Professional Certificate Program in Data Science for Business Decision Making

The Programme is an engaging yet rigorous 8-months blended program designed specifically for managers and working professionals to develop practical knowledge and skills, establish a professional network, and accelerate their careers. The certification is awarded by IIM Kozhikode.

Expect to understand formulation of data science problems, the actual algorithms that are used, and how data is presented to help take important business decisions. The curriculum consists of live sessions, expert coaching sessions and projects making you a skilled data science manager at par with leading industry standards.

The programme is NOT going to be easy. It will be requiring at least 10-12 hours of time commitment per week, applying new concepts and executing industry relevant projects.

The curriculum will consist of the following courses:

Course 1: Pre-Program Preparatory Content
Course 2: Business Problem Solving, Insights and Storytelling
Course 3: Statistics & Machine Learning
Course 4: DS Strategy - Becoming a data evangelist
Course 5: Capstone Project

The content will be a mix of interactive lectures from industry leaders as well as world-renowned faculty. Additionally, the program comprises live lectures or hangout sessions dedicated to solving your academic queries and reinforcing learning. 

Post successful completion of the programme, a Certification of completion for Professional Certificate Programme in Data Science for Business Decision Making would be granted from IIM Kozhikode.

At least 10-12 hours per week of time commitment is expected to be able to graduate from the programme.

Preparatory Support: Mentoring on how to make the best resume for a data professional, highlighting technical and domain expertise. Data Science interview preparation and interview mentoring by industry experts. 
Access to Opportunities: Profiles of students will be circulated in upGrad's network of companies. For learners with 5+ years of experience, it becomes more difficult to convert these opportunities than others. For them, it's more about how to inculcate data-driven leadership in the current job and plan a transition into Data analytics or Data Science in the medium-to-long run.

Peer-to-peer discussion forum where you can post your queries and your peers/faculty/teaching assistants answer your queries within a day. Regular Q&A sessions with faculty to get clarification on conceptual doubts.

The programme is priced at INR 1,77,000 (incl. taxes).

Refund Policy: (Programmes with prep-session component) 
 

1. Student must pay an applicable block amount for the enrolment to the Programme. This block amount will be adjustable against the total Programme fee payable by the student.
2. You can claim a refund for the amount paid towards the Programme at any time, before Programme start date, by visiting www.upgrad.com and submitting your refund form via the "My Application" section under your profile and complete the entire refund application process within the deadlines as set out more particularly in ‘Table-A’ below.
3. Learner can request for a refund for the Programme fee, as per the timelines given below in ‘Table-A’.
4. The eligibility of the refund amount will be based on the slabs as specified below in ‘Table-A’ and the date on which the fully completed application was received. The percentage of refund as mentioned below in ‘Table-A’ shall be calculated on the total amount paid by the learner towards the Programme fee as on the date of refund request.

TABLE-A

1. In case a learner has raised a request for refund and is eligible for the refund as per Sr. No. 1 of the Table-A mentioned above, such learner will be refunded the amount as specified in the slab subject to a deduction of Rs. 5,000/- towards processing fee.
2. In the event where a learner has opted for a loan option from a credit facility partner, to pay the Programme fee, in such cases, the learner will have to pay upfront, the applicable loan cancellation charges levied by credit facility partner, post which the loan will be cancelled and the EMIs deducted shall be refunded as per the eligibility mentioned in ‘Table-A’.
3. If a learner’s loan application is rejected in any case, learner will be eligible to get the refund subject to the refund eligibility mentioned in ‘Table-A’ after deduction of processing fee of Rs. 5,000/-.
4. In case of a refund, student will be solely responsible for any cancellation of loan, including but not limited to applicable loan cancellation charges levied on the total cancelled loan amount.
5. Request for refund must be sent via e-mail in the prescribed Refund Request Form. The refund will be processed within 30 working days after being duly approved by the Academic Committee.

Deferral Policy: (Pre- Programme Commencement) 
 

• If a student, due to unavoidable circumstances is unable to commence with the cohort and requests for a deferral before the cohort starts, we provide the opportunity for the student to defer to another batch.
• However, the student will be required to pay 50% of the total course fee amount (inclusive of taxes) before the deferral can be approved. Till this is completed, the student will be assumed to be continuing in the same cohort.
• A student can request for deferral only once and to either of the scheduled cohorts to start in the next 1 year from the batch start date of initial batch the student enrolled for.
• The student has time till the current cohort launch date to make the payment of the 50% programme fee, post which the deferral request will expire. Once the deferral window expires and the student now asks for a refund, the above-mentioned applicable refund policy will apply.
• The fee applicable to the deferred student will be as per prevailing fee for the batch student as opted to defer to (No additional deferral fee is required to be paid).

Deferral Policy: (Post Programme Commencement) 
 

• If a student is facing severe issues in dedicating time to the course, we provide the opportunity for the student to defer to another batch.
• A student can request for deferral only once and to either of the scheduled cohorts to start in the next 1 year from the batch start date of initial batch the student enrolled for.
• The student will be required to pay a deferral fees of 10% of the total course amount fee + Taxes if any along with the differential programme fees between the two cohorts
• The deferral request will be approved once the deferral fee is paid.
• Till this is completed, the student will be assumed to be continuing in the same cohort.
• The student has 7 days (including holidays and weekends) from the date of deferral request to make the payment of the deferral fee post which the deferral request will expire, and the student will continue as part of the current cohort.
• If the student completes the deferral payment, the student’s login will be disabled, the student will leave the deferred cohort and the student will start learning on the new cohort from the point of the last assignment that was graded in the deferred cohort. All grades and progress till that point will be carried forward as it is to the new cohort. For clarification, the grades of the graded assignments will be carried forward, whether the student had submitted these grading during the initial stage.
• The deferral can only be requested during the batch for which the student has enrolled is ongoing. Once the batch has completed, deferral requests shall not be entertained. For clarification, the batch completion here shall mean the “last grace deadline” as communicated by upGrad.

