Updated in May 2025.

This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. In this course, you will explore advanced machine learning algorithms and unsupervised learning techniques to enhance your model-building skills. You’ll learn how to improve model performance using ensemble methods like Random Forest, apply Support Vector Machines (SVM) for complex classification tasks, and reduce dimensionality with techniques like Principal Component Analysis (PCA). By the end of the course, you'll also have an understanding of unsupervised learning through K-Means clustering and an introduction to deep learning. The course begins with an introduction to ensemble learning using Random Forests, where you'll understand how this method improves predictive model accuracy and reduces overfitting. You will then dive into Support Vector Machines (SVM), learning to apply this powerful technique to solve complex classification problems, including how to optimize SVM models for better performance. Next, you will explore Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to reduce dimensionality and optimize model performance, enabling you to work with high-dimensional datasets more effectively. You will also learn about K-Means clustering for unsupervised learning, focusing on how to detect patterns and anomalies in unlabeled data. Finally, the course concludes with an introduction to deep learning, exploring how this rapidly growing field builds on traditional machine learning concepts. You will gain an understanding of how deep learning can be applied to a range of complex tasks such as image and speech recognition. This course is ideal for learners with prior experience in machine learning and Python who are ready to tackle more advanced topics. Familiarity with statistics and linear algebra is helpful.