Johns Hopkins University · on Coursera

R Programming

4.5(20,000) on Coursera·680K enrolled
Beginner 57 hours English Specialization
Our recommendation
Johns Hopkins' R Programming course, part of its well-known Data Science specialisation. It teaches R for data analysis — from the basics to writing functions and working with data. It is more rigorous and less hand-holding than some beginner courses, and a solid choice if R is your target language.

Good for: Learners heading into data science or statistics who want to learn R.

Less suitable if: You prefer Python, or you want a very gentle, hand-held pace.

Skills you'll gain

RRStudioData analysisFunctionsData structuresStatistical programming

Is this course right for you?

A good fit if you…

You want R for data work
You are comfortable with some self-direction
You are heading to data science

Consider something else if you…

You prefer Python
You want a very gentle pace
You want a quick tutorial

Requirements: Some programming or maths comfort helps.

Realistic time: About 57 hours; a few weeks part-time.

About this course

This Johns Hopkins course is part of the Data Science Specialization and covers R from fundamentals: vectors, matrices, data frames, lists, functions, and control structures. Students work with real datasets throughout, applying R's functional programming model and learning the tidyverse and base R approaches.

What you'll learn

Write R code using vectors, lists, matrices, and data frames
Apply functional programming patterns with lapply, sapply, and mapply
Load, clean, and transform data using base R and tidyverse tools
Write R functions with proper error handling and documentation
Work with dates, strings, and regular expressions in R

This course includes

57h
On-demand video
Yes
Certificate
Yes
Mobile access
English
Language

What it costs

Free to audit on Coursera; the certificate needs a subscription (about $49 a month), with financial aid available.

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Is the certificate recognised?

Issued through Coursera with Johns Hopkins, part of its Data Science series. The skills matter most.

Instructor

RP
Roger Peng / Jeff Leek
Coursera instructor
680K+ learners10 courses4.5 instructor rating

Taught by Roger Peng, Jeff Leek, and Brian Caffo from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health — pioneers of data science education on Coursera.

About this provider

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Frequently asked questions

Yes if R is your target language for data work. It is rigorous and part of a respected data-science series.
Both are used in data science. R is strong in statistics and academia; Python is broader. Learn R if your field or role leans that way.
You can audit it free on Coursera; the certificate needs a subscription, with financial aid available.
It is less hand-holding than some beginner courses and expects some self-direction, but it is manageable.
Yes. It is part of Johns Hopkins' Data Science specialisation on Coursera.
Paid
Free to audit, paid certificate
Enroll now