Data Science and Analytics

The Data Science and Analytics (DSA) major addresses the increasing demand for adept data analysts by combining coursework in applied data science with coursework in economics and cognitive, political and management science – areas where real-world problem solving increasingly relies on data-driven analysis to inform decision-making.

The reason for the increasing workforce demand is the ubiquity of data, which are generated everywhere, and increasingly envelop our human experience by mediating our interactions with the natural, social and built world. Yet despite their prevalence, data are not necessarily generated in a way that are immediately usable or valuable. Instead, they require refinement, reformatting and critical analysis before they can be converted into something informative. In order to extract value that an individual or organization might use in order to make a decision – i.e., raise or lower a tax, hire or dismiss within a department, or invest or divest in a particular sector – one needs to understand how to appropriately and ethically apply methods of data science for harnessing and classifying the data, along with methods of data analytics for extracting actionable insights and effectively communicating the results.

The DSA major trains students across the entire data analytics pipeline consisting of series of refinements including, but not limited to: identifying and integrating appropriate data; understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the data and its sources; extracting valuable insights by way of advanced visualization and inferential methods; and strategically communicating recommendations based upon that analysis that maximally inspire some person or group to take action. A defining feature of this major is the senior-year capstone, where students will work in teams to apply advanced methods of interactive data visualization and machine-learning to address real-world problems. As such, this major provides students a unique opportunity to develop a multi-dimensional skillset – one that integrates core quantitative and computational capabilities with a broad understanding of societal context, ethical best practices, and real-world applications.

Students majoring in DSA have the option to choose among four emphasis tracks: Business Analytics ; Policy Analytics ; Environment and Sustainability Analytics ; and Behavioral Modeling Analytics . These emphasis tracks consist of three upper division courses from distinctive lists of elective courses. Choosing one of the emphasis tracks is not required.

Data Science and Analytics Program Learning Outcomes

Upon graduation, our graduates demonstrate:

1. Methods. Students will be able to identify data-oriented solutions for problems associated with evaluation, management, planning and strategic decision-making by integrating statistical, data science, analytical thinking and visualization methods.
2. Communication. Students will strategically use different modes of communication (verbal, oral, graphical, code) to inform, engage and inspire in a clear and concise manner to diverse audiences comprised of experts and non-experts.
3. Application Design. Faced with multi-dimensional problems that can span multiple boundaries of business, management, economics, sociology, psychology, cognitive science, environmental science and engineering, students will know how to apply design principles to develop an ethical and feasible data-driven strategy that strategically collects, manages, analyzes, communicates, and delivers information-based services.
4. Team. Students will leverage productivity software for project planning and team collaboration, effectively and efficiently integrating team members’ diverse skillsets and knowledge in professional high-stakes scenarios with time and other resource constraints.
5. Ethics. Students will be able to identify ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding data collection and analysis; and to creatively develop and evaluate responses to these issues; and to implement appropriate responses.

Programs

• Data Science and Analytics, B.A.
• Data Science and Analytics, Behavioral Modeling Analytics Emphasis, B.A.
• Data Science and Analytics, Business Analytics Emphasis, B.A.
• Data Science and Analytics, Environment and Sustainability Analytics Emphasis, B.A.
• Data Science and Analytics, Policy Analytics Emphasis, B.A.