News & Events

New Data Science and Big Data Concentrations

Beginning in Fall 2018, both the BS and MS degrees in Computer Science will offer a concentration in “Data Science and Big Data.” For most students, this concentration can be obtained with careful selection of appropriate elective courses, not requiring any additional courses beyond the regular BS and MS requirements. The concentration will be an official degree designation that is shown on a student’s transcript, indicating that the student has studied key courses in this in-demand field.

The concentrations are designed to provide students key knowledge of appropriate theories, algorithms, and technologies, towards development of analytical systems/models for disparate, complex, and small/large scale datasets. Students completing this concentration will have learned skills necessary to tackle a wide variety of data-focused scientific, social, and environmental challenges.

Undergraduate Concentration in Data Science and Big Data

Students in the Data Science and Big Data Concentration must satisfy all requirements for the BS in Computer Science, and must complete the following courses (note: CSC 330 and CSC 471 are currently required in the BS program, and other CSC courses below may be used to satisfy BS elective requirements as well as concentration requirements):

Core Courses (Take All – 12 credits):

  1. CSC 330 – Advanced Data Structures
  2. CSC 471 – Principles of Database Systems
  3. CSC 505 – Data Science
  4. CSC 510 – Big Data and Machine Learning

Elective Courses (Take One – 3 credits):

  • CSC 526 – Bioinformatics
  • CSC 529 – Artificial Intelligence
  • CSC 550 – Combinatorics on Words
  • CSC 555 – Algorithm Analysis and Design
  • STA 551 – Introduction to Probability
  • STA 573 – Theory of Linear Regression

Master’s Concentration in Data Science and Big Data

Students in the Data Science and Big Data Concentration must complete all requirements of the M.S. degree, and must complete the following courses (which may also apply to the MS degree requirements, as appropriate):

Core Courses (Take All – 12 credits):

  1. CSC 505 – Data Science
  2. CSC 510 – Big Data and Machine Learning
  3. CSC 555 – Algorithm Analysis and Design
  4. CSC 671 – Advanced Database Systems

Elective Courses (Take One – 3 credits):

  • CSC 526 Bioinformatics
  • CSC 529 Artificial Intelligence
  • CSC 550 Combinatorics on Words
  • STA 573 Theory of Linear Regression
  • STA 682 Theory of Time Series
  • STA 661 Advanced Statistics in the Behavioral and Biological Sciences I