Are you interested in a career as a machine learning engineer or data scientist? How about a software developer or computational linguist?

If so, you will need an educational background in machine learning.

NetMath is now offering Math 490: Mathematics of Machine Learning online—one of two new college courses that’s being offered online along with other NetMath courses.

Math 490 (3 credit hours) covers foundational models and mathematics of machine learning, including statistical learning theory and neural networks with a project component. Students will use Python as part of their assignments and exams. View the Math 490 syllabus.

Machine learning is a growing field at the intersection of probability, statistics, optimization, and computer science that aims to develop algorithms for making predictions based on data. Real-world applications for machine learning can be found in Google Maps, facial recognition, medical diagnosis, traffic predictions, and product recommendations.

NetMath’s other new course is Stat 100: Statistics.

Stat 100 is an introductory statistics course with particular emphasis on understanding statistical concepts and which tools are appropriate for which problems. It covers experimental design including basics of casual inference from observations, basic probability, descriptive statistics, linear regression, sampling and statistical inference, and hypothesis testing. View the Stat 100 syllabus.

Stat 100 will help students develop a better understanding of volumes of data. Students that have finished the course have said they:

• Read the newspaper in a new way without their eyes glazing over when they see quantitative information.
• Know what questions to ask when evaluating studies and surveys
• Understand what questions can and cannot be answered by statistical arguments.

PLEASE NOTE: While NetMath is the online self-paced distance learning program of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, offering courses to high school and college students around the world, Stat 100 is a 16-week-long course with no extensions. It is not self-paced, and there are fixed due dates for homework submissions and taking exams.

Upcoming cohorts begin on February 20, 2022, and April 17, 2022.

Register for one of these NetMath courses today! College students can register here, while high school students can register here.