22 Python Data Science Courses and Bootcamps to Know

Massive open online courses and e-learning are in the midst of an unexpected (if entirely logical) resurgence. At the same time, data science — famously described by Harvard Business Review as “the sexiest job of the 21st century” — remains an attractive career-change option among those with a mind for stats. And finally, in the seemingly endless Python versus R debate, Python appears to have put some clear distance between itself and its “rival” language.

All of which goes to say: There’s never been a better time to enroll in a Python-focused data science course. It’s where newcomers can grasp important statistical concepts, learn about popular machine learning algorithms and get exposed to must-know libraries — all through the lens of what is now, according to some rankings, the most popular programming language in use.

With that in mind, below are 22 Python data science bootcamps and courses to know and consider.

Note: Bootcamps that had offered in-person learning may have shifted to fully online models. Check sites for updates.

University-Affiliated Python Data Science Courses

University of Michigan — Applied Data Science with Python

This five-course intensive, available via Coursera, starts off with an introduction to basic programming before diving into dataviz plotting and charting, various machine learning methods, text mining and social network analysis — with each course focused on Python. Like most Coursera specializations, all courses are also available à la carte.

Cost: Currently offering free enrollment, but pricing may change

Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Machine Learning With Python: From Linear Models to Deep Learning

Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer science professors and lecturers dive into all the common models and machine-learning algorithms that working data scientists commonly utilize during this 15-week, edX-hosted course, covering everything from collaborative filtering in recommender systems to natural-language-processing RNNs. For projects, students design automatic review analyzers and neural networks for classifying handwritten digits. Basic understanding of Python programming and probability stats are prerequisites. 

Cost: Free ($300 with certificate)

Cornell University — Python for Data Science Certificate

Students start this seven-course intensive with foundational Python code structure and end using scikit-learn to build their own predictive models. In between, courses span visualization, data interpretation and data manipulation, including exposure to popular plotting packages, like Matplotlib, and must-know Python libraries for data analysis (NumPy and Pandas). Submit a request on the university site to learn more course details, including completion time and how many hours to devote to the course each week.

Cost: Submit request form to learn more

University of Edinburgh — Predictive Analytics Using Python

Most real-world data work is a lot more workaday than, say, fancy computer vision models or deep-learning neural networks. This three-month, five-course deep dive, hosted on edX, covers how management analysts can get practical performance insights by learning to apply and evaluate predictive and statistical models with Python. Some familiarity with statistics and programming is required.

Cost: $1,500

Harvard University — CS50: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence With Python

CS50, a collection of Harvard University computer-science courses available via edX, was a MOOC watershed when it debuted in 2012, and its reputation and popularity has only solidified since. “[F]ew, if any [digital university courses], combine the institutional credibility, the enormous reach, and the zealous engagement” that the CS50 collection — which includes this AI-with-Python intro — carries, according to a 2020 New Yorker profile. Why so credible? It’s hard! In fact, most don’t finish. But “those who stick with it often become diehards,” as the profile noted.

Cost: Free (with option to upgrade)

Emeritus — Programming With Python

Emeritus partners with 15 different universities to bring higher-ed shine to the e-learning galaxy, including its Columbia University Engineering-affiliated data science sequence. It also offers this 10-week stepping stone, covering algorithms, syntax rules, debugging strategies and other Python programming basics. Each participant can supplement their education with office hours, peer discussions and dedicated program support team representatives. Students should expect to spend 5 to 10 hours on coursework each week. This online course also includes coding exercises, knowledge checks and bonus content on more specialized topics. 

Cost: $2,125

Python Data Science Bootcamps

Metis — Data Science Bootcamp

Metis is among the more renowned names in the burgeoning data-science bootcamp ecosystem, and its ACCET-accredited intensive has produced graduates that landed jobs at Spotify, Facebook and other tech powerhouses. But true newbies should also consider this six-week, Python-focused prep course. It lays all the bedrocks — linear algebra, statistics, calculus — while also introducing Jupyter Notebooks and all the foundational Python libraries. Metis also offers the short immersive course Explore Datasets Using Python and SQL, which allows students to improve their Python skills at a quicker pace.

Cost: Pricing depends on course

BrainStation — Data Science Bootcamp

Similar to Metis, BrainStation offers both a full-time, instructor-led data science intensive and more narrowly focused, part-time online prep. Among them is this data-centric crash course in Python. Students cover essentials like Pandas and NumPy, how to read documentation and how to use metadata repositories.

Cost: Submit more information to learn about pricing details

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General Assembly — Data Science Immersive Online

This 12-week immersive exposes students to advanced concepts and tools like clustering, neural network fitting and recommender systems, but it kicks off with a Python-basics bootcamp-within-a-bootcamp of sorts. The self-paced section includes essential programming concepts while also providing exposure to fundamental concepts like probability distributions and hypothesis testing.

Cost: $15,950

Flatiron School — Data Science Bootcamp

The data-science and machine-learning offering from this long-running bootcamp provider kicks off with a module devoted to Python fundamentals. There, you’ll hit on Jupyter Notebooks and basic libraries (Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib/Seabo), along with key concepts like data structures, data cleaning, relational databases and tips for scraping for data and retrieving data with APIs. The module is available part-time (40 weeks) and full-time (15 weeks). Physical campuses are located in New York City, Denver and Colorado Springs, but online learning remains an option as well. 

