Data​ ​Analyst​ ​Nanodegree​ ​Syllabus 

Discover​ ​Insights​ ​from​ ​Data​ ​with​ ​Python,​ ​R,​ ​SQL,​ ​and​ ​Tableau  
 
 

Before​ ​You​ ​Start 

Prerequisites​:​ ​In​ ​order​ ​to​ ​succeed​ ​in​ ​this​ ​program,​ ​we​ ​recommend​ ​having​ ​experience​ ​working​ ​with​ ​data​ ​in 
SQL​ ​and/or​ ​a​ ​spreadsheet​ ​tool​ ​like​ ​Microsoft​ ​Excel.​ ​You​ ​should​ ​also​ ​have​ ​a​ ​good​ ​understanding​ ​of 
descriptive​ ​statistics,​ ​including​ ​how​ ​to​ ​calculate​ ​and​ ​interpret​ ​measures​ ​of​ ​center​ ​(mean,​ ​median,​ ​mode); 
measures​ ​of​ ​spread​ ​(standard​ ​deviation,​ ​5-number​ ​summary);​ ​and​ ​build​ ​bar​ ​charts,​ ​histograms,​ ​boxplots, 
and​ ​scatterplots.  
 
Educational​ ​Objectives​:​ ​Learn​ ​to​ ​organize​ ​data,​ ​uncover​ ​patterns​ ​and​ ​insights,​ ​draw​ ​meaningful 
conclusions,​ ​and​ ​clearly​ ​communicate​ ​critical​ ​findings.​ ​Learn​ ​to​ ​use​ ​Python,​ ​R,​ ​SQL​ ​and​ ​Tableau.​ ​Gain​ ​all​ ​the 
skills​ ​necessary​ ​to​ ​get​ ​a​ ​job​ ​as​ ​a​ ​data​ ​analyst. 
 
Program​ ​Design 
Length​ ​of​ ​Program​*:​ ​The​ ​program​ ​is​ ​divided​ ​into​ ​two​ ​terms​ ​of​ ​three​ ​months​ ​each​ ​(approx.​ ​13​ ​weeks).​ ​We 
expect​ ​students​ ​to​ ​work​ ​10​ ​hours/week​ ​on​ ​average.​ ​Estimated​ ​time​ ​commitment​ ​is​ ​130​ ​hours​ ​per​ ​term. 
Textbooks​ ​required​:​ ​None 
Instructional​ ​Tools​ ​Available​:​ ​Video​ ​lectures,​ ​personalized​ ​project​ ​reviews,​ ​live​ ​chat​ ​help,​ ​dedicated​ ​mentor 
 
*The​ ​length​ ​is​ ​an​ ​estimation​ ​of​ ​total​ ​hours​ ​the​ ​average​ ​student​ ​may​ ​take​ ​to​ ​complete​ ​all​ ​required 
coursework,​ ​including​ ​lecture​ ​and​ ​project​ ​time.​ ​Actual​ ​hours​ ​may​ ​vary. 
 

TERM​ ​1:​ ​DATA​ ​ANALYSIS​ ​WITH​ ​PYTHON​ ​AND​ ​SQL 

Intro​ ​Project:​ ​Explore​ ​Weather​ ​Trends​ ​(5​ ​hrs) 

This​ ​project​ ​will​ ​introduce​ ​you​ ​to​ ​the​ ​key​ ​steps​ ​of​ ​the​ ​data​ ​analysis​ ​process.​ ​You’ll​ ​do​ ​so​ ​by​ ​analyzing​ ​data 
from​ ​a​ ​bike​ ​share​ ​company​ ​found​ ​in​ ​the​ ​San​ ​Francisco​ ​Bay​ ​Area.​ ​You’ll​ ​submit​ ​this​ ​project​ ​in​ ​your​ ​first​ ​7 
days,​ ​and​ ​by​ ​the​ ​end​ ​you’ll​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to: 
 

➔ Use​ ​basic​ ​Python​ ​code​ ​to​ ​clean​ ​a​ ​dataset​ ​for​ ​analysis 
➔ Run​ ​code​ ​to​ ​create​ ​visualizations​ ​from​ ​the​ ​wrangled​ ​data 
➔ Analyze​ ​trends​ ​shown​ ​in​ ​the​ ​visualizations​ ​and​ ​report​ ​your​ ​conclusions 
➔ Determine​ ​if​ ​this​ ​program​ ​is​ ​a​ ​good​ ​fit​ ​for​ ​your​ ​time​ ​and​ ​talents 

