Big Data for Social Good

The American Dream—the idea that through hard work any child can rise up and achieve a higher standard of living than their parents—is fading: only half of kids today will go on to earn more than their parents did. Why has this happened? And, how can we reverse the fading of the American Dream? What if we could use big data to address problems such as the fading American Dream, growing income inequality, or persistent racial disparities?

The Big Data for Social Good online professional certificate series will teach you how to use big data, coupled with the tools of data science and economics, to solve some of the most important social problems of our time. In the first course, Evaluating Upward Mobility: The Fading American Dream, you will learn about the history of socioeconomic mobility and how geography plays a role in access to opportunity. In the second course, Big Data Solutions to Economic and Social Disparities, you will see how big data can be used to measure mobility related to K-12 education and how data can be used to solve social problems. This professional certificate series will help those working in nonprofits or NGOs, government agencies, public health, and education to use data-driven tools for social impact.

Using big data, we can see how the specific neighborhoods in which we grow up and the schools we attend shape our life outcomes—and how we can take these insights to create better opportunities for all. Big social problems require big data solutions.

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Evaluating Upward Mobility: The Fading American Dream

Join Harvard Professor Raj Chetty in this course to understand the history of socioeconomic mobility and how geography plays a role in access to opportunity.

Course 2: Big Data Solutions for Social and Economic Disparities

Join Harvard University Professor Raj Chetty in this online course to understand how big data can be used to measure mobility and solve social problems.