Why Study Data Science at UMN Morris?
Data science is one of the fastest growing segments in the modern economy. It's multidisciplinary and offers high job satisfaction.
At UMN Morris, the Division of Science and Mathematics is dedicated to delivering instruction that prepares graduates for employment, graduate or professional school, or teaching at the secondary-school level.
Combining courses in Statistics and Computer Science, data science has its own techniques, concerns, and professional communities. A strong industry drive for practitioners to develop non-technical coursework aligns with the strengths of a liberal arts education and provides students the opportunity to leverage their interests and coursework to increase their attractiveness to potential employers and graduate programs.
Demand for Data
Multiple studies indicate data science is the fastest-growing job segment in the US and in several other countries. Demand for and job satisfaction in the field has raised public awareness of it, too.
This minor positions students to be competitive in non-data science jobs. Potential subplans include topics such as:
- Natural Language Processing (English/World Languages)
- Digital Humanities
- Geographic Information Systems (Geology)
- Sentiment analysis (Social Science)
Comparative Advantage
UMN Morris's emphasis on undergraduate research is a perfect pairing with this minor—opening the door not only for more research opportunities that incorporate big data, but also increasing the opportunity for data-driven service based initiatives.
The minor positions students to pursue additional studies. Completion of the program, with a few extra math courses, would satisfy the application requirements for the MS in Data Science at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. And students with backgrounds in Management and/or Economics would be well positioned to apply for the Carlson School of Management's MS in Business Analytics.