Group Studies: Introduction to Data Science

In this group study class, we will cover the material in Data 8 using the online Data 8X a three-part professional certificate program in data science from UC Berkeley. This first course, “Computational Thinking with Python,” focuses on programming and data visualization. The second course, “Inferential Thinking by Resampling,” will focus on statistical inference. The third course is “Prediction and Machine Learning.”

This group study is intended for graduate students in professional schools who seek an introduction to data science in order to integrate techniques into their domain or to pursue further educational opportunities such as the graduate certificate in applied data science. The class format is essentially self-guided: students will watch the video lecture and complete the assignments before class, and then meet to discuss the lesson. Undergraduate assistants from Data 8 will coach class participants as necessary. There are small class projects that allow students to work with their own datasets.

Data 8X is based on a rigorous first-year undergraduate course at UC Berkeley called Foundations of Data Science. Over 1,000 students take this course each semester. The course is designed as an introduction to programming and statistics for students from many different majors. It teaches practical techniques that apply across many disciplines, and also serves as the technical foundation for more advanced courses in data science, statistics, and computer science.

No prior programming experience is necessary, but many of the programming techniques covered in this course do not appear in a typical introduction to programming. The programming content of this course focuses on manipulating data tables, rather than building software applications. Therefore, students who take the course after taking other programming courses often learn a new approach to programming that they haven't encountered before.