IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
IBM Data Science Professional Certificate is an online course from edX in Data Science. It is structured in 3 modules with 3 stated learning outcomes, over 80 hours. It is free to enrol. 420K learners have enrolled on edX.
Part of our Data Science courses collection, where we compare it against 26 other courses.
Course highlights
| Provider | edX |
| Duration | 80 hours |
| Mode | Self-paced |
| Language | English |
| Projects | 3 hands-on projects |
| Instructor | IBM |
| Learners | 420K |
| Price | Free |
About this course
IBM Data Science Professional Certificate runs on edX and lets you audit every video and reading at no cost. The course is built for beginners and runs for 80 hours of self-paced study. You will work through three modules: Foundations, which covers what data science is and how a data scientist thinks; Tools, where you learn Python and SQL to clean and query data; and Analysis, which focuses on data visualization to turn numbers into stories. By the end you will be able to clean a dataset with Python, run basic SQL queries, and create bar and line charts in a visualization tool. The certificate itself is optional — you may audit for free or pay for a verified credential. This course does not cover machine learning models or statistics in depth; if those are your goal, the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate on Coursera offers a broader syllabus with the same beginner-friendly pace.
What you’ll learn
Level and time commitment
Skills you’ll gain
What this course covers
3 modulesThe 3-part outline edX publishes for this course, across 80 hours.
Module 1 · Foundations 30h · 14 lessons
What is data science
Module 2 · Tools 30h · 16 lessons
Python, SQL
Module 3 · Analysis 20h · 10 lessons
Visualization
Compiled by the CoursesGlobal editorial desk. Fees, ratings, duration and certificate details for the 1 course shown are read directly from edX course pages — we never estimate a price or a rating. Last verified 6 November 2026.
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Compare with alternatives
Same topic, different trade-offs — here's who runs each one and what it's best at.
| Course | Provider | Rating | Price | Duration | Why pick this one | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBM Data Science Professional Certificate This |
|
Free | 80 hours | Quickest to finish (80 hours) | ||
| Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate |
 Coursera
|
4.8★ | Check price | 6 months | Highest rated (4.8★ from 182.9K reviews) | View ↗ |
| Deep Learning Specialization |
Coursera
|
4.8★ | Check price | 3 months | For learners past the basics · 3 months | View ↗ |
| Python for Data Science | Learn Python Online | Udacity | Udacity | 4.8★ | Check price | 3 months | Beginner-friendly · 3 months | View ↗ |
Where Data Science leads
Roles we map to Data Science on CoursesGlobal. This is our own mapping of subject to job, not a placement claim by edX.
Browse every course we track for one of these — courses for data scientists.
Common questions
Is IBM Data Science Professional Certificate free?
Yes. edX lists it as free to enrol.
How long does IBM Data Science Professional Certificate take?
edX lists it at 80 hours. It is self-paced, so that is the volume of material rather than a deadline — how long it actually takes depends on the hours you put in each week.
What does IBM Data Science Professional Certificate cover?
It is organised into 3 modules, starting with Foundations and going on to Tools, Analysis. The full outline is on this page.
Who teaches IBM Data Science Professional Certificate?
IBM, as listed by edX.