Bachelor's in data science coming fall 2020

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rise of data science will create 11.5 million job openings by 2026. To help meet this demand locally and globally, the University of Minnesota will launch a data science bachelor’s degree in the fall of 2020.

The new program will allow Minnesota undergraduates to learn the skills and knowledge relevant to today’s data-driven economy. The program is geared toward training students in the fundamentals of how to design and build systems to collect and maintain data from various applications.

The degree differs from the existing programs at the U of M because it combines substantial components in statistics, computing systems, and a number of data-driven applications and will prepare students for work in industry, government, and other professional fields.

This cooperative program between Computer Science & Engineering, the School of Statistics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Mathematics follows the addition of the successful data science master’s program in 2015, which consistently receives over 500 applications in each application cycle.

A graduate of this program will have the fundamentals to be able to keep up in the fast-changing world of big data.