Best Databases & Data Engineering courses
The 30 Databases & Data Engineering courses programmers recommend to each other on Hacker News, ranked by how many people recommended each one, how strongly, in how many separate threads and over how many years (76 recommendations, 2006 to October 2026). 17 of them are free. How ranking works.
15-445/645 Intro to Database Systems
Carnegie Mellon University · intermediate · free
Commenters repeatedly call it top-notch and praise Andy Pavlo's clear, free video lectures on how databases work internally.
Introduction to Databases
Stanford University · beginner · free
Commenters call it one of the best MOOCs they've taken, praising its well-planned exercises and its blend of database theory with real-world examples.
15-721 Advanced Database Systems
Carnegie Mellon University · advanced · free
Commenters call it a top-notch, very detailed guide to database internals and design tradeoffs, and praise Andy Pavlo's clear teaching style.
Intro to Database Systems
YouTube · intermediate · free
Commenters describe it as a free CMU-quality course that explains the inner workings of databases, with one saying it helped them explain PostgreSQL internals to their boss.
Databases: 5 SQL (Stanford)
edX · intermediate · free
Commenters point to it for solid relational model and SQL fundamentals, mixing computer science theory with practical exercises.
Introduction to Databases
Coursera · beginner · free
Commenters credit it as a solid fundamentals course for learning SQL and databases, and one says it shaped their career.
Introduction to Big Data with Apache Spark
edX · beginner
Commenters recommend it as a way to get started with Spark and big data, and one points to its MovieLens recommender assignment.
CS165 Data Systems
Harvard University · advanced · free
Commenters call it a great course for learning how database storage engines are built, and point to its project-based approach and readily available slides and readings.
Introduction to Database Systems (Jennifer Widom)
Stanford University · beginner · free
Commenters recommend it as a way to build a solid mental model of SQL by starting from the relational model, and pair it with other SQL resources.
Learn by Building Redis with Ruby
Pluralsight · intermediate · paid
Commenters describe it as the course that got them hooked on the "build your own X" style of learning and recommend it highly.
Google Cloud Data Engineering Specialization
Coursera · intermediate
One commenter says they highly recommend it as a Google Cloud data engineering course.
Intro and Advanced Database Lectures
Carnegie Mellon University · mixed · free
Commenters call the lectures very useful and point to them as a free online alternative to a database textbook, covering both intro and advanced material.
MongoDB with Async Python
Talk Python Training · intermediate · paid
Commenters recommend it as a quick, practical introduction to modern Python web backend patterns and a good springboard for further work.
Databases: SQL
edX · beginner
One commenter recommends it as one of two edX courses for learning SQL alongside DevOps skills.
Advanced Topics in SQL
edX · advanced
A commenter recommends it as one of two courses for learning SQL alongside an introductory SQL course.
PostgreSQL Masterclass
Udemy · mixed · paid
Commenters call it one of the best paid options for training on PostgreSQL and describe it as not too expensive but very good.
Mastery with SQL
Neil Sainsbury
One commenter says they took the course and would recommend it when asked for good resources on SQL and databases.
Learn SQL
Codecademy · beginner · freemium
Commenters list it as a straightforward starting point alongside well-known SQL books, though the comments give little detail beyond that.
SQL
Khan Academy · beginner · free
One commenter cites it as an excellent free alternative to paid SQL-learning products, calling it "excellent" in passing.
Elasticsearch 7 and Elastic Stack
Udemy · paid
The one commenter says they enjoyed the earlier v6 version of this course for learning Elastic, and points to the instructor's other courses as well.
Relational Design Theory
Stanford Lagunita · intermediate · free
The commenter says it formalizes intuition that experienced SQL users already have, which makes it a challenge and a rewarding way to understand why good relational designs work.
CS186 Introduction to Database Systems
UC Berkeley · intermediate · free
Commenters suggest the lectures are worth watching in full, and one singles out a lecture on caching strategies as a good basis for understanding cache tradeoffs.
Hardware Accelerated Databases
Carnegie Mellon University · advanced · free
Commenters point to it as part of CMU Database Group's free YouTube database content, which they describe as covering nearly anything one might want to know about databases.
Udacity ud198
Udacity · free
One commenter highly recommends it as a follow-up to a SQL discussion, citing its mix of short videos, quizzes, articles, and exercises.
CMU Database Seminar Series
Carnegie Mellon University · advanced · free
Commenters call the CMU Database lecture series great, while noting it assumes a fair amount of background knowledge of how databases work.
Data Engineering on Google Cloud
Coursera · intermediate
One commenter recommends it alongside the Google Cloud architect course as a way to learn GCP, noting the platform's generous free tier and good developer tools.
Flyway Migrations
Pluralsight · paid
One commenter calls it a great course on the proper way to do migrations with Flyway, noting that most of the material applies to any migration tool.
CMU Time Series Database
Carnegie Mellon University · advanced · free
One commenter suggests it as worthwhile companion material to a discussion of top time series databases, pointing to the lecture series on YouTube.
CS 265 Big Data Systems
Harvard University · advanced
Commenters point to it as a graduate-level alternative to introductory database material, listed alongside other grad database courses.
SQLBolt: Learn SQL
SQLBolt · beginner · free
One commenter says they really enjoyed it and recommends checking it out alongside Khan Academy's SQL course.