Data Science

Major

Why This Program & What You'll Learn

Data Science is the career choice today and in the future. Data Science is one of the highest growth rate disciplines among all STEM disciplines with the growth rate of 30% through 2030, projected by Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Data Scientists deal with the big and messy data in order to assist companies in making proper decisions. The data-driven approach undertaken by companies is assisted by Data Scientists who analyze big data to derive meaningful insights. 

CMU’s Data Science program emphasizes both foundation and applications by requiring students take a major and choose an analytics minor in an application discipline for a total of 65-67 credit hours of course work. The program is designed to equip students with knowledge and skills in data management, computing and analytics modeling techniques, as well as strong communication skills required to work effectively with teams and clients.

Students can sign a major at any time. They should contact a data science advisor in the Statistics, Actuarial and Data Sciences Department to plan their coursework map. In order to progress through the program, it is important to get through some foundational courses such as MTH 132, MTH 133, CPS 180, STA 382 and DAS 150 as early as possible. The University requires that students have a signed major before completing 56 credit hours.

To declare a major, students must have completed MTH 132, CPS 180 and an Introductory Statistics course, such as STA 382, with an average GPA of these three courses at 2.7 (B-) or better.

Program Highlights

As s student in the CMU data science program, you will:

• Be prepared for two Professional Certificate Exams sponsored by the SAS Inc.: the SAS Base Programming Specialist Certificate and SAS Predictive Modeler Professional Certificate Exams.
  
• Gain experience in solving real world data science projects through capstone and several higher-level courses.
  
• Work on hands-on lab components that emphasize applications and teamwork in most courses.
  
• Have the opportunity to take an analytics minor from different disciplines to strengthen the applications based on student’s choice.