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Harvard University · on edX

Statistics and R

4.5(6,400) on edX·85K enrolled
Intermediate 16 hours English University CertificateFREE
SkillsStatisticsRProbabilityInferencep-valuesConfidence intervalsRandom variables

Is this course right for you?

Our take
The first course in HarvardX's Data Analysis for the Life Sciences series, taught by Rafael Irizarry, teaching statistics properly while getting you into R from day one.

Good for: Learning statistics properly, with hands-on R, in a life-sciences context.

Skip if: You want a gentle, maths-free overview or a no-code tool like Excel.

This is the rigorous route, not the gentle one. It works through random variables, distributions, inference, p-values and confidence intervals with the reasoning intact, so you come away understanding why a result holds rather than just which function to call. That depth is the whole point — and the reason to skip it if what you wanted was a maths-free overview or a no-code tool like Excel.

You can audit the full thing free on edX; the verified HarvardX certificate is about $199, with financial assistance available; the HarvardX name carries real weight on a CV, even if it certifies completion rather than any professional statistics qualification. The statistical foundations here don't age (as of 2026).

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About this course

Statistics and R is the first course in HarvardX's Data Analysis for the Life Sciences series on edX, taught by Rafael Irizarry. You can audit it free; a verified certificate costs around $199.

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Instructor

RI
Rafael Irizarry
edX instructor

Rafael Irizarry is a Harvard biostatistics professor and a leading figure in applied statistics and R, known for teaching statistics through real data and code.

Frequently asked questions

No. The course teaches R alongside the statistics, assuming no prior programming or R experience, so it doubles as a gentle introduction to the language. You will learn to run real analyses in R as you go. Some general comfort with computers helps, but you are genuinely not expected to arrive knowing how to code — that is part of what the course builds.

No, though its examples come from the life sciences. It is taught by Harvard biostatistician Rafael Irizarry and framed around biological data, but the statistical concepts and R skills — distributions, t-tests, confidence intervals, exploratory analysis — are general and transfer to any field. Non-biologists get full value from it; you just work through examples drawn from life-science datasets rather than, say, finance or marketing.

It is genuine statistics, so there is real mathematical content — probability, the normal distribution, inference — but it emphasises understanding and applying the concepts in R over abstract proofs. You do not need advanced maths to start, though comfort with basic algebra helps. Expect to think carefully rather than just memorise, but it is pitched to build the intuition rather than assume a maths degree.

Yes. It is the first course in Harvard's Data Analysis for the Life Sciences series (and related to HarvardX's broader data-science offerings), so it can be a stepping stone into a fuller multi-course program and certificate. You can take it entirely standalone for the statistics-and-R foundation, but if you enjoy it there is a clear onward path through the rest of the series.

Yes, you can audit it on edX to access the lectures and materials at no cost. The verified certificate requires payment, and financial aid is available if you apply. Since the real value is learning the statistics and R by doing the exercises, auditing captures most of it — the paid track mainly adds the certificate and any graded verification.
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