Collaborative FilteringRecommender SystemsEvaluationLensKitMatrix FactorizationSummary StatisticsTerm Frequency Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF)Microsoft Excel
Recommender Systems Specialization
Master recommender systems.. Learn to design, build, and evaluate recommender systems for commerce and content.
10,264 already enrolled
Offered By
Recommender Systems SpecializationUniversity of MinnesotaWhat you will learn
Build recommendation systems
Implement collaborative filtering
Master spreadsheet based tools
Use project-association recommenders
Skills you will gain
About this Specialization
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A Recommender System is a process that seeks to predict user preferences. This Specialization covers all the fundamental techniques in recommender systems, from non-personalized and project-association recommenders through content-based and collaborative filtering techniques, as well as advanced topics like matrix factorization, hybrid machine learning methods for recommender systems, and dimension reduction techniques for the user-product preference space.
This Specialization is designed to serve both the data mining expert who would want to implement techniques like collaborative filtering in their job, as well as the data literate marketing professional, who would want to gain more familiarity with these topics.
The courses offer interactive, spreadsheet-based exercises to master different algorithms, along with an honors track where you can go into greater depth using the LensKit open source toolkit.
By the end of this Specialization, you’ll be able to implement as well as evaluate recommender systems. The Capstone Project brings together the course material with a realistic recommender design and analysis project.
Learner Career Outcomes
60%
Started a new career after completing this specialization.
12%
Got a pay increase or promotion.
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
100% online courses
Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Flexible Schedule
Set and maintain flexible deadlines.
Intermediate Level
Some related experience required.
Approx. 5 months to complete
Suggested 3 hours/week
English
Subtitles: English
Learner Career Outcomes
60%
Started a new career after completing this specialization.
12%
Got a pay increase or promotion.
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
100% online courses
Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Flexible Schedule
Set and maintain flexible deadlines.
Intermediate Level
Some related experience required.
Approx. 5 months to complete
Suggested 3 hours/week
English
Subtitles: English
There are 5 Courses in this Specialization
Introduction to Recommender Systems: Non-Personalized and Content-Based
539 ratings
This course, which is designed to serve as the first course in the Recommender Systems specialization, introduces the concept of recommender systems, reviews several examples in detail, and leads you through non-personalized recommendation using summary statistics and product associations, basic stereotype-based or demographic recommendations, and content-based filtering recommendations.
Nearest Neighbor Collaborative Filtering
270 ratings
In this course, you will learn the fundamental techniques for making personalized recommendations through nearest-neighbor techniques. First you will learn user-user collaborative filtering, an algorithm that identifies other people with similar tastes to a target user and combines their ratings to make recommendations for that user. You will explore and implement variations of the user-user algorithm, and will explore the benefits and drawbacks of the general approach. Then you will learn the widely-practiced item-item collaborative filtering algorithm, which identifies global product associations from user ratings, but uses these product associations to provide personalized recommendations based on a user's own product ratings.
Recommender Systems: Evaluation and Metrics
194 ratings
In this course you will learn how to evaluate recommender systems. You will gain familiarity with several families of metrics, including ones to measure prediction accuracy, rank accuracy, decision-support, and other factors such as diversity, product coverage, and serendipity. You will learn how different metrics relate to different user goals and business goals. You will also learn how to rigorously conduct offline evaluations (i.e., how to prepare and sample data, and how to aggregate results). And you will learn about online (experimental) evaluation. At the completion of this course you will have the tools you need to compare different recommender system alternatives for a wide variety of uses.
Matrix Factorization and Advanced Techniques
158 ratings
In this course you will learn a variety of matrix factorization and hybrid machine learning techniques for recommender systems. Starting with basic matrix factorization, you will understand both the intuition and the practical details of building recommender systems based on reducing the dimensionality of the user-product preference space. Then you will learn about techniques that combine the strengths of different algorithms into powerful hybrid recommenders.
Offered by
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation’s most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the refund policy?
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Is financial aid available?
Yes, Coursera provides financial aid to learners who cannot afford the fee. Apply for it by clicking on the Financial Aid link beneath the "Enroll" button on the left. You'll be prompted to complete an application and will be notified if you are approved. You'll need to complete this step for each course in the Specialization, including the Capstone Project. Learn more.
Can I take the course for free?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
How long does it take to complete the Specialization?
Most learners should be able to complete the specialization in 20-26 weeks.
What background knowledge is necessary?
Basic statistics or college algebra, and an ability to work with spreadsheets. For the honors track, you should also be comfortable implementing software in Java.
Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
While each component can be useful by itself, the courses do build on each other and should be taken in order.
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
The University of Minnesota does not offer credit for completing this specialization. If you are enrolled elsewhere, you may wish to speak with your advisor or program staff to find out whether this specialization could be used for independent study credit.
What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?
You will understand and be able to apply the major families of recommender algorithms: non-personalized, product association, content-based, nearest-neighbor, and matrix factorization. You will know and be able to apply a variety of recommender metrics, and will be able to use this knowledge to match the correct recommender system to appplications.
What is the honors track?
The honors track is an optional track where learners add programming recommenders in the open source LensKit toolkit. You should be comfortable with basic data structures, algorithms, and Java to attempt the honors track.
How does this Specialization relate to the prior Recommender Systems courses?
This specialization is an extended and updated version of the two prior versions of Introduction to Recommender Systems that we've offered through Coursera. About 50% of the video and 80% of the assessment material are new, and there is an honors track with programming assignments (which existed in the first version of the course only, and have been re-done for this specialization). The Capstone is entirely new.
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
