to-end online curriculum.
Program name:
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
Get unlimited access to all DataCamp courses with a monthly account for $29 or pay annually for $300.
Free courses are provided to those who want to test it out (no credit card required)
Editorial Comments
DataCamp (Cambridge, MA) believes in learning by doing and has developed a curriculum track based on a Data Scientist’s typical workflow. The company has raised $2.34M in venture funding from TechStars and other investors. DataCamp’s flipped model approach aims to teach its students the syntax and language of R & Python. Students spend 45 minutes on exercises and 15 minutes on instruction through an interactive, online learning platform.
Students should expect to learn:
- how to import and clean data
- how to manipulate data for analysis
- how to visualize data
- how to use R & Python for regression and machine learning
- how to report on findings
The majority of DataCamp’s students are working professionals (marketing, analytics, finance) who possess an interest in becoming more data savvy (for example, someone working in Finance moving away from Excel and into R & programming). Unlike MOOCs, DataCamp reports 50 to 70% course completion rates which they attribute to the interactive nature of the classes.
Program name:
Metis: Explore Data Science
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
$99 for 2 months access to the platform
Editorial Comments
Owned and operated by Kaplan, Inc., Metis: Explore Data Science (by Booz Allen) provides a self-paced, online data science learning program. A teaching assistant [for content related questions] and technical support is included in the subscription cost. This program is for students seeking a foundational or introductory understanding to the principles of data science. Expect to have a grasp on basic techniques upon completion. Knowledge and experience with Python and statistics is recommended for those who enroll.
No job placement services are offered.
Featured In-Person Data Science Courses
Program name:
General Assembly Data Science Course [PT]
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
Cost depends on the city but average cost is $3,950 [financing available through Climb & Pave].
Editorial Comments
General Assembly (GA) provides a 3 unit curriculum designed to provide an overview in: research design & exploratory data analysis, data modeling and data science application the “real world.” Instructors of the curriculum are data science practitioners hired by General Assembly for each immersive program.
It is recommended that General Assembly Data Science course students have a basic understanding of statistics and Python prior to enrollment. Graduates interested in master’s programs may have the opportunity to receive reduced tuition to the following online data science master’s programs datascience@berkeley and DataScience@SMU (both of which are powered by 2U).
Program name:
ByteAcademy: Data Science
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
$14,950, Part-time = 24 weeks and Full-time = 12 weeks [Merit based scholarships and Financial Aid is available]
Editorial Comments
ByteAcademy, a NYC based company has raised $2.67m in venture funding from Tri5 Ventures and began operations in August 2016. ByteAcademy’s Data Science course focuses on producing data analysts, data engineers and data architects. Python is at the core of ByteAcademy’s teachings. The curriculum covers data acquisition, analysis, Pandas, prediction, machine learning, statistical modeling, Hadoop, SQL and NoSQL. Instructors are leading data science professionals and the program features prominent guest speakers. Classes average between 5 to 15 students.
ByteAcademy boldly claims that graduates will receive a job within 6 months of graduation or tuition will be refunded (13 stipulations must be met in order to receive the tuition reimbursement) . Recent hiring companies include: IBM, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Google, CodeAcademy and BuzzFeed.
Featured Data Science Certificate Programs
Program Name
Data Science Certificate from Harvard Extension School
EST. COST [$] & TIME COMMITMENT
$10,200 ($2,550/course).
4 data science courses required for receipt of the Data Science Certificate from Harvard Extension School.
Program typically requires 1.5 years but you have up to 3 years to complete.
Program Name
Advanced Data Science Certificate Program from Northwestern School of Professional Studies
EST. COST [$] & TIME COMMITMENT
$12,072 ($2,898/course).
4 data science courses required for certificate completion.
Designed to take 20 weeks to complete.
Degree Granting
Featured Data Science Masters Program
Program name:
Master of Computational Data Science [Carnegie Mellon University]
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
144 Units are required for graduation.
$35,000 – $42,000 depending on semester start date. All students must take a 6 unit summer semester.
16-month is the standard commitment. Students take 48 Units per semester.
20-month extended timing is available. Students take 30 Units per semester.
12-month accelerated timing is also available.
Editorial Comments
CMU offers a highly competitive Master of Computational Data Science program on-campus. Acceptance rates are reportedly < 10%. Qualified admits typically [not required] have a background in Computer Science or Mathematics though work experience is not required. Applicants must submit a Statement of Purpose and Letters of Recommendation.
