5 Free Microsoft GitHub Courses to Learn Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

You do not need expensive courses to learn data science and artificial intelligence. Microsoft has created several complete, free learning curricula on GitHub with lessons, quizzes, assignments, code examples, and projects.

AI learning has also expanded far beyond traditional data science and machine learning. Today, you can learn about large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), fine-tuning, generative AI, tool use, and AI agents alongside the fundamentals.

In this article, we will explore five free Microsoft GitHub courses that can take you from data science and machine learning basics to generative AI and agentic systems.

1. Data Science for Beginners

Microsoft's Data Science for Beginners is a great starting point if you are completely new to data science.

The 10-week curriculum includes 20 lessons covering data ethics, statistics and probability, relational and non-relational data, data preparation, visualization, and analysis. You also get quizzes, assignments, and practical exercises using real datasets.

I like that the course introduces the complete data science workflow instead of focusing too much on individual tools. It gives you a solid foundation before you move on to machine learning.

2. Machine Learning for Beginners

Once you are comfortable working with data, Microsoft's Machine Learning for Beginners is the next course I would recommend.

It is a 12-week curriculum with 26 lessons covering regression, classification, clustering, natural language processing, time-series forecasting, and reinforcement learning. You will also use Python and Scikit-learn to train and evaluate machine learning models.

What I like about this course is that it focuses on classical machine learning instead of immediately jumping into LLMs. Understanding concepts such as training, evaluation, features, and model performance makes it much easier to learn more advanced AI later.