Data Science BSDS

Major: Data Science
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science in Data Science (BSDS)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 186.0
Co-op Options: Three Co-op (Five years); One Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 30.7001
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code:
11-3021; 15-1221; 15-1243; 15-2041; 15-2051

About the Program

The Bachelor of Science in Data Science (BSDS) prepares students to meet the challenges presented by the explosive growth of very large scale and complex data sources. The availability of data from sources such as business activities, social media, and scientific instruments constantly creates new problems requiring data-driven solutions and opportunities and problems for innovation. BS in Data Science students develop the knowledge and skill to address these opportunities for the benefit of individuals and organizations. Students in the degree complete a minor, typically in business or the sciences, to provide knowledge and skill in a specific subject area to which data science techniques can be applied.

Data Science students learn to:

  • Define domain specific and context-relevant data analytics questions and hypotheses for individuals and organizations
  • Select relevant data sources and transform data suitable for solving data analytics problems
  • Identify appropriate techniques and tools for acquiring, retrieving, analyzing, and making use of the data
  • Apply data analytics techniques and skills to build analytical and predictive models for answering data science questions
  • Create visualizations and communicate data analytics results to stakeholders and decision-makers
  • Assess the necessary skills arising from the interdisciplinary nature of data science as a combination of hacking skills, analytical techniques, and domain knowledge

The degrees in Computing and Security Technology, Data Science, and Information Systems share a common first year. This allows students to easily switch among the degrees early in their studies. In addition, some of the electives in each degree are accessible to students in the other two majors; this provides a deeper and broader set of advanced topics for students in all three majors.

Additional Information

For more information about this program, please visit the BS in Data Science webpage on the College of Computing & Informatics website.

Degree Requirements

Data Science Requirements
CS 260Data Structures3.0
DSCI 351Recommender Systems3.0
DSCI 471Applied Deep Learning3.0
INFO 101Introduction to Computing and Security Technology3.0
INFO 102Introduction to Information Systems3.0
INFO 103Introduction to Data Science3.0
INFO 202Data Curation3.0
INFO 210Database Management Systems3.0
or CS 461 Database Systems
INFO 212Data Science Programming I3.0
INFO 213Data Science Programming II3.0
INFO 215Social Aspects of Information Systems3.0
INFO 250Information Visualization3.0
INFO 323Cloud Computing and Big Data3.0
INFO 332Exploratory Data Analytics3.0
INFO 432Advanced Data Analytics3.0
INFO 440Social Media Data Analysis3.0
INFO 442Data Science Projects3.0
CCI Electives6.0
Select 2 CCI courses (CI, CS, CT, DSCI, INFO, SE) that are at 200 or above level and not otherwise required
Data Science Electives6.0
Select 2 of the following courses:
Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Systems Analysis I
Information Retrieval Systems
Advanced Database Management Systems
Systems Analysis II
Software Project Management
Computing and Informatics Requirements
CI 101Computing and Informatics Design I2.0
CI 102Computing and Informatics Design II2.0
CI 103Computing and Informatics Design III2.0
CI 491 [WI] Senior Project I3.0
CI 492 [WI] Senior Project II3.0
CI 493 [WI] Senior Project III3.0
Introductory Programming
CS 171Computer Programming I3.0
CS 172Computer Programming II3.0
CS 265Advanced Programming Tools and Techniques3.0
Mathematics Requirements
MATH 121Calculus I4.0
MATH 122Calculus II4.0
MATH 180Discrete Computational Structures4.0
MATH 201Linear Algebra4.0
Statistics Requirements
STAT 201Introduction to Business Statistics4.0
STAT 202Business Statistics II4.0
Natural Science Requirements
Science electives: Select from ANAT, BIO, CHEM, ENVS, FDSC, NFS, PHEV, PHYS. Courses from other departments may be considered with advisor approval.8.0
Arts and Humanities Requirements
ENGL 101Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research3.0
or ENGL 111 English Composition I
ENGL 102Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing3.0
or ENGL 112 English Composition II
ENGL 103Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres3.0
or ENGL 113 English Composition III
COM 230Techniques of Speaking3.0
or COM 310 Technical Communication
Arts & Humanities, Business, or Social Studies electives (see below) ***6.0
University and College Requirements
CIVC 101Introduction to Civic Engagement1.0
COOP 101Career Management and Professional Development **1.0
UNIV CI101The Drexel Experience2.0
or CI 120 CCI Transfer Student Seminar
Minor Requirements *24.0
Choose a minor in a data science application area including business and natural science
Free Electives21.0
Total Credits186.0
*

Students should consult their academic advisor regarding a minor that requires more than 24.0 credits. Please note: If a Business Administration Minor is selected, MIS classes do not count towards the Business Administration Minor for Data Science students. Students must choose another option to fulfill the Business Administration Minor requirements.