 
 

Project:​ ​Explore​ ​US​ ​Bikeshare​ ​Data​ ​(40​ ​hrs) 

You​ ​will​ ​use​ ​Python​ ​to​ ​perform​ ​steps​ ​of​ ​the​ ​data​ ​analysis​ ​process​ ​on​ ​bikeshare​ ​trip​ ​data​ ​collected​ ​from 
three​ ​US​ ​cities.​ ​You​ ​will​ ​write​ ​code​ ​to​ ​clean​ ​the​ ​data,​ ​compute​ ​descriptive​ ​statistics,​ ​and​ ​create​ ​basic 
visualizations​ ​of​ ​the​ ​distribution​ ​of​ ​data. 

Supporting​ ​Lesson​ ​Content:​ ​Introduction​ ​to​ ​Python​ ​Programming 

Lesson​ ​Title  Learning​ ​Outcomes 

NUMBERS​ ​AND​ ​STRINGS  ➔ Learn​ ​about​ ​Python's​ ​numeric​ ​and​ ​string​ ​data​ ​types 
➔ Use​ ​variables​ ​to​ ​store​ ​data 
➔ Use​ ​built-in​ ​functions​ ​and​ ​methods 

FUNCTIONS,  ➔ Install​ ​Python​ ​on​ ​your​ ​computer 

INSTALLATION,​ ​AND  ➔ Organize​ ​your​ ​code​ ​into​ ​functions 
CONDITIONALS  ➔ Use​ ​conditionals​ ​to​ ​make​ ​decisions 

DATA​ ​STRUCTURES​ ​AND  ➔ Use​ ​collection​ ​data​ ​types:​ ​lists,​ ​sets,​ ​and​ ​dictionaries 
LOOPS  ➔ Write​ `
​ for`​ ​and​ ​`while`​ ​loops​ ​to​ ​express​ ​repetition 
➔ Practice​ ​refactoring​ ​and​ ​problem​ ​solving 

FILES​ ​AND​ ​MODULES  ➔ Use​ ​modules​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Python​ ​standard​ ​library​ ​and​ ​from 
third-party​ ​libraries 
➔ Read​ ​data​ ​from​ ​files​ ​on​ ​disk 
➔ Use​ ​online​ ​resources​ ​to​ ​help​ ​solve​ ​problems 

Project:​ ​Investigate​ ​a​ ​Dataset​ ​(40​ ​hrs) 

In​ ​this​ ​project,​ ​you’ll​ ​choose​ ​one​ ​of​ ​Udacity's​ ​curated​ ​datasets​ ​and​ ​investigate​ ​it​ ​using​ ​NumPy​ ​and​ ​pandas. 
You’ll​ ​complete​ ​the​ ​entire​ ​data​ ​analysis​ ​process,​ ​starting​ ​by​ ​posing​ ​a​ ​question​ ​and​ ​finishing​ ​by​ ​sharing​ ​your 
findings. 

Supporting​ ​Lesson​ ​Content:​ ​Introduction​ ​to​ ​Data​ ​Analysis 

Lesson​ ​Title  Learning​ ​Outcomes 

Data​ ​Analysis​ ​in​ ​Python   

DATA​ ​ANALYSIS​ ​PROCESS  ➔ Learn​ ​about​ ​the​ ​keys​ ​steps​ ​of​ ​the​ ​data​ ​analysis​ ​process 
➔ Investigate​ ​multiple​ ​datasets​ ​using​ ​Python​ ​and​ ​Pandas 

PANDAS​ ​AND​ ​NUMPY:  ➔ Perform​ ​the​ ​entire​ ​data​ ​analysis​ ​process​ ​on​ ​a​ ​dataset 
CASE​ ​STUDY​ ​1  ➔ Learn​ ​to​ u
​ se​ ​NumPy​ ​and​ ​Pandas​ ​to​ ​wrangle,​ ​explore,​ ​analyze, 

 
 

and​ ​visualize​ ​data 

PANDAS​ ​AND​ ​NUMPY:  ➔ Perform​ ​the​ ​entire​ ​data​ ​analysis​ ​process​ ​on​ ​a​ ​dataset 
CASE​ ​STUDY​ ​2  ➔ Learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​NumPy​ ​and​ ​Pandas​ ​to​ ​wrangle,​ ​explore, 
analyze,​ ​and​ ​visualize​ ​data. 

