5/8/2021 Applied Data 
Science Module

Applied Data Science Module

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Learn the Fundamentals of Data Science,

Tuition-free

Leverage Real-World Data

Across both units in the Module, students gain a comprehensive introduction to scienti c computing, Python, and
the related tools data scientists use to succeed in their work. Students will develop machine learning and
statistical analysis skills through hands-on practice with open-ended investigations of real-world data.

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Access All the Tools you Need

All students receive complimentary access to a ready-to-use Python environment for the entire Module. This
allows students to gain rst-hand experience with Python, pandas, and Jupyter Notebooks, and allows for
immediate immersion into novel data science problems.

Learn from the Best

The Applied Data Science Module is built by WorldQuant University’s partner, The Data Incubator, a fellowship
program that trains data scientists. Graduates earn a Credly badge upon completion of each unit to share and
celebrate their professional development.

NEXT DEADLINE

June 13, 2021

PROGRAM START DATE

July 5, 2021

COST

Free

LENGTH

8 or 16 weeks

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS

Experience with algebraic concepts and basic Python

Passing score on skills quiz

COMMITMENT

10-12 Hours a week

AWARD

Credly Badge

The Applied Data Science Module is delivered online to enable students to participate in a exible yet rigorous
continuing education program to amplify their skills and knowledge. To apply, applicants ll out a pro le on
their educational history and technical skillset, which takes about 20 minutes to complete.
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APPLY

The Module

Across two units and sixteen weeks, students learn to source data relevant to a business problem or task, to
summarize data in aggregate statistics and visualizations, and to model trends to showcase insights and make
practical business decisions.

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Students who successfully complete Unit I are eligible to enroll in Unit II. Students who complete either Unit
earn a badge from Credly, the recognized leader in skills credentialing.

Applied Data Science I: Scienti c Computing & Python

In Unit I, students gain a comprehensive introduction to scienti c computing, Python, and the related tools data
scientists use to succeed in their work. Successful completion of Unit I is a prerequisite for enrollment in Unit II.

SKILLS USED:

Data Wrangling
Basic + Advanced Data Analysis
Python Basic Syntax + Data Structures
Object Oriented Programming
CSV
For Loops
While Loops
JSON
NumPy
Pandas
SQL

Unit I Projects

PROJECT 1
In this project students use Python to compute Mersenne numbers, using the Lucas-Lehmer test to
identify Mersenne numbers that are prime. They use Python data structures and core programming
principles such as loops to implement their solution. In addition, students learn to implement the Sieve

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of Eratosthenes as a faster solution for checking if numbers are prime, learning about the importance of
algorithm time complexity.

PROJECT 2
In this project students use Object Oriented Programming to create a class that represents a geometric
point. They de ne methods that describe common operations with points such as adding two points
together and nding the distance between two points. Finally, they write a K-means clustering
algorithm that uses the previous de ned point class.

PROJECT 3
In this project students use basic Python data structures, functions, and control program ow to answer
posed questions over medical data from the British NHS on prescription drugs. They also work with
fundamental data wrangling techniques such as joining data sets together, splitting data into groups,
and aggregating data into summary statistics.

PROJECT 4
In this project students use the Python package pandas to perform data analysis on a prescription drug
data set from the British NHS. They answer questions such as identifying what medical practices
prescribe opioids at an usually high rate and what practices are prescribing substantially more rare
drugs compared to the rest of the medical practices. They also use statistical concepts like z-score to
help identify the aforementioned practices.

Applied Data Science II: Machine Learning & Statistical Analysis

In Unit II, students learn how to build machine learning models to make predictions based on real-world data.
They will understand the best way to treat, clean, and encode data and how to choose the appropriate machine
learning models for the task. They will properly tune the model to create a generalized model that performs well
on both a training set and on out-of-sample data. They will learn how to build models using text and time series
data.

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Science Module

SKILLS USED:

Data Wrangling
Basic + Advanced Data Analysis
Python Basic Syntax + Data Structures
Object Oriented Programming
CSV
For Loops
While Loops
JSON
NumPy
Pandas
SQL

Unit II Projects

PROJECT 1
In this project students work with nursing home inspection data from the United States, predicting
which providers may be ned and for how much. They use the scikit-learn Python package to construct
progressively more complicated machine learning models. They also impute missing values, apply
feature engineering, and encode categorical data.

PROJECT 2
In this project students use natural language processing to train various machine learning models to
predict an Amazon review rating based on the text of the review. Further, they use one of the trained
models to gain insight on the reviews, identifying words that are highly polar. With these highly polar
words identi ed, one can understand what words highly in uence the model’s prediction.

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Which O ering is Right for Me?

Master of Science in 
Financial Engineering

NEXT DEADLINE

June 22, 2021

PROGRAM START DATE

July 6, 2021

COST

Free

PROGRAM LENGTH

2 Years

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor’s Degree

Proof of English pro ciency

Passing score on Quantitative Pro ciency Test

COMMITMENT

20-25 Hours a week

AWARD

Master of Science in Financial Engineering Degree

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Applied Data Science Module

NEXT DEADLINE

June 13, 2021

PROGRAM START DATE

July 5, 2021

COST

Free

PROGRAM LENGTH

8 or 16 weeks

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS

Experience with algebraic concepts and basic Python

Passing score on skills quiz

COMMITMENT

10-12 Hours a week

AWARD

Credly Badge

Program Requirements
This is a true introduction to data science and can accommodate beginners with the right amount of
foundational knowledge.

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To qualify, candidates must have experience with algebraic concepts such as functions and variables,
which frequently used in programming.

Preference is given to applicants with familiarity in programming fundamentals, basic statistics, linear
algebra, and calculus.

Students should expect to commit roughly 10 to 12 hours per week between lecture videos, assignments,
and individual study.

This professional development opportunity does not require you to have any prior degrees or credentials.

The Module runs four times each calendar year. We strongly encourage all quali ed candidates to apply soon, as
space in each class is limited.

2021 MODULE START DATES

Start Date Application Deadline

January 5 December 22

April 12 March 23

July 5 June 13

September 27 September 5

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Science Module

Get Started Today

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