University of Pittsburgh

Advanced Bayesian Methods and Applications

University of Pittsburgh

Advanced Bayesian Methods and Applications

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Intermediate level

Recommended experience

2 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Intermediate level

Recommended experience

2 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Apply variational inference and non-parametric Bayesian methods to scale probabilistic models to large datasets effectively.

  • Implement Bayesian decision theory with loss functions to make principled predictions and quantify uncertainty in real applications.

  • Build and evaluate complex Bayesian models using PyMC3 following best practices from the complete Bayesian workflow.

  • Deploy advanced techniques including Gaussian processes and Dirichlet processes for flexible modeling in diverse domains.

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Recently updated!

May 2026

Assessments

23 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer
Taught in English

91%

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This course is part of the Applied Bayesian Data Analysis Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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There are 6 modules in this course

Welcome to Advanced Bayesian Methods and Applications! In this module, we will see an alternative to MCMC that is able to scale to large datasets, namely, Variational Inference (VI). VI transforms the sampling problem to an optimization one and trades off accuracy for speed. We will also learn how to implement these approaches and when we should prefer VI over MCMC.

What's included

5 videos6 readings4 assignments

In this module, we will learn how to use the uncertainty quantified by Bayesian analysis and loss functions to make decisions in a principled way. We will also look at multi-objective decisions, where we have to balance several - possibly conflicting - objectives.

What's included

4 videos3 readings5 assignments1 ungraded lab

In this module, we will explore the world of non-parametric Bayesian models. These models provide a lot of flexibility and allow the model complexity to grow with the data. We will see how Gaussian Process Regression and Dirichlet processes work with applications on function estimation and clustering, respectively. We will finally see that this flexibility comes with an important cost - computational complexity - which might hinder the applicability of these methods on large-scale problems/data.

What's included

4 videos3 readings5 assignments2 ungraded labs

In this module, we are going to put together pieces that we have seen throughout the course and all together form what we call the Bayesian workflow. We will define probabilistic programming and focus on the use of PyMC for building Bayesian models. We will see an end-to-end example of Bayesian inference that incorporates all the necessary steps of the workflow.

What's included

5 videos2 readings5 assignments1 ungraded lab

In this module, we are going to look at specific applications of Bayesian modeling and inference in two fast-evolving fields, sports analytics and medical informatics. We are going to see how we can use Bayesian models to obtain team strengths, including the uncertainty around this estimate. We will also see 2 applications in medical informatics; one for disease progression and one for predicting treatment effect.

What's included

2 videos4 readings4 assignments3 ungraded labs

In this module, we will see a full summary of the course starting from Bayesian thinking and moving to Bayesian inference. We will then make a stop on one of the most important Bayesian modeling frameworks, namely, hierarchical models, and we will finally wrap up with the ultimate task we have in the real world, i.e., decision making.

What's included

4 videos2 readings

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Instructor

Konstantinos Pelechrinis
University of Pittsburgh
4 Courses250 learners

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¹ Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.