Free Self-Paced Course
Introduction to Data Science: From Curiosity to Code
8 Weeks · 266 Pages · Computer Science — Data Science
This free, self-paced course provides a structured 8-week syllabus for learning Intro to Data Science. Each module builds on the previous one, guiding you from foundational concepts through advanced topics with 266 pages of in-depth reading material. All content is drawn from our comprehensive Intro to Data Science textbook, organized into a clear weekly schedule that you can follow at your own pace.
Weekly Syllabus
- Chapter 1: What Is Data Science? (And What It Isn't) — A Map of the Field
- Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Toolkit: Python, Jupyter, and Your First Notebook
- Chapter 3: Python Fundamentals I — Variables, Data Types, and Expressions
- Chapter 4: Python Fundamentals II: Control Flow, Functions, and Thinking Like a Programmer
- Chapter 5: Working with Data Structures: Dictionaries, Files, and Thinking in Data
- Chapter 6: Your First Data Analysis — Loading, Exploring, and Asking Questions of Real Data
- Chapter 7: Introduction to pandas — DataFrames, Series, and the Grammar of Data Manipulation
- Chapter 8: Cleaning Messy Data: Missing Values, Duplicates, Type Errors, and the 80% of the Job
- Chapter 9: Reshaping and Transforming Data — Merge, Join, Pivot, Melt, and GroupBy
- Chapter 10: Working with Text Data — String Methods, Regular Expressions, and Extracting Meaning
- Chapter 11: Working with Dates, Times, and Time Series Data
- Chapter 12: Getting Data from Files — CSVs, Excel, JSON, and Databases
- Chapter 13: Getting Data from the Web — APIs, Web Scraping, and Building Your Own Datasets
How to Use This Syllabus
- Read at your own pace. Each module is designed for roughly one week of study, but there are no deadlines. Spend as much time as you need on each topic.
- Follow in order or jump around. The modules are arranged sequentially for a structured learning path, but feel free to skip to any topic that interests you most.
- No sign-up needed. Every page in this syllabus links directly to free, open-access content. Just click a topic and start reading immediately.
Ready to Start Learning?
Access the full Intro to Data Science textbook with all chapters, examples, and exercises.
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