Data Science is the Fastest Growth Area in Computer Science

Data science courses supplement the software development skills that our students already have or are working to improve.  Unless the student is already a strong software developer, has strong written and verbal English skills and an outstanding aptitude in college mathematics, or already has 3-4 years of solid data science or big data professional experience,  data science courses are usually best taken with two courses on campus and two courses during distance education.

Data science courses will help a software developer get involved with development projects that interface with data science.  Gradually, the developer can learn and experience more in the data science domain.  During a period of 3-4 years of employment, a developer might be able to shift his/her career path to that area.  MSCS graduates who completed the data science courses speak of a fulfilling career transition from software development to data science.  They report they were very happy they had four data science courses that helped facilitate moving in that direction.

Please note that our MSCS degree emphasizes advancing the skills of software development, and the data science courses complement that emphasis but do not replace it.  If a student has very little professional programming experience, it is important to focus on improving software development skills in order to be successful in the U.S. job market.  The data science courses will enhance a student’s professional growth, but the student must still master software development for maximum success.