Degree Requirements
Students who began the program before fall 2025 may switch from the current plan of study to the new plan of study if possible given the courses they have completed. Students who begin the program in fall 2025 or later will follow the new plan of study.
Data Science Core (24 cr.)
- DSCI-D 501 Introduction to Data Science Programming (3 cr., was INFO-H 501)
- DSCI-D 510 Statistics for Data Science (was INFO-H 510) or any graduate-level STAT course (3 cr.)
- DSCI-D 515 Statistical Learning (3 cr., was INFO-H 515) or CSCI-B 555 Machine Learning (3 cr.)
- DSCI-D 516 Cloud Computing for Data Science (3 cr., was INFO-H 516) or CSCI-B 516 Engineering Cloud Computing (3 cr.)
- DSCI-D 517 Visualization Design, Analysis, and Evaluation (3 cr., was INFO-H 517) or CSCI-P 583 Data Visualization (3 cr.)
- INFO-I 575 Informatics Research Design (3 cr.)
- CSCI-B 561 Advanced Database Concepts (3 cr.)
- LIS-S 541 Information Policy (3 cr.)
Specialization (18 cr.)
- Disciplinary Affinities (6 cr.)
- Ph.D. Minor (12 cr.)
The student must complete a minor within a domain appropriate to the chosen specialization and/or research area. All courses must be graduate-level and taken outside the Data Science program.
Research (48 cr.)
A student must successfully complete a written and oral qualifying examination before the fifth semester of the program. The written exam has a breadth part and a depth part. The breadth part covers the program’s core courses. The depth part additionally covers material from the student’s research.
The oral exam takes place shortly after the student passes the written exam. The oral exam is based on the student’s response to the written exam and the core courses. The both the written and oral exams are prepared and evaluated by faculty in the school who are familiar with the content of the core courses.
The student must pass both the written exam and the oral exam before advancing to candidacy. The student may retake once either the written exam or oral exam, but not both, if they do not pass that part on the first attempt. For further details, consult with the data science program director.
Dissertation (42-48 cr.)
A dissertation is a written elaboration of original research that makes creative contributions to the student’s chosen area of specialization. The student will enroll multiple times in DSCI-D Thesis Readings and Research (1-12 cr., was INFO-I 890) while completing the dissertation. All requirements must be completed within seven years of passing the qualifying exams. The dissertation process includes the following components:
- Proposal: This is an in-depth oral review undertaken by students who have made significant progress in their research. The proposal will be defended at a public colloquium. The student must complete the proposal within one year of passing the qualifying exams.
- Defense: The student must defend his or her dissertation in an open seminar scheduled when doctoral research is almost complete.