The Bachelor of Arts in Data Science is designed to meet the growing demand for data scientists or data analysts. The increasing availability of digital information is changing the way businesses and organizations operate. More and more companies are in need of data science professionals with deep analytical and technical skills who can analyze massive amounts of data and extract information from complex data sources.
| Program Requirements | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|
| Liberal Studies Requirements | 76 |
| Major Requirements | 76-80 |
| Open Electives | 36-40 |
| Total hours required | 192 |
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Collect, manage, interpret, and analyze data in order to assist in data-driven decision-making and to identify and solve problems using data-based analytical approaches.
- Use statistical software packages and computational software platforms to execute various statistical and mathematical procedures for data analysis and to sanitize, process, and visualize data.
- Employ suitable tools and techniques to access data from various sources, such as data from relational databases or from the web.
- Critique data analyses performed on a particular data set, identify limitations in the inferences drawn from the data, and effectively communicate, in verbal form, the results.
College Core Requirements
Modern Language Requirements
Students who intend to graduate with the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree will be required to demonstrate competence in a modern language equivalent to the proficiency attained from one year of college-level language study. Such competence may be demonstrated in one of several ways:
- completing the last course in the fourth-year high school sequence of any language
- completing the last course in the first-year college sequence of any language
- completing a college course beyond the first-year level in any language
- achieving a satisfactory score on any of the Modern Language placement examinations administered at DePaul
- achieving a satisfactory rating in a proficiency examination accepted by DePaul
- achieving a score of 3 or higher on the Advance Placement (AP) test for any language
- achieving a score of 5 or higher in the Language B assessment from a Standard or Higher Level International Baccalaureate (IB) program
- achieving a satisfactory score on the CLEP examination
Please note: Modern Languages courses with an E-designation are taught in English and may not be applied to the Modern Language Requirement.
For further information regarding satisfactory scores and possible credit from the DePaul placement, AP, CLEP, or IB examinations, please contact Student Records.
Students who complete an Inter-College Transfer (ICT) to the College of Science and Health will abide by the College of Science and Health Modern Language Requirement in place on the effective date of the ICT.
BA students who meet College requirements and wish to pursue further work in the language may elect the “Modern Language Option” of the Liberal Studies Program. While Bachelor of Science (BS) students are not required to demonstrate competency in a modern language, the “Modern Language Option” is available to them for language study at any level. Modern Languages courses with an E-designation are taught in English and may not be applied to the Modern Language Option.
Major Declaration Requirements
All students in the College are required to declare a major field prior to beginning their junior year. After researching College programs, the student should declare a major field by visiting Campus Connection and using the Declarations and Inter-College Transfer tool. The student will then be assigned a faculty advisor or staff advisor in the department or program and should make an appointment to see that advisor at his or her earliest convenience.
To change major fields, or to declare a minor or concentration, the student must use the Declarations and Inter-College Transfer tool described above. However, for the purpose of exploring the possibility of changing a major field, the student should consult an academic advisor in the College or an academic advisor in the Office for Academic Advising Support.
Liberal Studies Requirements
Honors program requirements can be found in the individual Colleges & Schools section of the University Catalog. Select the appropriate college or school, followed by Undergraduate Academics and scroll down.
| First Year Program | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Quarter | ||
| LSP 110 or LSP 111 | DISCOVER CHICAGO or EXPLORE CHICAGO | 4 |
| Focal Point | ||
| LSP 112 | FOCAL POINT SEMINAR | 4 |
| Writing | ||
| WRD 103 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I 1 | 4 |
| WRD 104 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC II 1 | 4 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Not Required | ||
| Sophomore Year | ||
| Race, Power, and Resistance | ||
| LSP 200 | SEMINAR ON RACE, POWER, AND RESISTANCE | 4 |
| Junior Year | ||
| Experiential Learning | ||
| Required | 4 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| Capstone | ||
| DSC 394 | DATA SCIENCE PROJECT 1, 2 | 4 |
- 1
Students must earn a C- or better in this course.
- 2
Students with a primary major in Data Science are required to complete the Capstone offered by the Data Science department. Students double majoring or pursuing dual degrees with the primary major or primary degree in Data Science are required to complete the Capstone offered by the Data Science department. Data Science students in the University Honors Program shall take the University Honors Capstone. They are not expected to take both the Honors Capstone and the primary major or primary degree Capstone.
Learning Domains
Arts and Literature (AL)
- 3 Courses Required
Historical Inquiry (HI)
- 2 Courses Required
Math and Computing (MC)
- Not Required
Philosophical Inquiry (PI)
- 2 Courses Required
Religious Dimensions (RD)
- 2 Courses Required
Scientific Inquiry (SI)
- 1 Lab Course Required
Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)
- 2 Courses Required
Notes
Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements. If students double major, LSP Domain courses may double count for both LSP credit and the second major. Students who choose to take an experiential learning course offered by the major may count it either as a general elective or the Experiential Learning requirement.
In meeting learning domain requirements, no more than one course that is outside the student’s major and is cross-listed with a course within the student’s major, can be applied to count for LSP domain credit. This policy does not apply to those who are pursuing a double major or earning BFA or BM degrees.
Major Requirements
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one of the following options: | 4-8 | |
Option A | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE I and INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE II | ||
Option B | ||
| PYTHON FOR PROGRAMMERS | ||
| Select one of the following Calculus sequences: | 12 | |
Sequence One | ||
| CALCULUS I | ||
| CALCULUS II | ||
| CALCULUS III | ||
Sequence Two | ||
| CALCULUS WITH INTEGRATED PRECALCULUS I | ||
| CALCULUS WITH INTEGRATED PRECALCULUS II | ||
| CALCULUS WITH INTEGRATED PRECALCULUS III | ||
Sequence Three 1 | ||
| SUMMER CALCULUS I | ||
| SUMMER CALCULUS II | ||
| CSC 300 | DATA STRUCTURES I | 4 |
| CSC 301 | DATA STRUCTURES II | 4 |
| CSC 321 | DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS | 4 |
| DSC 323 | DATA ANALYSIS AND REGRESSION | 4 |
| DSC 324 | ADVANCED DATA ANALYSIS | 4 |
| CSC 355 | DATABASE SYSTEMS | 4 |
| DSC 341 | FOUNDATIONS OF DATA SCIENCE | 4 |
| IT 223 | DATA ANALYSIS | 4 |
| MAT 140 | DISCRETE MATHEMATICS I | 4 |
| MAT 220 | APPLIED LINEAR ALGEBRA | 4 |
| or MAT 262 | LINEAR ALGEBRA | |
| MAT 260 | MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS I | 4 |
| MAT 349 | APPLIED PROBABILITY | 4 |
| MAT 350 | BAYESIAN STATISTICS | 4 |
| MAT 360 | GENERALIZED LINEAR MODELS | 4 |
| MAT 384 | MATHEMATICAL MODELING | 4 |
- 1
This Calculus sequence is offered only during the summer, in two 6-credit hour courses. Students successfully completing MAT 131, MAT 147, MAT 150 or MAT 160 should enroll in MAT 155; students who successfully complete MAT 148, MAT 151 or MAT 161 should enroll in MAT 156. Students who successfully complete MAT 155 may enroll in either MAT 151 or MAT 156.
Open Electives
Open elective credit also is required to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 hours.
Students are advised to talk with their advisor before double majoring, because some major combinations are prohibited. No more than 50% of the credits that apply to one major may be drawn from another major.