Data drives the world. UMW’s minor in data science covers the evidence-based approaches, analytical models, and stat-centered processes critical in nearly every field. Learn to understand complex systems and make sound decisions in today’s quick-changing world. Study techniques for analyzing big data, social media, consumer information, demographic trends, sports data, and more. Join us as we collaborate with scientists and statisticians from the nearby Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center.
Areas of Study
As a data science minor at UMW, you’ll gain fundamentals in math, computer science, statistics, and business analytics. Choose from courses in data mining, modeling and simulation, linear algebra, statistics, and analytics application development.
Career Opportunities
No matter what your major, UMW’s data science minor will enhance your credentials and provide you with a skill set beneficial to the career path you choose – business, education, government, you name it. With companies around the world realizing the value of leveraging large amounts of information to make effective decisions, data science is an exploding job market. McKinsey Global Institute estimates a shortage of hundreds of thousands of people with deep analytical expertise and 1.5 million managers with basic analytics skills by 2018.
Internships
At UMW, internships give data science minors valuable real-world experience and resume-boosting on-the-job training. The Department of Computer Science offers internships at technical firms, government offices, and software development agencies such as Zope Corp., Computer Sciences Corp., and Systems Technology Forum Ltd. Many data science students find internships with the Dahlgren naval base and affiliated defense contractors. Plenty of analytics and data science opportunities, many with nonprofits, exist in nearby Washington, D.C. A complete list of available internships is provided by Career Services.
Requirements
UMW’s data science minor requires 15 credits in areas including math, data science, computer science, and business administration.
Scholarships
At UMW, the Department of Computer Science offers a variety of scholarships.