Introduction​ ​to​ ​SQL   

Basic​ ​SQL  ➔ Write​ ​common​ ​SQL​ ​commands​ ​including​ ​SELECT,​ ​FROM,​ ​and 
WHERE,​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​corresponding​ ​logical​ ​operators 

SQL​ ​Joins  ➔ Write​ ​JOINs​ ​in​ ​SQL,​ ​as​ ​you​ ​are​ ​now​ ​able​ ​to​ ​combine​ ​data​ ​from 
multiple​ ​sources​ ​to​ ​answer​ ​more​ ​complex​ ​business​ ​questions 

SQL​ ​Aggregations  ➔ Write​ ​common​ ​aggregations​ ​in​ ​SQL​ ​including​ ​COUNT,​ ​SUM,​ ​MIN, 
and​ ​MAX 
➔ Write​ ​CASE​ ​and​ ​DATE​ ​functions,​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​work​ ​with​ ​NULLs 

Advanced​ ​SQL​ ​Queries  ➔ Edit​ ​a​ ​database​ ​using​ ​CREATE​ ​TABLE,​ ​INSERT​ ​INTO,​ ​UPDATE,​ ​and 
other​ ​statements 
➔ Use​ ​window​ ​functions​ ​and​ ​subqueries​ ​to​ ​add​ ​steps​ ​to​ ​a​ ​query 
➔ Use​ ​documentation​ ​to​ ​learn​ ​new​ ​functions​ ​and​ ​complete 
complex​ ​tasks 

Project:​ ​Analyze​ ​Experiment​ ​Results​ ​(45​ ​hrs) 

In​ ​this​ ​project,​ ​you​ ​will​ ​be​ ​provided​ ​a​ ​dataset​ ​reflecting​ ​data​ ​collected​ ​from​ ​an​ ​experiment.​ ​You’ll​ ​use 
statistical​ ​techniques​ ​to​ ​answer​ ​questions​ ​about​ ​the​ ​data​ ​and​ ​report​ ​your​ ​conclusions​ ​and 
recommendations​ ​in​ ​a​ ​report. 

Supporting​ ​Lesson​ ​Content:​ ​Practical​ ​Statistics 

Lesson​ ​Title  Learning​ ​Outcomes 

STANDARDIZING  ➔ Convert​ ​distributions​ ​into​ ​the​ ​standard​ ​normal​ ​distribution 

using​ ​the​ ​Z-score 
➔ Compute​ ​proportions​ ​using​ ​standardized​ ​distributions 

NORMAL​ ​DISTRIBUTION  ➔ Use​ ​normal​ ​distributions​ ​to​ ​compute​ ​probabilities 

➔ Use​ t​ he​ ​Z-table​ ​to​ ​look​ ​up​ ​the​ ​proportions​ ​of​ ​observations 
above,​ ​below,​ ​or​ ​in​ ​between​ ​values 

SAMPLING  ➔ Apply​ ​the​ ​concepts​ ​of​ ​probability​ ​and​ ​normalization​ ​to​ ​sample 
DISTRIBUTIONS  data​ ​sets 

ESTIMATION  ➔ Estimate​ ​population​ ​parameters​ ​from​ ​sample​ ​statistics​ ​using 

confidence​ ​intervals 

 
 

HYPOTHESIS​ ​TESTING  ➔ Use​ ​critical​ ​values​ ​to​ ​make​ ​decisions​ ​on​ ​whether​ ​or​ ​not​ ​a 
treatment​ ​has​ ​changed​ ​the​ ​value​ ​of​ ​a​ ​population​ ​parameter 

T-TESTS  ➔ Test​ ​the​ ​effect​ ​of​ ​a​ ​treatment​ ​or​ ​compare​ ​the​ ​difference​ ​in 
means​ ​for​ ​two​ ​groups​ ​when​ ​we​ ​have​ ​small​ ​sample​ ​sizes 

REGRESSION  ➔ Build​ ​a​ ​linear​ ​regression​ ​model​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​the​ ​relationship 
between​ ​independent​ ​and​ ​dependent​ ​variables 
➔ Use​ ​linear​ ​regression​ ​results​ ​to​ ​make​ ​a​ ​prediction 

