Relational Database Design (Coursera)

Offered by Illinois Tech,
Relational Database Design (Coursera)

This course provides you with the opportunity to learn about relational database design. You will be provided an in-depth understanding of the design principles and methodologies involved in creating well-structured, normalized, and efficient relational databases to manage data for small, medium, and large-scale enterprises.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Possessing database design skills will enable you to excel in careers such as Database Administrators, Data Analysts, Software Developers, Data Engineers, and Business Intelligence Developers; capitalizing on the ability to create robust and efficient data solutions for any organization. These are one of the top sought-after careers across many industries today.
At the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Describe the process and the design aspects involved in relational database design.
  • Interpret the main components of an Entity-Relationship diagram (ERD) using unified modeling language (UML) notation.
  • Develop entity-relationship diagrams using basic and extended Entity-relationship features in relational design.
  • Translate Entity-Relationships diagrams into logical schemas (relation schemas).
  • Describe the theory and practical application of functional dependencies in relational database design.
  • Use the theory to recognize candidate keys and primary keys.
  • Derive minimal and canonical covers of functional dependencies.
  • Describe the principles of database normalization.
  • Identify and apply normalization techniques.

What you'll learn

  • Describe the process and the design aspects involved in relational database design.
  • Develop entity-relationship diagrams using basic and extended Entity-relationship features in relational design.
  • Identify and apply normalization techniques.

Syllabus

Module 1: Design Overview
This module is organized in three lessons: 1) Entity-Relationship (E-R) modeling, 2) E-R diagrams, and 3) Extended ER features and relation schemas. The learning objectives of this module are presented below. Refer to the enrichment activities at the end of each lesson.

Module 2: Functional Dependency (FD)
This module explores the theory and practical application of functional dependencies in relational database design, providing students with the knowledge and skills to identify and enforce data relationships, ensuring data integrity and optimization in database systems. This module is organized into three lessons: 1) Functional dependency theory, 2) Finding candidate keys and attribute closure, and 3) Deriving canonical (minimal) covers of functional dependencies. The learning objectives of this module are presented below. Please refer to the enrichment activities at the end of each lesson.

Module 3: Database Normalization
The database normalization module demonstrates the principles and techniques of organizing data into well-structured tables through normalization, ensuring data integrity and reducing redundancy for efficient and scalable database systems. This module is organized in three lessons: 1) Normal Forms (NFs), 2) more Normal forms, and 3) DB Design example (applying ER modeling + Normalization). The learning objectives of this module include are presented below. Refer to the enrichment activities at the end of each lesson.

Summative Course Assessment

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Microsoft Azure SQL (Coursera) Coursera
Microsoft

Microsoft Azure SQL (Coursera)

In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of database concepts in a cloud environment, get basic skilling in cloud data services, and build your foundational knowledge of cloud data services within Microsoft Azure. You will explore relational data offerings, provisioning and deploying relational databases, and querying relational data through cloud data solutions with Microsoft Azure. You will learn you'll learn about SQL. You'll see how it's used to query and maintain data in a database, and the different dialects that are available.

Nov 2nd 2026
2 Weeks
Clinical Data Models and Data Quality Assessments (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado System

Clinical Data Models and Data Quality Assessments (Coursera)

This course aims to teach the concepts of clinical data models and common data models. Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to interpret and evaluate data model designs using Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERDs), differentiate between data models and articulate how each are used to support clinical care and data science, and create SQL statements in Google BigQuery to query the MIMIC3 clinical data model and the OMOP common data model.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Object-Oriented Design (Coursera) Coursera
University of Alberta

Object-Oriented Design (Coursera)

This course takes Java beginners to the next level by covering object-oriented analysis and design. You will discover how to create modular, flexible, and reusable software, by applying object-oriented design principles and guidelines. And, you will be able to communicate these designs in a visual notation known as Unified Modelling Language (UML). You will be challenged in the Capstone Project to apply your knowledge of object-oriented design by evolving and documenting the Java codebase for an Android application with corresponding UML documentation.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Design Patterns (Coursera) Coursera
University of Alberta

Design Patterns (Coursera)

This course extends object-oriented analysis and design by incorporating design patterns to create interactive applications. Through a survey of established design patterns, learners will gain a foundation for more complex software applications. Finally, learners will identify problematic software designs by referencing a catalog of code smells. You will be challenged in the Capstone Project to redesign an existing Java-based Android application to implement a combination of design patterns. You will also critique a given Java codebase for code smells.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Relational Database Administration (DBA) (Coursera) Coursera
IBM

Relational Database Administration (DBA) (Coursera)

Ongoing and proactive management is critical to the security and performance of database management systems. Database administration is the function of managing the operational aspects of database systems and maintaining them. Database administrators work to ensure that applications make the most efficient use of databases and that physical resources are used adequately and efficiently.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Relational database systems (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Relational database systems (Coursera)

Welcome to the specialization course Relational Database Systems. This course will be completed on six weeks, it will be supported with videos and various documents that will allow you to learn in a very simple way how several types of information systems and databases are available to solve different problems and needs of the companies.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Data Analysis Using SQL (Coursera) Coursera
Fractal Analytics

Data Analysis Using SQL (Coursera)

In this comprehensive course, you will embark on a transformative journey to master the art of analyzing data through SQL. SQL is a powerful tool used for managing and manipulating data in relational databases. Throughout this course, you will acquire the essential skills to efficiently extract relevant data from databases, empowering you to navigate through vast amounts of information with ease.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Database Design and Operational Business Intelligence (Coursera) Coursera
Edureka

Database Design and Operational Business Intelligence (Coursera)

Welcome to the course on Database Design and Operational Business Intelligence. This course is strategically crafted to empower you with the skills needed to design a robust database and efficiently manage intricate datasets. Throughout this course, you will acquire the expertise to develop well-formatted databases that are seamlessly designed to integrate with Power BI.

Nov 9th 2026
4 Weeks
IBM COBOL Data and File Management (Coursera) Coursera
IBM,LearnQuest

IBM COBOL Data and File Management (Coursera)

Welcome to IBM COBOL – Data and File Management! By enrolling in this course, you are taking a big step in increasing your knowledge and hands on experience with IBM COBOL data and file management. In this course, you will learn the fundamental elements of COBOL code. You will learn the process of working with COBOL data. You will learn handling COBOL files. This course also relational databases in a mainframe, COBOL context. So let’s get started!

Nov 2nd 2026
3 Weeks