0% EMI with Finance partners /Credit card option availability will vary program wise.

1. Which banks allow using 0% Credit card EMI or Credit card EMI?
No cost EMI is available on credit cards from all major banks (American Express, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank, Standard Chartered, Axis Bank, Yes Bank and State Bank of India).

2. Is there any minimum transaction limit ?
Yes. 50000 is the minimum.

3. Standard Chartered Bank offers 18 or 24 months No Cost EMI ?
No. ONLY 12 months is available irrespective of the Program enrolled.

4. Will I have to pay any extra amount for EMI transaction?
If you are availing 0% credit card EMI, upGrad will not charge any processing fees or down payment for these transactions. Your bank may levy GST or other taxes on the interest component of the EMI.

5. Are there any fees or down payment?
Certain banks charge nominal processing fees between INR 99 - 500 on 0% Credit Card EMI transaction. If charged, will be billed in the first repayment installment.

6. Can I use my International credit card for 0% credit EMI or Credit Card EMI?
Only the Indian bank credit cards can be used. But you can pay the amount using the Credit card option in one shot / part payments, and later you can convert into EMI from your respective bank. The tenures and interest charged will depend on your bank. upGrad will not charge any processing fees or down payment for these transactions, this will be purely between you and your bank.

7. Are there any charges in case I opt for cancellation/refund from the course after paying balance with no cost EMI ?
Yes, there will be additional charges to the extent of interest paid by the upGrad to the bank, you will be refunded only Principal amount, i.e. the amount actually deducted/blocked from your card. This deduction will be in addition to the amount mentioned in the refund policy shared with your offer letter.

8. Can I Pay Using Multiple Credit Cards ?
Multiple cards can be used to complete the payments using Part payment option make sure to inform the learner, minimum transaction is INR 50000 to opt for 0% CC EMI E.g. Amount to be paid: 150000. I can pay using 2 Credit cards. Yes, Example :
HDFC Card – Part payment – INR 100000
ICICI Card – Part payment – INR 50000

9. How can I opt for Credit card EMI if my bank is not listed in the 0% Credit card EMI or Credit card EMI?
You can pay the amount using the Credit card option in one shot / part payments, and later you can convert into EMI from your respective bank. The tenures and interest charged will depend on your bank. upGrad will not charge any processing fees or down payment for these transactions.

10. Why is the entire amount blocked on my credit card?
Initially your bank will block the entire amount from your available purchase limit and from your next billing cycle, you will be charged the EMI amount. As you start paying your EMI, your credit limit will be released accordingly. For example, if you have made a payment of ₹100000 on 6-months EMI and your credit limit is ₹200,000 then initially your bank will block your credit limit by ₹100000. After payment of your first month EMI of Rs.15000, the blocked amount will come down to ₹85000.

11. Why is interest getting charged on No Cost EMI?
Your bank will charge you interest. However, this interest charge has been provided to you as an upfront discount at the time of your payment, effectively giving you the benefit of a No cost EMI. The total amount paid during the entire EMI tenure to the bank will be equal to the amount to be paid to upGrad.

Eg. Amount payable to upGrad: INR 405000
Let's say Amount deducted at the time of transaction: INR 379850 (Principal amount) Bank charges interest of 12-15% per annum on INR 379850
[Note: Interest factor is reducing rate and not Flat rate]
EMI AMOUNT = INR 33750 x 12 = INR 405000
Effectively, you have taken loan on 379,850 instead of 405,000

If you like finding meaningful insights from data and if you get excited by the prospect of taking informed business decisions through analysis and have an analytical bend of mind, then this programme is meant for you. As long as you are able to clear the selection test (or are exempt) this programme is meant for you.

Absolutely! Data Science is becoming a necessity for all industries and is no more a choice. Hence, there is a critical demand for quality data professionals and because the supply is constrained, this is one of the most lucrative career options across industries.

You can start the application process by submitting the application. Applications have already started for the next cohort. 

Step 1: Complete Your Application- Complete your application to take the 30 minutes online eligibility test with 20 questions to kickstart the admissions process. The test is designed to access your quantitative skills, logical aptitude and verbal English to ensure you're ready for the program.  

Step 2: Get Shortlisted & Receive your Offer Letter- Upon qualifying, an offer letter will be sent to you confirming your admission to the Professional Certificate Programme in Data Science for Business Decision Making.

Step 3: Block your Seat & Begin the Prep Course- Block your seat with a payment of INR 20,000 to enroll into the programme. Get assistance from our loan partners for the fees. Begin with your Prep course and start your Data Science journey!

Bachelor's Degree with minimum 50% marks (40% for Female Learners). Minimum 1 year of work experience. Learners should have studied Mathematics at Higher Secondary Level or Graduation / Post-Graduation.