Data Science
Master of Science in Data Science
Organizations in nearly every industry are racing to hire qualified professionals with the skills to transform big data into big insights and better decisions. By uncovering insights hidden within large and complex data sets, organizations in nearly every industry can solve problems and seize opportunities they never knew existed. For example, healthcare systems can identify at-risk patients and intervene sooner. Police departments can predict crime and stop it before it starts. Retailers can better forecast inventory to optimize supply-chain efficiency. The possibilities are endless.
The UW Master of Science in Data Science program will teach you how to clean, organize, analyze, and interpret unstructured data, deriving knowledge and communicating your discoveries clearly to stakeholders. The 12-course, 36 credit program, is taught by expert faculty offering flexible schedules.
Admission to the program requires a bachelor's degree and a 3.0 GPA. Aptitude tests, such as the GMAT and GRE, are not required.
Grow your skills with a multidisciplinary curriculum focused on providing you with the skill set employers are searching for. In the program, you will learn how to:
- Identify and assess the data science needs of any organization
- Collect and manage data to devise solutions to data science challenges
- Select, apply, and evaluate models used to solve data science task
- Interpret data, extract meaningful information and assess finding
- Effectively communicate findings in various formats for non-technical stakeholders
- Interpret and apply professional code of ethics and conduct regarding data use
- Transform findings from data resources into actionable business strategies that create a competitive advantage
The online Data Science master's program is a collaborative effort of University of Wisconsin - Extension, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Green Bay, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, and UW-Superior.
Program Features
- Student Support: Experienced UW-Superior advisors understand your needs, provide support and connect you with resources to get ahead.
- Convenience: Because all classes are fully online, you can complete the program from where you live and work, studying at the time of day that's convenient for you.
- Quality: Courses in the Online Master of Science in Data Science program are taught by the University of Wisconsin's excellent faculty.
- Focus: This 12-course program keeps you on track toward completing your degree.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the UW Master of Science in Data Science requires:
- A bachelor's degree and a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0. Official college transcripts are required. Students will a GPA of less than 3.0 may be considered for a provisional admission. Please contact an enrollment advisor for more information-see phone hours and contact information below.
- Prerequisite coursework in elementary statistics, introductory computer programming, and introduction to databases. Relevant work experience may be considered in lieu of this coursework. Please contact an enrollment advisor for details.
- Your resume.
- Two letters of recommendation (can be professional or academic).
- A personal statement of up to 1,000 works describing the reasons behind your decision to pursue this degree and what you believe you will bring to the data science field. Space for the personal statement is included in the online application.
- No aptitude tests (GMAT, GRE) are required.
Faculty and Instructional Staff
Tracy Bibelnieks, Senior Lecturer
Ethan Christensen, Assistant Professor, Academic Director
Alexander Korogodsky, Senior Lecturer
Curriculum & Courses
The UW Master of Science in Data Science program offers a rigorous curriculum grounded in computer science, math, management and communication. In the program, you are required to take each of the 12 courses in the curriculum. Each course is three credits.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Program Requirements | ||
| DS 700 | Foundations of Data Science | 3.00 |
| DS 705 | Statistical Methods | 3.00 |
| DS 710 | Programming for Data Science | 3.00 |
| DS 715 | Data Warehousing | 3.00 |
| DS 730 | Big Data: High Performance Computing | 3.00 |
| DS 735 | Communicating about Data | 3.00 |
| DS 740 | Data Mining & Machine Learning | 3.00 |
| DS 745 | Visualization and Unstructured Data Analysis | 3.00 |
| DS 760 | Ethics of Data Science | 3.00 |
| DS 775 | Prescriptive Analytics (or) | 3.00 |
| Deep Learning | ||
| DS 780 | Data Science and Strategic Decision Making | 3.00 |
| DS 785 | Data Science Capstone | 3.00 |
| Total Hours | 36.00 | |