UNC Charlotte Launches North Carolina’s First Undergraduate Program in Data Science
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – April. 22, 2020 – UNC Charlotte’s School of Data Science, North Carolina’s first undergraduate program in data science, is now enrolling undergraduate students for the fall semester. The program, the first of its kind to incorporate the liberal arts and sciences with technical data skills, allows the School of Data Science to expand its efforts in helping to meet the soaring demand for qualified, dynamic data science professionals throughout the region and the nation.
Current students are able to register for the program’s first two introductory courses available this fall, where they will learn to apply statistical methods, tools and script programming languages to explore the ethical implications of collecting and using tabular data. Incoming freshmen and transfer students will have the opportunity to learn more about the bachelor’s degree program during Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR) sessions this summer in preparation for fall 2020 registration.
“This new program will give organizations that recruit large numbers of data science professionals insight into that talent pipeline much earlier in the hiring cycle,” said Ned Carroll, senior managing director and chief data officer for TIAA. “Today, we identify data science talent through computer science, statistics, applied mathematics and similar degree programs. While we likely will continue to find talent in those disciplines, this degree will provide a more targeted view into early talent, in particular, potential data science interns and employees who possess the combination of skills we seek for building a meaningful future pipeline of qualified data experts.”
Career options for graduates of the new data science undergraduate program include data science engineer, data analyst, research engineer, data science developer, among others. To meet employer demand, the program offers courses in machine learning, data analysis, statistics, data visualization and–key to the overall nature of SDS bachelor’s and master’s degree programs –the ethics surrounding the field of data science.
“Building on the success of our master’s programs, our goal is to provide students of all backgrounds with the educational opportunities to apply data science to the fields they’re passionate about,” said Doug Hague, executive director of UNC Charlotte’s School of Data Science. “As we continue down the path toward a more digitalized world, I’m confident that SDS graduates will lead the way in solving some of the world’s largest problems.”
The Bachelor of Science in Data Science program marks the latest expansion of the interdisciplinary partnership among the College of Computing and Informatics, the Belk College of Business, the College of Health and Human Services and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The program will begin this fall, pending approval from the U.S. Department of Education.
To learn more about the School of Data Science’s bachelor’s degree, visit sds.charlotte.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate-programs.