Bachelor of Science in Data Science

University of Pittsburgh

The rapidly expanding collection and use of data is driving transformations across broad segments of industry, science, and society. These changes have sparked great demand for individuals with skills in managing and analysing complex data sets. Such skills are interdisciplinary, involving ideas typically associated with computing, information processing, mathematics, and statistics as well as the development of new methodologies spanning these fields. Our major in Data Science (offered jointly with the Department of Statistics and SCI) offers a program specifically geared to training students to participate in this data revolution.

This undergraduate major allows students to gain critical skill sets that span key areas of mathematics, computing, and statistics, with foundational training providing literacy in four areas (data, algorithmic, mathematical, and statistical) that every student needs to master data science. Students will develop expertise that connects theory to the solution of real-world problems and be able to specialize their studies towards a more specific career focuses. Completing this major will prepare students to work as a data science professional or to pursue graduate study in a direction involving data in a significant way.

Students who graduate with any of the Mathematics majors or the Data Science major will be well qualified for positions in data science. The Data Science major is designed for students whose main passion is working with data, including mathematical, statistical, and computing aspects. The other Mathematics majors are designed for students whose primary interest is in mathematics: its beauty, its elegance, its logical structure, and/or its utility for modeling real-world systems and solving real-world problems. It is also quite possible to complete a double major in Data Science and one of the Mathematics directions. Students considering this option should choose Math 1180 as their linear algebra class.