Carnegie Mellon Launches One-of-a-Kind Data Science Graduate Program for Scientists
By Ben Panko
With the launch of the new Master of Science in Data Analytics for Science (MS-DAS) degree program, Carnegie Mellon University's Mellon College of Science (MCS) is offering a unique opportunity for students of the foundational sciences to acquire cutting-edge data science skills.
"It is a program created by scientists to equip the next generation of scientists with modern data analytics tools, machine learning skills and relevant mathematics and statistics backgrounds," said Professor of Physics Manfred Paulini, who spearheaded the development of the degree program in his role as MCS's Associate Dean for Faculty and Graduate Affairs.
What makes the MS-DAS program unique compared to other data science degree programs is its focus on students with backgrounds in the foundational sciences, including biology, physics, math, chemistry and related fields.
"Data science has permeated all aspects of scientific research in all disciplines," said Shawn Brown, director of the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) and a member of the working group that developed the MS-DAS program. "Even sciences that have been primarily wet-lab driven are using some form of data science for interpretation and analysis, and in order for our students to be competitive in the workforce and in their future research, it is vital that we provide training in these skills."
Students in the MS-DAS program will be able to leverage the unique expertise of PSC staff to learn vital skills such as software development, parallel computing and visualization, Brown said, and they will be able to make use of PSC's advanced Bridges-2 supercomputing platform.
A key part of the degree program will be a semester-long capstone project in collaboration with industry partners, which will help students translate the competitive data science skills they've acquired into careers in academia, commercial research, government and more.
“At the Mellon College of Science, we believe that the future of science is at the interface between the foundational sciences, machine learning, engineering and data analytics,” said Rebecca W. Doerge, Glen de Vries Dean of the Mellon College of Science. “Our Data Analytics for Science master’s degree program will give students a solid foundation and pave the way for success in the workforce today and well into the future.”
The MS-DAS program is a one-year program that will be open to current Carnegie Mellon University students for the first year.
Learn more at: https://www.cmu.edu/mcs/grad/programs/ms-data-analytics/. Students interested in learning more about the program can request more information through the website.