In Spring 2019 Yale offered a new course to enhance students’ knowledge and capabilities in the fundamental ideas and skills of data science. Based on Berkeley’s popular Data 8 course, YData is an introduction to data science that emphasizes computational and programming skills along with inferential thinking. The course is designed to be accessible to students with little or no background in computing, programming, or statistics. At the same time, it is meant to be engaging for more technically oriented students, through the extensive use of examples and hands-on data analysis.
The course is based on the Python programming language and a special-purpose cloud computing platform for students to edit and execute their code in Jupyter notebooks. This “levels the playing field” with respect to prior computing and programming experience, and makes it easy for students to get started. The core class is designed to be accessible and attractive to students with all levels of prior experience and of all academic interests. President Peter Salovey used YData as an example of Yale’s commitment to offering more multidisciplinary courses and programs in a May 9 update on academic priorities.
Related Yale articles:
Yale News preview of YData , Update on inaugural semester, YData seminars