Program Overview

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University Programs

The university offers a wide range of programs, including short and online courses, undergraduate, postgraduate, professional, and research programs.

Subject Areas

• Archaeology and anthropology
• Architectural history
• Business and management
• Data science, computing, maths
• Diplomatic studies and law
• Economics and politics
• Education and study skills
• Environment and sustainability
• History of art
• History, including local and social
• Languages and cultural studies
• Literature, creative writing and film studies
• Medical and health sciences
• Music
• Natural sciences
• Philosophy
• Psychology and counselling
• Religion and theology
• Technology and AI

Course Format

• Day and weekend events
• In-person learning
• Lecture series
• Online learning
• Professional
• Summer schools
• Weekly learning

Undergraduate Programs

Certificates

• Archaeology
• Certificate of Higher Education
• English Literature
• History
• History of Art
• Theological Studies

Diplomas

• Archaeology
• Creative Writing
• English Social and Local History
• History of Art

Advanced Diplomas

• British Archaeology
• IT Systems Analysis and Design (Online)
• Local History (Online)

Pre-Master's

• Advanced Pre-sessional Course for Graduate Students (nine weeks, full-time)
• Foundations of Diplomacy Pre-Master's Course (six months, full-time)

Summer Schools

• Oxford University Summer School for Adults

Postgraduate Programs

Certificates

• Architectural History
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Ecological Survey Techniques
• Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Health Research
• Historical Studies
• Nanotechnology
• Patient Safety and Quality Improvement
• Psychodynamic Counselling
• Qualitative Health Research Methods
• Teaching Evidence-Based Health Care

Diplomas

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Severe Mental Health Problems
• Health Research
• International Wildlife Conservation Practice
• Psychodynamic Practice

Master of Studies (MSt)

• Creative Writing
• Diplomatic Studies
• Historical Studies
• History of Design
• Literature and Arts
• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
• Practical Ethics
• Psychodynamic Practice

Research Degrees (DPhil)

• Archaeology
• Architectural History
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• English Local History
• Evidence-Based Health Care
• Literature and Arts
• Sustainable Urban Development

Master of Science (MSc)

• Applied Landscape Archaeology
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• English Local History
• Evidence-Based Health Care
• Evidence-Based Health Care Medical Statistics
• Evidence-Based Health Care Systematic Reviews
• Evidence-Based Health Care Teaching and Education
• Experimental and Translational Therapeutics
• Nanotechnology for Medicine and Health Care
• Surgical Science and Practice
• Sustainable Urban Development
• Translational Health Sciences

Professional Programs

Continuing Professional Development

• Business and management
• Cultural heritage
• Data science, computing, maths
• Diplomatic studies
• Education
• Environment and sustainability
• Medical and health sciences
• Nanotechnology and nanomedicine
• Philosophy and ethics
• Psychology and counselling
• Research methods and skills
• Technology and AI
• Urban studies

Research

Research Community

Research at Oxford Lifelong Learning extends across the disciplines and is supported by a research culture that encourages interdisciplinary initiatives.

Research Areas

• Academic staff profiles
• Part-time DPhil programmes
• Research areas
• Research students

Research Forums

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Steering Group
• Lifelong Learning Pedagogies forum
• Research Ethics Colloquium
• The Vice-Chancellors Colloquium

About Us

The Department

• Academic staff profiles
• Mission, vision and values
• Our history
• Student spotlights
• Vacancies and tutor panel
• Visiting Fellowships Scheme

News and Events

• News
• Open events
• Whats on

Our Venues

• Accommodation
• Conferences
• Dining and catering
• Facilities

Student Information

• Continuing Education Library
• Oxford qualifications
• Student resources and support

Connect with Us

• Stay in touch

Support Lifelong Learning

• Donate to support our work

Course Details

Python Programming for Data Science: Introduction

Course Overview

Data science is a discipline that uses scientific methods, processes, and algorithms to extract meaningful information, knowledge, and insights from structured and unstructured data.

Course Aims

• To learn the basic aspects of Python programming for data science.
• To gain an appreciation for the end-to-end process of obtaining data, processing it, through to presenting results.
• To be able to build a simple data processing pipeline by the end of the course.

Course Details

• Code: O25P736COZ
• Credit: 10 CATS points
• Fees: Ł360.00
• Dates: Mon 12 Jan 2026 - Mon 23 Mar 2026
• Time: 1:00-2:00pm (UK)
• Location: Online (Live)

Programme Details

• Week 1: Introduction to Data Science. Introduction to Git and the Anaconda environment
• Week 2: Python basics: built-in types, functions and methods, if statement
• Week 3: Python data structures: list, dictionaries, tuples; for...in loops
• Week 4: NumPy
• Week 5: Pandas for data science I
• Week 6: Pandas for data science II
• Week 7: Matplotlib for Data visualisation
• Week 8: Object-oriented programming: classes, inheritance, and applications
• Week 9: Data gathering and cleaning. Text pre-processing for Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Week 10: Time Series Analysis

Tutor

• Dr Nick Day

Teaching Methods

This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will be able to write procedural code using the Python language and tools to:

• import data from local and/or remote sources and preprocess it;
• extract significant information from the gathered data;
• visualise the relevant features extracted from the data;

Assessment Methods

Students will be asked to submit a portfolio of exercises for their coursework assignment.

Level and Demands

Experience in using a programming or scripting language is beneficial. The basic elements of programming using the Python programming language will be introduced throughout the course. However, each student should consider that this course requires a certain amount of homework (23 hours per week) to familiarise with the concepts explained during the class.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website.

Selection Criteria

Before attending this course, prospective students will know:

• The fundamentals of linear algebra: what is a matrix and how matrix addition and multiplication are performed.
• The following fundamental concepts of statistics: mean, median, variance and standard deviation, interquartile range.
• The fundamentals of algebra: real and complex numbers, exponential and logarithm, and trigonometric functions.

IT Requirements

Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome.