What is database design?

Database design is a collection of processes used by data engineers and network managers to design, develop, implement, and maintain enterprise data management systems. Some of the work involved in database design includes managing code upgrade projects that include hardware and software development, enhancing current database modules with varied metric reporting functions, and integrating procedures for assigning database security privileges across an organization. What's important about database design is that the process of accurately structuring a database helps to reduce errors by eliminating wrong, unnecessary, or duplicate data. Properly designed databases are also cost-effective, as they save space in disk storage systems.

Why is it important to learn about database design?

It's important to learn about database design to get a better understanding of how relational databases work and how to display the data structure within the database. Learning about database design would help you analyze the requirements of the database for an organization and design a logical and physical model for the database. Designing a logical model focuses only on the requirements of data, not how or where the data will be stored physically. Designing a physical model takes the data structure into a physical space, implementing hardware and software needs.

What are careers that use database design?

Careers that use the skills and knowledge of database design concepts include a cloud systems database developer, a visual systems developer, and a senior systems engineer. You can find work in administration for government agencies as a database administrator, or work in tech companies in modeling databases. There are also careers in system architecture and software analysis that you can pursue with knowledge of database design.

How can taking online courses help me learn database design?

When you take online courses about database design, you will learn how to come up with the full design of the database. This work will include each of the necessary elements, including designing and implementing the database schema, tables, indexes, columns, and fields. In exploring career opportunities in database design, you will gain a foundational understanding of data-design techniques to earn a good salary with interesting work in corporations and organizations.

What are the benefits of taking an online Database Design course?

Online Database Design courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Database Design skills. Choose from a wide range of Database Design courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.

What Database Design courses are best for training and upskilling employees or the workforce?

When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Database Design, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here .

Best Database Design Courses & Certificates [2025]

Explore the Database Design Course Catalog

University of Colorado Boulder
Relational Database Design
Skills you'll gain: Database Design, Database Management Systems, Relational Databases, Database Theory, Databases, Database Architecture and Administration, Data Modeling, Data Integrity, Requirements Elicitation
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
269 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
University of Michigan
Database Design and Basic SQL in PostgreSQL
Skills you'll gain: Database Design, SQL, Relational Databases, PostgreSQL, Database Theory, Database Management, Data Modeling, Databases, Query Languages, Data Integrity
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
998 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Illinois Tech
Relational Database Design
Build toward a degree
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
University of Michigan
PostgreSQL for Everybody
Skills you'll gain: Stored Procedure, Database Design, SQL, Relational Databases, NoSQL, PostgreSQL, Database Architecture and Administration, Database Systems, Database Theory, Database Management, Data Modeling, Databases, JSON, Database Development, Scalability, Database Management Systems, Distributed Computing, Cloud Applications, Text Mining, Query Languages
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
1.3K reviews
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
University of California, Irvine
Database Design and Operational Business Intelligence
Skills you'll gain: Extract, Transform, Load, Decision Support Systems, Data Warehousing, Data Mining, Database Design, Business Intelligence, Dashboard, Star Schema, Relational Databases, Database Management, Snowflake Schema, Data Visualization Software, Database Systems, Business Reporting, SAS (Software), Data Modeling, Interactive Data Visualization, SQL, Descriptive Statistics, Data Storytelling
4.4
Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
216 reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months
Meta
Meta Database Engineer
Skills you'll gain: MySQL, Database Design, Version Control, Database Management Systems, MySQL Workbench, Extract, Transform, Load, Stored Procedure, Data Modeling, Data Structures, SQL, Database Theory, Unix Commands, Relational Databases, Databases, Git (Version Control System), Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Database Management, Database Development, Unit Testing, Algorithms
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
6.8K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Meta
Introduction to Databases
Skills you'll gain: Database Design, Database Management Systems, SQL, Database Theory, Relational Databases, Databases, MySQL, Data Integrity, Query Languages, NoSQL, Data Manipulation
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
1.3K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
IBM
Introduction to Relational Databases (RDBMS)
Skills you'll gain: Database Design, MySQL, IBM DB2, Relational Databases, Databases, Database Management, PostgreSQL, Database Architecture and Administration, SQL, Data Integrity, Data Modeling, Data Manipulation, Data Structures
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
630 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Google Cloud
Google Cloud Database Engineer
Skills you'll gain: Cloud Infrastructure, Application Deployment, Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS), Kubernetes, Database Architecture and Administration, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Identity and Access Management, Cloud Computing, Data Migration, Cloud Management, Cloud API, Oracle Databases, Databases, Cloud Storage, Network Infrastructure, Cloud Security, Cloud Applications, Google Cloud Platform, Database Administration
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
49K reviews
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Meta
Advanced Data Modeling
Skills you'll gain: MySQL Workbench, Extract, Transform, Load, Data Modeling, Database Design, MySQL, Data Warehousing, Database Management, Databases, Database Architecture and Administration, Tableau Software, Analytics, SQL, Data Analysis, Data Visualization Software
4.3
Rating, 4.3 out of 5 stars
98 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: [object Object]
IBM
IBM Data Engineering
Skills you'll gain: NoSQL, Data Warehousing, SQL, Apache Hadoop, Extract, Transform, Load, Apache Airflow, Web Scraping, Linux Commands, Database Design, IBM Cognos Analytics, MySQL, Apache Spark, Data Pipelines, Apache Kafka, Database Management, Bash (Scripting Language), Shell Script, Jupyter, Generative AI, Professional Networking
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
56K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
IBM
IBM Data Warehouse Engineer
Skills you'll gain: Data Warehousing, SQL, Extract, Transform, Load, Apache Airflow, Linux Commands, Database Design, IBM Cognos Analytics, MySQL, Data Pipelines, Apache Kafka, Database Management, Bash (Scripting Language), Shell Script, Database Architecture and Administration, IBM DB2, Data Visualization, Relational Databases, Dashboard, Stored Procedure, Data Architecture
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
5.6K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months