What is R programming?

R programming is the use of the R computer language for statistical analysis and graphic presentation. R is commonly used in business and research computing environments to analyze and visualize data, then create reports that can be used for decision making. R programming is increasingly more important given the expansion of big data for analysis.

Why learn R programming?

It's important to learn R programming if you want to be able to build computer programs that wrangle data and convert it into usable information. Organizations often have large amounts of data but are unable to understand what it means. Using programs written by R, you can generate Bayesian statistics and graphic analysis for business analytics, public health, and medical research, among other industries. Learning R is a component of learning data science, so another reason to study R programming is to get some of the fundamentals completed before venturing deeper into computer science studies.

What are typical careers that use R programming?

Typical careers that use R programming are in business analytics, financial services, and medical research. It is also a skill used in many data science roles. R programming pulls out information from large sets of data, so any field that calls for statistical inference from big data needs competent R programmers to create the analytics and reports needed. Some experience with R programming is useful for people who will be managing programming teams or requesting reports made from programs written in R. As big data analysis becomes more important in more fields, R programming becomes more valuable in the workplace.

How can online courses help me learn R programming?

Online courses can help you learn R programming by introducing the fundamentals of the language, teaching how it connects to such industries as finance and health care, and offering projects that let you show what you have learned. Courses are offered at all levels, from beginning to advanced. Many of them set you up for further work in data science or allow you to earn a specialization or certificate.

What are the benefits of taking an online R Programming course?

Online R Programming courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new R Programming skills. Choose from a wide range of R Programming courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.

What R Programming courses are best for training and upskilling employees or the workforce?

When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in R Programming, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here .

Best R Programming Courses & Certificates [2025]

Explore the R Programming Course Catalog

Johns Hopkins University
R Programming
Skills you'll gain: Statistical Analysis, R Programming, Statistical Programming, Data Analysis, Debugging, Simulations, Program Development, Software Installation, Computer Programming, Data Structures, Performance Tuning, Data Import/Export
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
22K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Google
Data Analysis with R Programming
Skills you'll gain: Rmarkdown, Ggplot2, R Programming, Data Analysis, Tidyverse (R Package), Data Visualization Software, Data Cleansing, Statistical Analysis, Data Manipulation, Package and Software Management, Data Structures
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
11K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
IBM
Introduction to R Programming for Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Data Manipulation, Web Scraping, R Programming, Data Analysis, Data Science, Data Structures, Data Import/Export, Exploratory Data Analysis, Programming Principles, Computer Programming, Integrated Development Environments
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
550 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Johns Hopkins University
Data Science: Foundations using R
Skills you'll gain: Rmarkdown, Exploratory Data Analysis, Version Control, Statistical Analysis, R Programming, Data Manipulation, Data Cleansing, Data Science, Data Visualization, Statistical Programming, Ggplot2, Dimensionality Reduction, Data Visualization Software, Data Integration, Knitr, Data Analysis, Data Import/Export, General Science and Research, Data Sharing, Statistical Reporting
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
48K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Johns Hopkins University
Advanced R Programming
Skills you'll gain: Object Oriented Programming (OOP), R Programming, Debugging, Functional Design, Data Analysis Software, Programming Principles, Data Structures, Computational Thinking, Software Development, Performance Tuning
4.2
Rating, 4.2 out of 5 stars
574 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Coursera Project Network
Getting Started with R
Skills you'll gain: Data Import/Export, Package and Software Management, R Programming, Data Structures, Software Installation, Data Analysis Software, Data Analysis
4.3
Rating, 4.3 out of 5 stars
376 reviews
Beginner · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours
IBM
IBM Data Analytics with Excel and R
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Presentation, Interactive Data Visualization, Data Visualization Software, Data Visualization, Shiny (R Package), Data Wrangling, Exploratory Data Analysis, Statistical Visualization, Relational Databases, Big Data, Ggplot2, Database Design, Data Analysis, Data Mining, Dashboard, Excel Formulas, Data Manipulation, Web Scraping, Microsoft Excel
Build toward a degree
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
27K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Duke University
Data Analysis with R
Skills you'll gain: Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Sampling (Statistics), Statistical Inference, Exploratory Data Analysis, Regression Analysis, Statistical Reporting, Probability Distribution, Statistical Methods, Statistical Software, R Programming, Bayesian Statistics, Statistical Analysis, Data Analysis, Statistical Modeling, Probability & Statistics, Probability, Statistics, Data Science, Descriptive Statistics, Predictive Modeling
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
7.5K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
IBM
Applied Data Science with R
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Interactive Data Visualization, Data Visualization Software, Shiny (R Package), Data Visualization, Data Wrangling, Dashboard, Exploratory Data Analysis, Statistical Visualization, Relational Databases, Data Analysis, Ggplot2, Database Design, Data Presentation, SQL, Plot (Graphics), Database Management, Data Manipulation, R Programming, Web Scraping
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
1.2K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
IBM
Data Analysis with R
Skills you'll gain: Data Wrangling, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Analysis, R Programming, Data Manipulation, Data Visualization, Predictive Analytics, Statistical Analysis, Regression Analysis, Predictive Modeling, Statistical Modeling, Tidyverse (R Package), Feature Engineering, Ggplot2
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
328 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Introducción a Data Science: Programación Estadística con R
Skills you'll gain: R Programming, Statistical Programming, Ggplot2, Data Manipulation, Simulations, Statistical Visualization, Data Science, Visualization (Computer Graphics), Data Processing, Graphing, Data Import/Export, Scripting, Software Installation
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
8.4K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Colorado Boulder
Expressway to Data Science: R Programming and Tidyverse
Skills you'll gain: Tidyverse (R Package), Rmarkdown, R Programming, Ggplot2, Data Import/Export, Statistical Visualization, Data Analysis, Statistical Reporting, Data Manipulation, Data Visualization Software, Data Science, Data Wrangling, Relational Databases, Data Transformation, Data Cleansing, Statistical Programming, Data Integration, Software Installation, Development Environment
4.1
Rating, 4.1 out of 5 stars
48 reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months