Data Science (MS) – STEM Designated Degree Program

Today we live in the era of big data, and professionals across industries as well as the educated citizenry have a need to understand and gain insights from the massive amount of data generated from various sources, including science, health care, education, social media, and governmental and non-governmental organizations. With broad knowledge of the explosion of big data, people with competency in computer science who are interested in the science of and behind big data are seeking out training that will enable them to develop expertise in understanding and analyzing big data, capable of being creators as well as users of data mining/analytics tools. It is this population the MS in Data Science intends to serve.

The primary mission of this degree is to train students in core Data Science competencies and expose students to a broad range of Data Science related topics and applications, preparing them to be part of the next generation Data Science workforce. In addition, students will have a unique opportunity to conduct research in Data Science investigations. The MS degree in Data Science combines the fundamentals of Data Science, with options for students to choose a domain area relating to Data Science.

The demand for data scientists and engineers is growing tremendously. For example, the job title Data Scientist topped Glassdoors 50 Best Jobs in America for the second consecutive year in 2017. Also, the job titles Data Engineer and Analytics Manager both cracked the top five. A recent study co-authored by IBM projects that the demand for data scientists and data engineers will grow 39 percent by 2020, when the number of annual job openings for data professionals reaches 2.72 million. The study further states that:

• Annual demand for data-driven decision makers, which comprise one-third of the data savvy professional job market, is projected to increase by 110,000 openings by 2020.
• Annual demand for the fast-growing new roles of data scientist, data developers, and data engineer will reach nearly 700,000 openings by 2020.

Along with the Data Science (MS) degree, the Computer Science department also offers the following options for graduate study: Computer Science (MS), Computer Science (Combined BS/MS), Computing Technology (Certificate), Computational Linguistics (MS), Cybersecurity (MS), Information Technology (MS) and Information Technology, Applied Information Technology Concentration (Online PSM Program).

Please refer to our programs of study page for a comprehensive list of all of the graduate programs offered within the university.

Download the course curriculum for the Data Science (MS) program