The 91探花 Board of Regents has granted its approval to offer a new program, designed by leading faculty from six 91探花departments and schools. The comprehensive, interdisciplinary curriculum will provide students with advanced technical expertise in managing, modeling and visualizing big data to meet the growing needs of industry, government, nonprofits and research institutions.
The 45-credit program, launching in fall 2016, will be offered at the 91探花Seattle campus, with full- and part-time options available in the evening to suit the schedules of working professionals.
Top faculty from the 91探花Departments of Applied Mathematics, Biostatistics, Computer Science & Engineering, Human Centered Design & Engineering, Statistics and the Information School have joined forces with the 91探花eScience Institute to develop this professional master鈥檚 program to address the pressing demand for skilled data scientists.
鈥淭his new master鈥檚 program was designed not only by six leading 91探花departments, but also with direct input from top data science hiring managers in Seattle and nationwide,鈥� said , associate director and senior data science fellow at the 91探花eScience Institute and chair of the 91探花Data Science Master鈥檚 Development Committee. 鈥淭he level of technical expertise from both industry and academia that went into designing this program makes it unique in the country.”
The new program combines practically focused and technically rigorous training in statistical modeling, machine learning, software engineering, data management, data visualization and user interface design. 鈥淭he 91探花鈥檚 new master鈥檚 program provides the breadth and depth in data science that today鈥檚 employers demand,鈥� said , Amazon Professor of Machine Learning in Computer Science & Engineering at the 91探花and CEO of Dato, Inc.
鈥淎t Amazon Web Services, the exploding scale and complexity of data has meant that a new set of specialists is suddenly in great demand,鈥� said Roger Barga, general manager of Amazon Web Services Kinesis service.聽鈥淭eams at both AWS and at the companies that rely on AWS are aggressively hiring analysts and engineers with graduate training in data science methods, systems and algorithms.鈥�
A similar perspective is shared by Kristin Tolle, director of the Data Science Initiative at Microsoft Research: 鈥淎t Microsoft Research, we are committed to advancing research, services, and technology for data science at all levels. The 91探花鈥檚 new Master of Science in Data Science program helps address a critical educational need which in turn helps Microsoft and our customers find well-rounded data science talent.鈥�
The acute need for multifaceted data scientists was also cited in a report by : 鈥淏y 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions.”
Pushing forward in the field of big data, the 91探花was recently selected by the National Science Foundation, along with the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Berkeley, to in the U.S. to catalyze collaborations that drive innovative application of data science.
鈥� 91探花has elite programs 鈥� among the best in the nation 鈥� in the core fields on which data science relies,鈥� said , Bill & Melinda Gates chair for the 91探花Department of Computer Science & Engineering and founding director and senior data science fellow at the 91探花eScience Institute. 鈥淭his new professional master鈥檚 program builds on the UW鈥檚 leadership in data science research and education and solidifies the position of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest as a national hub for professional data scientists.鈥�
Admissions communications for the new Master of Science in Data Science program will be managed by 91探花Professional and Continuing Education, which also runs the popular , a 9-month professional program offered year-round in Seattle, Bellevue and online.
For program inquiries, visit or email info@pce.uw.edu.
For press inquiries, contact Jo Gubas at jgubas@pce.uw.edu.