Coursera – Introduction to Data Science Specialization 2026-1

Introduction to Data Science Specialization. This 4-part specialization from IBM provides you with the key foundational skills that every data scientist needs to prepare for a career in data science or to learn more advanced skills in the field. This specialization will introduce you to what data science is and what data scientists do. You will explore the application of data science in different fields and learn how data analysis can help you make data-driven decisions. You will realize that you can start your career path in this field without prior knowledge of computer science or programming languages: this specialization will give you the foundation you need for more advanced learning to support your career goals. You will understand concepts such as big data, statistical analysis and relational databases and will be introduced to various open source data science tools and applications used by data scientists, such as Jupyter Notebooks, RStudio, GitHub and SQL. You will complete labs and practical projects to learn the methodology involved in solving data science problems, and apply your newly acquired skills and knowledge to real-world datasets.

What you will learn:

• Explain what data science and machine learning are, their applications and use cases, and the different types of tasks performed by data scientists.
• Working knowledge of common data science tools including JupyterLab, R Studio, GitHub, and Watson Studio.
• Develop a mindset for working like a data scientist and follow a methodology for solving different types of data science problems.
• Write SQL statements and query Cloud databases using Python from Jupyter notebooks.

Who is this course suitable for?

• People looking to start a career in data science.
• People who want to acquire basic data science skills.
• Individuals seeking to pursue advanced education in data science.
• People who want to learn about data science tools and techniques.