Bachelor of Science in Data Sciences

Data Sciences is a field of study concerned with developing, applying, and validating methods, processes, systems, and tools for drawing useful knowledge, justifiable conclusions, and actionable insights from large, complex and diverse data through exploration, prediction, and inference. Data Sciences integrate aspects of Computer Science, Informatics, and Statistics to yield powerful data science methods, systems, tools, and best practices that find applications across a broad range of application domains. The curriculum for the major is designed to equip students with the knowledge and the skills needed to elicit, formulate, and solve data sciences problems using modern data science methods, tools, and best practices for data management, data exploration, data integration, predictive modeling (using machine learning), and effectively communicate their findings to, and collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders. The students will gain the critical analytical skills needed to assess the feasibility, benefits, effectiveness, limitations, risks, and ethical implications of applying data sciences methods in different settings. Experiences such as the capstone project prepare students to function effectively as members of interdisciplinary data science teams to harness the potential of data to enable discovery, optimize products and processes, and inform decisions. As distinct from majors that focus primarily on developing data science knowledge and skills to support inquiry in other domains, the primary focus of the Data Sciences major is on the development, evaluation, application, and validation of the data science tools themselves. All students in the major receive in-depth training in data sciences through a set of core courses. Additionally, data sciences students specialize in one of the following options: applied, computational, or statistical modeling data sciences, as described below.

Current high school student in his or her senior year
Student who has earned a high school diploma or a GED and has no post-secondary coursework
Student who has earned a high school diploma or GED and attempted 17 or fewer credits (semester hours) of college coursework at a regionally accredited college/university before attending Penn State
Official transcripts, which include all subjects studied each year and the grade/mark earned in each subject. TOEFL: A minimum TOEFL score of 80 on the Internet-based, TOEFL ITP Plus for China: A minimum TOEFL score of 550 , IELTS: A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 on the academic test.
International Baccalaureate (IB): Score of 5 or higher on the English Language & Literature (English A) exam