Cost: $16,900

Galvanize — Data Science Immersive Bootcamp

This 19-week software engineering intensive incorporates Python learning and offers multi-quarter career services support. As for the curriculum, students enter the world of web programming by building applications with Python, Vanilla JavaScript and other programs. Each module builds off the previous one, requiring students to expand their knowledge of programming languages as they interact with more complex applications and cloud-based platforms. Campuses are located in Austin, Boulder, Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle, with remote learning as an option.

Cost: $17,980

NYC Data Science Academy — Data Science With Python

This “bundle” offers a discounted rate for three multi-unit courses. The first focuses on syntax basics, list manipulation and data wrangling; the second dives deeper into analysis (with NumPy, SciPy and Pandas) and introduces visualization (with Matplotlib and Seaborn); and the third wraps up with a 20-hour course on machine learning algorithms. Each course is also available as a standalone option.

Cost: $4,732

Coding Dojo — Intro to Data Science in Python & Machine Learning

A promising choice for those interested in a part-time route that also offers hands-on guidance, this 16-week option introduces a new Python library and corresponding concept each virtual meeting: linear algebra and stats with NumPy, dataviz with Matplotlib and Seaborn, exploratory data analysis with Pandas and machine learning with Folium. The course is taught by a team of instructors whose specializations include data science, data analytics and neuroscience. 

Cost: $9,495

Python Data Science Video Courses

Pluralsight — Python for Data Analysts

Pluralsight is an online platform where tech professionals can access educational content designed to teach them new skills and help them refine and advance their existing skill sets. It covers a broad range of topics that include multiple data-focused course offerings. Pluralsight says its 12-course Python for Data Analysts learning path has approximately 24 hours of content across beginner, intermediate and advanced subject matter that extends from helping users learn to create their first Python analytics solution all the way to scraping web data.

Cost: Offers individual and team pricing plans for access to its course library

DataCamp — Career Track: Data Scientist With Python

There’s an abundance of information packed across this 88-hour, 23-course Python-focused plunge — from data cleaning to cluster analysis to supervised and unsupervised learning. (DataCamp also offers a similar track for R.) But don’t be overwhelmed; the affordable subscription model and self-paced video structure allows students to sidestep cram-a-lot intensity. The first chapter in each of the nearly two-dozen courses is free to view.

Cost: Free basic plan/$12.42 monthly for premium individual subscription

Dataquest — Data Scientist in Python

Dataquest’s track operates on a similar model as DataCamp, with a plethora of courses (nearly three dozen) that students can choose between at will with a yearlong subscription. Expect Python-focused looks at data cleaning, Kaggle competitions and even a bit of engineering, among much more. There’s a notable focus on real-world portfolio-building, with projects that include stock and home-sale predictions, bias analysis based on SAT scores and demographics, and a Bayesian approach to spam filtering.

Cost: Select premium plan to learn more about pricing details

IBM — Data Science Professional Certificate

This popular, well-rated sequence — made available through Coursera and taught by IBM data scientists — covers data analysis, visualization, machine learning and more — each through the prism of Python. It culminates with the so-called Battle of the Neighborhoods capstone, in which students retrieve and scrape data, then create a model to find housing that meets given criteria, locate the ideal spot to open a particular kind of business, or solve some other location optimization challenge.

Cost: Currently offering free enrollment, but pricing may change

Udemy — Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp

This high-rated Udemy course covers the Python basics; outlines key statistical concepts, such as linear regression, logistic regression and bias-variance tradeoff; and introduces more complex systems like natural language processing, recommendation engines and neural networks. (There’s also a few hours devoted to TensorFlow and Keras in the advanced back end.) This course is one of the more well-known, respected options among the online video-lecture courses.

Cost: Price may vary

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Python Institute — Python Essentials

Developers tend to have strong feelings about programming certifications in general — let your demonstration projects and open-source contributions speak for themselves, goes the refrain — and Python is no exception. But whether or not you opt to take the exam for Python Institute’s top-level certification (perhaps the most prominent one available), the non-profit does offer two free training modules — Python Essentials Part 1 and Part 2 — worth considering. The emphasis is more on programming, rather than data science, but it’s a good primer of fundamentals regardless.

Cost: Free

INE — Data Science Pass

INE’s data science learning path gives students access to a range of Python-based courses, including Intro to Programming with Python, Web Scraping using Python and Deep Learning with Python. Students can go on to apply their knowledge of Python to topics spanning data analysis, programming, data management, machine learning and automation.

Cost: Options include $39/month and $299/year

Skillsoft — Data Wrangling in Python

This channel offers a series of recorded videos that guides participants through three in-depth sessions, with each session running just under three hours. Students should enter the course with some background in Python programming, and those who complete the course will become skilled in automating data processes within Python. Those who haven’t yet signed up for an account can choose between individual and team monthly subscriptions. 

Cost: $19 for an individual monthly subscription

Codecademy — Data Science Career Path

After an intro to SQL, students dive into analysis, visualization, statistics, data cleaning and munging, and web scraping — each using Python and its corresponding libraries. From there: machine learning-driven techniques like recommender systems and NLP. There’s an explicit focus on portfolio-building and projects, which include a linear regression model of the collapsing honeybee population and plotting line graphs with lime sales data. Students complete a series of modules across an estimated 35-week schedule. Shorter, targeted “skill paths,” rather than “career,” are also available, including several Python data science-related options.

Cost: Available with pro subscription ($19.99/month)