TERM​ ​2:​ ​ADVANCED​ ​DATA​ ​ANALYSIS  

Intro​ ​Project:​ ​Test​ ​a​ ​Perceptual​ ​Phenomenon​ ​(10​ ​hrs) 

In​ ​this​ ​project,​ ​you’ll​ ​use​ ​descriptive​ ​statistics​ ​and​ ​a​ ​statistical​ ​test​ ​to​ ​analyze​ ​the​ ​Stroop​ ​effect,​ ​a​ ​classic 
result​ ​of​ ​experimental​ ​psychology.​ ​Communicate​ ​your​ ​understanding​ ​of​ ​the​ ​data​ ​and​ ​use​ ​statistical 
inference​ ​to​ ​draw​ ​a​ ​conclusion​ ​based​ ​on​ ​the​ ​results. 

Supporting​ ​Lesson​ ​Content:​ ​Practical​ ​Statistics 

Project:​ ​Wrangle​ ​and​ ​Analyze​ ​Data​ ​(50​ ​hrs) 

Real-world​ ​data​ ​rarely​ ​comes​ ​clean.​ ​Using​ ​Python,​ ​you'll​ ​gather​ ​data​ ​from​ ​a​ ​variety​ ​of​ ​sources,​ ​assess​ ​its 
quality​ ​and​ ​tidiness,​ ​then​ ​clean​ ​it.​ ​You'll​ ​document​ ​your​ ​wrangling​ ​efforts​ ​in​ ​a​ ​Jupyter​ ​Notebook,​ ​plus 
showcase​ ​them​ ​through​ ​analyses​ ​and​ ​visualizations​ ​using​ ​Python​ ​and​ ​SQL. 

Supporting​ ​Lesson​ ​Content:​ ​Data​ ​Wrangling 

Lesson​ ​Title  Learning​ ​Outcomes 

INTRO​ ​TO​ ​DATA  ➔ Identify​ ​each​ ​step​ ​of​ ​the​ ​data​ ​wrangling​ ​process​ ​(gathering, 
WRANGLING  assessing,​ ​and​ ​cleaning) 
➔ Wrangle​ ​a​ ​CSV​ ​file​ ​downloaded​ ​from​ ​Kaggle​ ​using​ ​fundamental 
gathering,​ ​assessing,​ ​and​ ​cleaning​ ​code 

GATHERING​ ​DATA  ➔ Gather​ ​data​ ​from​ ​multiple​ ​sources,​ ​including​ ​gathering​ ​files, 
programmatically​ ​downloading​ ​files,​ ​web-scraping​ ​data,​ ​and 
accessing​ ​data​ ​from​ ​APIs 
➔ Import​ ​data​ ​of​ ​various​ ​file​ ​formats​ ​into​ ​pandas,​ ​including​ ​flat 
files​ ​(e.g.​ ​TSV),​ ​HTML​ ​files,​ ​TXT​ ​files,​ ​and​ ​JSON​ ​files 
➔ Store​ ​gathered​ ​data​ ​in​ ​a​ ​PostgreSQL​ ​database 

 
 

ASSESSING​ ​DATA  ➔ Assess​ ​data​ ​visually​ ​and​ ​programmatically​ ​using​ ​pandas 

➔ Distinguish​ ​between​ ​dirty​ ​data​ ​(content​ ​or​ ​“quality”​ ​issues)​ ​and 
messy​ ​data​ ​(structural​ ​or​ ​“tidiness”​ ​issues) 
➔ Identify​ ​data​ ​quality​ ​issues​ ​and​ ​categorize​ ​them​ ​using​ ​metrics: 
validity,​ ​accuracy,​ ​completeness,​ ​consistency,​ ​and​ ​uniformity 

CLEANING​ ​DATA  ➔ Identify​ ​each​ ​step​ ​of​ ​the​ ​data​ ​cleaning​ ​process​ ​(defining,​ ​coding, 
and​ ​testing) 
➔ Clean​ ​data​ ​using​ ​Python​ ​and​ ​pandas 
➔ Test​ ​cleaning​ ​code​ ​visually​ ​and​ ​programmatically​ ​using​ ​Python 

Project:​ ​Explore​ ​and​ ​Summarize​ ​Data​ ​(50​ ​hrs) 

In​ ​this​ ​project,​ ​you’ll​ ​use​ ​R​ ​and​ ​apply​ ​exploratory​ ​data​ ​analysis​ ​techniques​ ​to​ ​explore​ ​a​ ​selected​ ​data​ ​set​ ​for 
distributions,​ ​outliers,​ ​and​ ​anomalies. 