Students enrolled in the program are required to complete an internship. Companies come to CMU to hire their students as interns. Example companies include: Apple, Booz Allen, Google, Intel, Microsoft and Amazon.
Curriculum consists of Core Curriculum plus Behavioral Research Methods, HCI, Data Science Seminar & Analytics Capstone and 2 600 level electives in the School of Computer Science.
Upon graduation, according to CMU, most students are receiving more than one job offer at $100,000+/year plus a signing bonus.
Program name:
M.S. in Statistics: Data Science [Stanford University]
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
45 Units are required for graduation.
Editorial Comments
Stanford University’s MS in Data Science track helps students develop their mathematical, statistical, computational and programming skills. Students from outside of Stanford University must apply through the Graduate Admissions before applying to the MS in Data Science.
Curriculum is split into Foundational Skills (Numerical Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics & Algorithms, Data Optimization, Stochastic Methods in Engineering or Randomized Algorithms and Probabilistic Analysis). Then 12 Units in Data Science Electives are required (Intro to Statistical Inference, Intro to Regression & Variance, Intro to Statistical Modeling, Machine Learning & Data Mining). 9 Units of specialized electives are required (ranging from Geostatistics and Business Intelligence from Big Data to Human Neuroimaging Methods). Finally, 6 Units of Advanced Scientific Programming and High Performance Computing Core are required.
There is in addition to the above, a practicum component however a thesis is not required for graduation.
Featured Online Data Science Masters Program
Program name:
datascience@berkeley [UC Berkeley]
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
$62,991 [$2,333 / unit] for 2016-17 calendar year. Federal financial aid and private student loans are available.
27 Units designed to be completed over 20 months [2 courses per semester] or 12 months [3 courses per semester].
Classes and coursework are delivered fully online. Students are required to attend at least one, three-to-four day immersion at the UC Berkeley campus.
Editorial Comments
UC Berkeley partnered with 2U, Inc. to announce an online Master of Information in Data Science (MIDS) in July 2013. The curriculum is split into: 15 units of Foundational Courses (Statistics, Data storing/retrieval, Applied machine learning & Data visualization), 9 units of Advanced Courses (Big data, Machine learning at scale and Natural language processing) followed by a 3 unit Capstone.
Candidates are recommended to carry a 3.0 undergrad GPA and students of all backgrounds, ages and experiences are encouraged to apply. GRE or GMAT is required for admission. The avg. student age is 33 with 24% of their cohort is female. Nearly 23% of incoming students work in Computer Software while 13.8% hail from Finance/Banking/Insurance.
xtensive career services are provided to students both during the program and after graduation (MIDS for Life program keeps alumni connected and provides access to continuing education at no charge). Upon graduation, datascience@berkeley students are seeing median salaries of $119,000 at companies such as Facebook, Linkedin, Nest, Airbnb and Microsoft.
datascience@berkeley is fully accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Program name:
Master of Data Science from Whitting School of Engineering [Johns Hopkins University]
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
$38,800 ($3,880/course) Federal Financial Aid is available.
10 courses are required for graduation. Coursework must be completed within 5 years of starting.
Classes and coursework are delivered 100% online.
Editorial Comments
The Johns Hopkins Master of Data Science program prepares students to succeed in specialized data science jobs with the curriculum offering a blend of theory and practice of applied mathematics and computer science to analyze large data sets. Notable coursework includes: Python, Data structures, Algorithms, Data Science, Data visualization, Statistical models and regression, Semantic natural language processing, Big data processing using Hadoop, Game theory, Modeling, simulation and Monte Carlo.
Applicants must demonstrate a strong proficiency in mathematics/statistics. Undergraduate coursework in C++, Java or Python are required. There are admissions exceptions to the above.
Master of Data Science from Whitting School of Engineering is accredited by ABET, a specialized accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
Program name:
Master of Science in Data Science [University of Notre Dame]
Est. Cost [$] & Time Commitment
21-month program offering evening classes.
Immersions at Notre Dame and in Silicon Valley.
Editorial Comments
In August ’16, University of Notre Dame announced a partnership with AT&T to launch a 21-month, online Master of Science in Data Science program. The program is offered by the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, with the collaboration of their: CS and Engineering, Business (Mendoza) and Psychology departments. The first cohort is to begin August ’17.
Undergraduate degree in a technical or quantitative discipline is not required for admission. The program claims to be designed for working professionals and will feature curriculum grounded in real-world problem sets. Notable courses and topics include: Probability & Stats, Statistical learning, Data mining & visualization, Behavioral data science, Ethics and policies in data science, Storytelling with data science.