The magazine for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at
Iowa State University

LAS offers new data science minor

As businesses clamor to employ people capable of producing insights and accurate predictions from the increasing amount of data we are now capturing, storing and analyzing, there is a resulting skill crisis. We need more trained data scientists. Fast.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is addressing this need by offering an under- graduate minor and certificate in data science. The interdisciplinary curriculum will enable students studying in any major at Iowa State to acquire skills and knowledge for professional careers related to or requiring data science.

“The explosion of rich, complex data in science, industry, nonprofit agencies and government is creating massive demand for data science professionals,” Beate Schmittmann, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said. “Data science is at the intersection of many disciplines, from mathematics to computer engineering to communication fields. It has applications in science, business, the humanities and engineering that will be at the forefront of 21st century innovation.”

“The explosion of rich, complex data in science, industry, nonprofit agencies and government is creating massive demand for data science professionals.”

According to Glassdoor, a U.S. job and recruitment website, the national average salary for a data scientist in the United States is $113,000.

While students will not be able to officially declare the minor or certificate until Spring 2018, students began taking coursework towards both this fall. The undergraduate minor in data science will require nine credit hours of data science core courses and six credit hours in data science electives. To earn a data science certificate, students would also need to complete three credit hours of electives and a three-credit data science capstone course designed to provide an experiential learning experience.

The data science minor will be available to students enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program at Iowa State. The certificate will be available to students enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program or who already hold a baccalaureate degree.

In addition, LAS has proposed an undergraduate major in data science which will require the approval of the Board of Regents.