Master of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

• Hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited 4-year institution or shall have completed equivalent academic preparation as determined by the appropriate campus authority in a quantitative/computing field, including but not limited to computer science, mathematics, physics, statistics, engineering or relevant fields. Successful applicants are expected to demonstrate knowledge by having satisfactorily completed courses or worked in the information technology industry in the following areas: data structures, programming, analysis of algorithms, database systems, software engineering,  calculus, probability, and/or statistics. However, an applicant who is deficient in these areas may be admitted conditionally on passing a set of undergraduate courses during the first calendar year of study.
• Have a 3.0 GPA or higher in their earned undergraduate degree or have earned a post-baccalaureate degree.
• Submit a general GRE score that has been taken within the last 3 years.
• Submit a TOEFL score (minimum 550/80) or IELTS score (minimum 7.0) obtained within the past two years if their undergraduate degree is from a country where the official language is not English.
• Furnish 2 Letters of Recommendation.
• Submit a Statement of Purpose
• Submit a copy of CV or resume.

Culminating Experience Requirements 

Each student in this program is required to complete a culminating experience project/thesis by enrolling in either CSC 895 Applied Research Project or CSC 898 Master's Thesis. Under the supervision of a tenured/tenure-track faculty member, a student employs concepts and methods learned in this program to solve a problem of significant importance from a practical or research standpoint. Through this culminating experience project, a student will synthesize and apply concepts and methods learned in more than one course, analyze and compare existing work in the area of study, create a software solution, evaluate this software, and present the major findings in the forms of an oral defense and written thesis/report. CSC 895 and CSC 898 are equivalent options. The project or thesis will also add a prominent component to a student's portfolio and lay the foundation for a future career in data science and AI, be it a Ph.D. program or a leadership position in the industry.

Each student will work with a tenured/tenure-track faculty member to decide whether to register for CSC 895 or CSC 898. Before enrolling in CSC 895 or CSC 898, the student and his/her faculty advisor will be required to assemble a committee of multiple faculty members to maximize a student’s learning outcomes through working on his/her culminating experience project.

A culminating experience project in this program will produce the following three major deliverables: (1) a software system that utilizes relevant data to address an important problem; (2) a written report or Master’s thesis; and (3) an oral presentation to argue/explain/demonstrate the software solution and convince the committee of the solution’s efficacy and effectiveness.

Probability, Statistics, and Statistical Learning (6 units)