Supporting​ ​Lesson​ ​Content:​ ​Data​ ​Analysis​ ​with​ ​R 

Lesson​ ​Title  Learning​ ​Outcomes 

WHAT​ ​IS​ ​EDA?  ➔ Define​ ​and​ ​identify​ ​the​ ​importance​ ​of​ ​exploratory​ ​data​ ​analysis 
(EDA) 

R​ ​BASICS  ➔ Install​ ​RStudio​ ​and​ ​packages 

➔ Write​ ​basic​ ​R​ ​scripts​ ​to​ ​inspect​ ​datasets 

EXPLORE​ ​ONE​ ​VARIABLE  ➔ Quantify​ ​and​ ​visualize​ ​individual​ ​variables​ ​within​ ​a​ ​dataset 
➔ Create​ ​histograms​ ​and​ ​boxplots 
➔ Transform​ ​variables 
➔ Examine​ ​and​ ​identify​ ​tradeoffs​ ​in​ ​visualizations 

EXPLORE​ ​TWO​ ​VARIABLES  ➔ Properly​ ​apply​ ​relevant​ ​techniques​ ​for​ ​exploring​ ​the​ ​relationship 
between​ ​any​ ​two​ ​variables​ ​in​ ​a​ ​data​ ​set 
➔ Create​ ​scatter​ ​plots 
➔ Calculate​ ​correlations 
➔ Investigate​ ​conditional​ ​means 

EXPLORE​ ​MANY  ➔ Reshape​ ​data​ ​frames​ ​and​ ​use​ ​aesthetics​ ​like​ ​color​ ​and​ ​shape​ ​to 
VARIABLES  uncover​ ​information 

DIAMONDS​ ​AND​ ​PRICE  ➔ Use​ ​predictive​ ​modeling​ ​to​ ​determine​ ​a​ ​good​ ​price​ ​for​ ​a 
PREDICTIONS  diamond 

 
 

Project:​ ​Create​ ​a​ ​Tableau​ ​Story​ ​(20​ ​hrs) 

In​ ​this​ ​project,​ ​you’ll​ ​create​ ​a​ ​data​ ​visualization,​ ​using​ ​Tableau,​ ​from​ ​a​ ​data​ ​set​ ​that​ ​tells​ ​a​ ​story​ ​or​ ​highlights 
trends​ ​or​ ​patterns​ ​in​ ​the​ ​data.​ ​Your​ ​work​ ​should​ ​be​ ​a​ ​reflection​ ​of​ ​the​ ​theory​ ​and​ ​practice​ ​of​ ​data 
visualization,​ ​harnessing​ ​visual​ ​encodings​ ​and​ ​design​ ​principles​ ​for​ ​effective​ ​communication. 

Supporting​ ​Lesson​ ​Content:​ ​Data​ ​Visualization​ ​with​ ​Tableau 

Lesson​ ​Title  Learning​ ​Outcomes 

DATA​ ​VISUALIZATION  ➔ Understand​ ​the​ ​importance​ ​of​ ​data​ ​visualization 

FUNDAMENTALS  ➔ Know​ ​how​ ​different​ ​data​ ​types​ ​are​ ​encoded​ ​in​ ​visualizations 

DESIGN​ ​PRINCIPLES  ➔ Select​ ​the​ ​most​ ​effective​ ​chart​ ​or​ ​graph​ ​based​ ​on​ ​the​ ​data 
being​ ​displayed 
➔ Use​ ​color,​ ​shape,​ ​size,​ ​and​ ​other​ ​elements​ ​effectively 

CREATING  ➔ Become​ ​proficient​ ​in​ ​basic​ ​Tableau​ ​functionality,​ ​including 

VISUALIZATIONS​ ​WITH  charts,​ ​filters,​ ​hierarchies,​ ​etc. 
TABLEAU  ➔ Create​ ​calculated​ ​fields​ ​in​ ​Tableau 

TELLING​ ​STORIES​ ​WITH  ➔ Create​ ​Tableau​ ​dashboards​ ​and​ ​stories​ ​to​ ​effectively 
TABLEAU  communicate​ ​data