Short course
Python Programming for Data Science: Introduction
Course status:
Course ended
Dates:
01/10/2025 - 03/12/2025
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£300.00
Data science is a discipline that uses scientific methods, processes, and algorithms to extract meaningful information, knowledge, and insights from structured and unstructured data.
The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to programming for data science, using the Python programming language. The course seeks to introduce the basics of the data science process, from collecting data, pre-processing it (cleaning/correcting it), performing exploratory data analyses, visualizing data, and sharing analysis results.
The course will rely on Jupyter Notebooks for interactive Python programming as they are widely used in Data Science.
Before attending this course, students will need to know:
- the fundamentals of linear algebra: what is a matrix and how matrix addition and multiplication are performed;
- the following fundamental concepts of statistics: mean, median, variance and standard deviation, interquartile range;
- the fundamentals of algebra: real and complex numbers, exponential and logarithm, and trigonometric functions.
If you choose to register for accreditation and assessment, to complete the assignment you will need access to a computer capable of running the open-source software used in the course and access to the Internet. A limited amount of class time will be allocated to working on the class assignment, so you should ensure that you also have access to a computer outside of class.
If you are unable to attend this course in Oxford, an online version is also available.
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Programme details
Course starts Wednesday 1 October 2025
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Wednesdays, 7-9pm.
Week 1: Introduction to Data Science. Course set-up. Intro to Python: numbers
Week 2: Python basics: built-in types, functions and methods, if statement
Week 3: Python data structures: lists ,tuples, dictionaries and sets; for loops
Week 4: Numpy
Week 5: Pandas for data science I
Week 6: Pandas for data science II
Week 7: Data visualisation: matplotlib and seaborn
Week 8: Object-oriented programming: classes, inheritance, and applications
Week 9: Data gathering and cleaning. Text pre-processing for Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Week 10: Time Series Analysis
Teaching methods
Each weekly session will consist of lectures and hands-on programming exercises, class discussions and interactive programming demonstrations by the tutor.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will have been given the opportunity to have learnt how to be able to write procedural code using the Python language and tools to:
- import data from local and/or remote sources and preprocess it;
- extract significant information from the gathered data;
- visualise the relevant features extracted from the data.
After attending this course:
- how to perform fundamental Python operations such as variable creation, numerical operations on scalar, vectors and matrices, iteration through a collection, manipulation of elements in a collection;
- how to use NumPy and pandas to import a dataset and extract important statistics from it using techniques such as split-apply-combine (for example, finding the mean, median or max of a quantitative variable for each category in a categorical variable);
- given a dataset, how to select the appropriate visualisation graph depending on the information to be conveyed, and use the matplotlib and seaborn library to draw it and add title, captions and figure legends;
- how to create and add state and behaviour to a class in Python;
- how to use nltk or spaCy to preprocess a text and convert it to a numerical representation that can be manipulated by information retrieval algorithms (eg for sentimental analysis, semantic search or machine learning algorithms);
- how to perform time series analysis.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
Students will be asked to submit a portfolio of two exercises for their coursework assignment. The first exercise will be given in week 5 for early submission, and the second in week 9.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level.
Experience in using a programming or scripting language is beneficial. The basic elements of programming using the Python programming language will be introduced throughout the course. However, each student should consider that this course requires a certain amount of homework (2–3 hours per week) to familiarise with the concepts explained during the class. This is especially true for students who are not familiar with programming.
This is a course on data science, so some mathematical concepts will be discussed but this will be kept to a minimum. Expect some exposition to (1) linear algebra (eg matrices operations), (2) statistics, and (3) calculus.
Course aims
The course aims to give students the opportunity to learn the basic aspects of Python programming for data science and to gain an appreciation for the end-to-end process of obtaining data, processing it, and presenting results.
Course objective: to be able to build a simple data processing pipeline by the end of the course.
IT requirements
The course will rely on Jupyter Notebooks for interactive Python programming as they are widely used in Data Science.
In order to complete the assignment (and in order to get the full benefit from the course), students will need access to a computer capable of running the open-source software used in the course and access to the Internet. Only a limited amount of class time will be allocated to working on the assignment, so students should ensure that they have access to a computer outside of class.
Programme details
Course starts Wednesday 1 October 2025
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Wednesdays, 7-9pm.
Week 1: Introduction to Data Science. Course set-up. Intro to Python: numbers
Week 2: Python basics: built-in types, functions and methods, if statement
Week 3: Python data structures: lists ,tuples, dictionaries and sets; for loops
Week 4: Numpy
Week 5: Pandas for data science I
Week 6: Pandas for data science II
Week 7: Data visualisation: matplotlib and seaborn
Week 8: Object-oriented programming: classes, inheritance, and applications
Week 9: Data gathering and cleaning. Text pre-processing for Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Week 10: Time Series Analysis
Teaching methods
Each weekly session will consist of lectures and hands-on programming exercises, class discussions and interactive programming demonstrations by the tutor.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will have been given the opportunity to have learnt how to be able to write procedural code using the Python language and tools to:
- import data from local and/or remote sources and preprocess it;
- extract significant information from the gathered data;
- visualise the relevant features extracted from the data.
After attending this course:
- how to perform fundamental Python operations such as variable creation, numerical operations on scalar, vectors and matrices, iteration through a collection, manipulation of elements in a collection;
- how to use NumPy and pandas to import a dataset and extract important statistics from it using techniques such as split-apply-combine (for example, finding the mean, median or max of a quantitative variable for each category in a categorical variable);
- given a dataset, how to select the appropriate visualisation graph depending on the information to be conveyed, and use the matplotlib and seaborn library to draw it and add title, captions and figure legends;
- how to create and add state and behaviour to a class in Python;
- how to use nltk or spaCy to preprocess a text and convert it to a numerical representation that can be manipulated by information retrieval algorithms (eg for sentimental analysis, semantic search or machine learning algorithms);
- how to perform time series analysis.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
Students will be asked to submit a portfolio of two exercises for their coursework assignment. The first exercise will be given in week 5 for early submission, and the second in week 9.
Nazneen Ali
I have a Master of Technology in Data Science and Engineering, a Master’s in Electronics, and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science(Hons). With over 15 years of teaching experience, I’ve helped students grow academically and professionally. My experience includes mentoring Data Science projects, particularly in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Python programming.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level.
Experience in using a programming or scripting language is beneficial. The basic elements of programming using the Python programming language will be introduced throughout the course. However, each student should consider that this course requires a certain amount of homework (2–3 hours per week) to familiarise with the concepts explained during the class. This is especially true for students who are not familiar with programming.
This is a course on data science, so some mathematical concepts will be discussed but this will be kept to a minimum. Expect some exposition to (1) linear algebra (eg matrices operations), (2) statistics, and (3) calculus.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £300.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.
