Data Science Programs and Resources at Truman
Program Philosophy: Stackable Credentials
All of our Data Science Programs are designed so that each experience is meaningful on its own, teaching valuable knowledge, skills and attitudes, while our credentials build on each other to allow students to continue to go as deeply as they choose, to prepare for the career options they want.
DATA 222 Fundamentals of Data Science is a course that assumes no previous programming. Meaningful skills are learned, and a signature big data project allows students to show those skills to future employers. Students will be able to transfer their skills to whatever software they need in the future.
“One More Course”:
DATA 322 Intermediate Data Science is a second course after DATA 222 that adds skills in coding, report-writing and analytics tools like Tableau and/or PowerBI, two platforms that are in demand by employers NOW.
Data Science Foundations Certification:
The Data Science Foundations Undergraduate Certificate introduces you to the world of data science. This five-course (14 hours) program is well-suited for all students interested in developing the fundamental knowledge and skills to apply data science principles to future research or careers. This program includes the above courses and prepares you to analyze and make relevant discoveries from large data sets through courses emphasizing statistics, computer science, and business data analytics.
Whether you’re a non-degree-seeking student or a Truman undergraduate looking to supplement your major coursework with additional courses in data science, this credential can give you a competitive edge
Business Analytics Certification:
The Business Analytics Undergraduate Certificate Program equips you with the technical and critical-thinking skills to make data-driven decisions.
Today, more than ever, companies rely on data to understand customers and improve business processes to become more efficient and profitable. In their quest to incorporate data-driven culture, organizations have discovered that their main challenge lies in analyzing and interpreting data.
The 20-credit-hour (6 courses) undergraduate certificate program, offered by a team of interdisciplinary faculty members, provides you with experiential training in business intelligence tools.
Data Science Minor:
A data science minor provides an introduction into the field of data science – a professional that draws on insights from statistics and computer science to explore, visualize and interpret large volumes of data and draw actionable conclusions. Grounded in the liberal arts, but mindful of the needs of the marketplace, the Data Science minor provides a valuable supplement to a wide range of majors that lead to careers where data and its interpretation may be of importance through a six-course sequence.
Data Science Major:
A bachelor of science in data science equips you with the skills to discover meaning in data with key courses spanning across computer science, statistics, mathematics and other fields. You learn how to analyze big and small data sets and discover their stories, identify opportunities, and develop solutions across many contexts.
If you already have a bachelor’s degree and would like to take a one-off course please contact institute@truman.edu about enrolling as a non-degree seeking student. If you are a current undergraduate student interested in data science but unsure where to start, please contact Dr. Scott Alberts, Chair of the Statistics Department, to discuss what would work best for your specific goals and situation.
Graduate Certificate in Data Science:
This five-course graduate sequence allows those with a college degree to learn key skills and gain a credential. Classes are taught online in eight-week terms that work with their schedule. The Data Science Graduate Certificate is an online program designed to help you quickly acquire new skills you can apply to this rapidly expanding field. Accelerate your career by enhancing your ability to manage, analyze, and draw conclusions from large amounts of data and applying your findings to your field of interest, such as science, business, government, engineering, and health care.
A tech-related undergraduate degree is not required to pursue this program.
Master of Science in Data Science and Analytic Storytelling:
Building on the graduate certificate, this program includes content beyond statistics and computer science, to bring in experts from Art, Design, English, Communication, and other disciplines to think about how “data tells a story” and how that story is crafted for multiple audiences. As an analytic storyteller, you will go beyond organizing and interpreting big sets of data. You learn how to effectively gather and interpret data. Then, you take it one step further by developing the skills needed to communicate the data through evocative and easy-to-digest visualizations.
Part-time students can finish in about two years. A tech-related undergraduate degree is not required to pursue this program.
Combined 4+1 Program (Bachelor of Science + Master of Science):
Truman undergraduates can start their graduate coursework early to allow them to finish the Master of Science in Data Science and Analytic Storytelling in one additional, fully online year of courses.
Teaching Sequence for STAT 190 and STAT 220:
Certified teachers can build on their current credentials by taking online courses to gain skills needed to successfully teach dual-credit Statistics and Data Science courses.
If you are interested in the graduate certificate, master’s, or 4+1 program, please contact gradinfo@truman.edu for more information. If you are interested in crafting a teaching sequence to be able to teach dual credit STAT 190 and STAT 220, please contact Dr. Hyun-Joo Kim, Program Director of Data Science, to discuss your specific situation.
Gallery—Graduate Program Master’s Theses
Big Data Resource Philosophy:
Truman’s Data Science Programs are built around encouraging all levels of students to access our cutting-edge facilities and resources, research-level computers, and high-quality faculty engaged in their learning experience. All of our Data Science Facilities are accessible to both our undergraduate and graduate students, allowing Truman students to graduate with their Bachelor’s degree a step ahead. Our graduate students use this level of access to go deeper into their area of study, and quickly advance in skills they can immediately apply to their career field.
Big Data Resources:
Thirty-two 8 to 16-core
Linux workstations equipped with Python, R, C++, Java, and other statistical and computer science software useful for analyzing and modeling much larger datasets are set-up in Violette Hall 1220. This room is also designed for group project work and for hosting seminars and workshops open to the general public.
Thirty-two 8-core workstations equipped with Tableau, PowerBI, and other analytics software for analyzing traditional-sized datasets are in Violette Hall 1420.
Larger server machines (300 cores each) live “in the cloud” so that students and faculty can access them remotely to run Python, R, Keras, TensorFlow and other more advanced software similar to what is available in the Data Science Teaching Lab, as well as live dashboarding visualization software that allows real-time webpages to show up-to-the-moment reporting.
Truman has several new Nautilus hypercluster nodes with hundreds of cores each that will allow even larger and faster analysis and modeling for analyzing massive datasets using containerized systems that give multiple users flexible, simultaneous access to an appropriately sized subsystem to solve their applied problems from across campus.