Master of Science Degree

The Program

This program will equip students to design research to support evidence-based decision-making, work with large datasets using a range of analysis methods, and communicate their results to general audiences—both visually and in writing. Degree students will pursue interdisciplinary coursework and learn to:

1. Identify sources of evidence to use in decision-making
2. Work with large datasets
3. Develop reliable and ethical data management practices
4. Interpret and visualize results of analysis
5. Communicate about data and research to a general audience

Requirements

The degree requires satisfactory completion of 11 courses (minimum 32 credits). Coursework will consist of four required core courses, one professional development course, at least three advanced technical core courses, and up to three substantive social science electives.  Lists of available courses are posted at https://www.umass.edu/social-sciences/academics/dacss.

Degree curriculum has been carefully designed to prepare students for the workforce and reflects current industry standards in programming, statistics, and data communication for data science professionals. The four core courses will ensure students are able to meet industry standards in all three areas, while an additional three advanced technical courses will ensure graduates have cutting edge training in one or more social science research methods such as survey research, network analysis, or computational text analysis.