Stanford R Programming Free Course 2025

Stanford University is offering a free R Programming course online in 2025, making it easier for anyone interested in data analysis and statistics to gain foundational programming skills. Hosted on the edX platform, this self-paced course introduces participants to R, a powerful open-source programming language widely used in statistical computing, data science, and academic research.

This course is designed as a beginner-friendly introduction, meaning no prior programming experience is necessary. The curriculum takes learners through the process of installing R, managing data structures like vectors, data frames, and lists, and importing/exporting datasets. It also covers basic data manipulation, missing value handling, and visualization techniques using popular tools like ggplot2. Participants will also get familiar with custom functions and R packages for specialized tasks.

Program Benefits

• 100% free access via audit track
• Flexible learning: study at your own pace, from anywhere
• Learn directly from Stanford instructors and industry experts
• No prerequisites or technical background needed
• Option to earn a verified certificate for a small fee
• Practical learning with real-world programming examples
• Gain valuable skills for data science, analytics, and research
• You can revisit course materials anytime, even after completion

Course Topics Covered

• Installing and setting up R and RStudio
• Understanding data types and objects in R
• Using vectors, lists, data frames, and matrices
• Reading external datasets and saving output
• Writing and using functions
• Data cleaning and handling missing values
• Basic data visualization with ggplot2
• Using packages to extend functionality in R

Application Process

To enroll in the Stanford R Programming course:

1. Visit the official course page:
2. Click “Enroll” and choose the audit track to access the course for free
3. Create an edX account (if you don’t already have one)
4. Begin learning immediately (self-paced and flexible)