Study Big Data Analytics part-time

Ontario College Graduate Certificate

Tell the story behind the information! This major growth area for applied research has been called the “sexiest job of the 21st century.”

Please refer to the Big Data Analytics program page for all of the main details, including admissions requirements.

Program information

Program description

Big Data allows users to visualize past, present, and future patterns by linking and presenting information in meaningful ways. Data Analytics offers deeper insight into the meaning of data sets by telling the story behind the information. This enables stakeholders to make more informed decisions, predict trends and better understand the needs and sentiments of customers. This program provides students with a unique blend of theoretical knowledge and applied skills. Students learn how to collect, curate, manipulate, encode, and store data sets so they can be analyzed and mined in such a way that they can be reused and repurposed to solve present challenges as well as those that do not yet exist.

Big Data Analyst with brown, slicked back hair and a beard using a Mac computer to analyze data reports in an office setting

What career paths can I take in big data analytics?

Your Big Data Analytics graduate certificate gives you many career opportunities

Graduates of this program are able to collect, organize and correlate data for a wide range of industries including government, applied research, human resources, health care, and sales and marketing. Leveraging prior background, skills and experience, students may be employed in roles such as Data Analyst, Business Analyst, BI Developer, ETL Developer, Database Developer, NoSQL Developer, Data Visualization Developer, Business Intelligence (BI) Specialist, Analytics Specialist, BI Solutions Architect, or Business Analytic Specialist.


Review program admission requirements and information about career opportunities.

Icon of quotation marks inside a speech bubble, representing a testimonial or quote
The program helped me realize that despite being almost 50 years old, my skills were still very relevant and learning the tools used in the industry today and applying them to this new architecture was very easy.Patrick Whissel, program graduate

Course information

Course offerings and equivalents

Currently available courses are linked below.

How to apply to the part-time Big Data Analytics graduate certificate program

Apply online through ontariocolleges.ca

  1. Make sure you meet program admission requirements
  2. Complete an online application using the Ontario College Application Service (OCAS) using the part-time program code
  3. When registration opens,  select the course(s) from the program webpage course listing and follow the prompt steps to register and pay

Need help with your application?

Watch a video tutorial

Contact the Office of the Registrar

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Finance and fees

Are part-time students eligible for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)?Georgian College Chevron

As a part-time student, you may be eligible for OSAP funding, depending on the number of courses you take per semester.

For more information about OSAP, including eligibility requirements and how to apply, visit the OSAP/financial aid webpage.

What is the cost of the program?Georgian College Chevron

As a part-time student, you can take one to three courses per semester, paying on a course-by-course basis.

For course fee information, select a course from the course information section of this page.

Online learning

What is an OntarioLearn (ODE) course?Georgian College Chevron

These courses are offered through OntarioLearn. Visit the OntarioLearn webpage to learn more.

OntarioLearn courses are set up as equivalents to the Georgian courses. You can choose to take the ODE courses or the Georgian courses.

When a Georgian course isn’t available to be delivered online, we’ve listed an OntarioLearn course in the delivery schedule. The majority of the Georgian courses have ODE equivalents set up. You can choose to take either course.

Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)

Can I transfer credits or prior life or work experience to fast track my studies?Georgian College Chevron

Previous postsecondary education: If you’ve completed courses, or some or all of a program, at another accredited postsecondary institution, you may be able to transfer all or some of your courses into a related program at Georgian.

Relevant work or life experience: If you have relevant work and/or life experience that relates to your program(s) of interest at Georgian, Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) is an academic credit option.

To learn more about transfer credit and PLAR, visit the Credit for Prior Learning webpage.

Do you have questions about studying Big Data Analytics part-time?

Questions about the program?

Tammy Burke-Marson, Programming Support Assistant