**

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

***

Arts & Humanities, Business, or Social Studies Electives (Exclude: courses that are counted as other requirements and electives):

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.

Sample Plan of Study

5 year, 3 co-op

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
CI 1012.0CI 1022.0CI 1032.0VACATION
ENGL 101 or 1113.0CIVC 1011.0CS 1723.0 
INFO 1013.0COOP 101*1.0ENGL 103 or 1133.0 
MATH 1214.0CS 1713.0INFO 1033.0 
UNIV CI1011.0ENGL 102 or 1123.0MATH 1804.0 
Arts, Humanities, Business, Social Studies Electives3.0INFO 1023.0UNIV CI1011.0 
 MATH 1224.0  
 16 17 16 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCECS 2603.0CS 2653.0
  INFO 2023.0INFO 2153.0
  INFO 210 or CS 4613.0INFO 2503.0
  INFO 2123.0MATH 2014.0
  STAT 2014.0STAT 2024.0
 0 0 16 17
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCECOM 230 or 3103.0DSCI 3513.0
  INFO 2133.0INFO 4403.0
  INFO 3233.0Arts, Humanities, Business, Social Studies Electives3.0
  Free Elective3.0Data Science Elective3.0
  Science Elective4.0Science Elective4.0
 0 0 16 16
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEDSCI 4713.0INFO 4323.0
  INFO 3323.0INFO 4423.0
  Data Science Elective3.0CCI Elective3.0
  Free Elective3.0Minor Electives6.0
  Minor Elective3.0 
 0 0 15 15
Fifth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
CI 4913.0CI 4923.0CI 4933.0 
Free Electives3.0CCI Elective3.0Free Electives6.0 
Minor Electives6.0Free Electives6.0Minor Electives6.0 
 Minor Elective3.0  
 12 15 15 
Total Credits 186
*

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

4 year, 1 co-op

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
CI 1012.0CI 1022.0CI 1032.0VACATION
ENGL 101 or 1113.0CIVC 1011.0CS 1723.0 
INFO 1013.0CS 1713.0ENGL 103 or 1133.0 
MATH 1214.0ENGL 102 or 1123.0INFO 1033.0 
UNIV CI1011.0INFO 1023.0MATH 1804.0 
Arts, Humanities, Business, Social Studies Electives3.0MATH 1224.0UNIV CI1011.0 
 16 16 16 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
CS 2653.0CS 2603.0COM 230 or 3103.0DSCI 3513.0
COOP 101*1.0INFO 2153.0INFO 2133.0INFO 4403.0
INFO 2023.0INFO 2503.0INFO 3233.0Arts, Humanities, Business, Social Studies Electives3.0
INFO 210 or CS 4613.0MATH 2014.0Free Elective3.0Data Science Elective3.0
INFO 2123.0STAT 2024.0Science Elective4.0Science Elective4.0
STAT 2014.0   
 17 17 16 16
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
COOP EXPERIENCECOOP EXPERIENCEDSCI 4713.0INFO 4323.0
  INFO 3323.0INFO 4423.0
  Data Science elective3.0CCI Elective3.0
  Free Elective3.0Minor Elective6.0
  Minor Elective3.0 
 0 0 15 15
Fourth Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
CI 4913.0CI 4923.0CI 4933.0 
Free Electives3.0CCI Elective3.0Free Electives6.0 
Minor Electives6.0Free Electives6.0Minor Electives6.0 
 Minor Electives3.0  
 12 15 15 
Total Credits 186
*

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term.  Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

Co-op/Career Opportunities

Co-Op Options

Two co-op options are available for this program:

  • five-year/three co-op
  • four-year/one co-op

Career Opportunities

The Data Science major provides valuable skills that can be transported to a number of job settings. The demand for graduates with data science knowledge is strong, and employers often want evidence of additional communication and problem-solving skills that can be applicable to specific disciplines. Data Science program graduates could potentially serve as key members of organizational data science teams able to create novel information products, with an emphasis on solving problems that can only be addressed using large and disparate data sources. The program is also an excellent preparation for graduate study in data science.

Sample job titles for data science graduates include:

  • Data Scientist
  • Business Intelligence Officer
  • Information Architect
  • Usability Analyst

Additional Information

Visit the Drexel Steinbright Career Development Center page for more detailed information on co-op and post-graduate opportunities.

3675 Market Street

The College of Computing & Informatics is located at 3675 Market. Occupying three floors in the modern uCity Square building, CCI's home offers state-of-the-art technology in our classrooms, research labs, offices, meeting areas and collaboration spaces. 3675 Market offers Class A laboratory, office, coworking, and convening spaces. Located at the intersection of Market Street and 37th Street, 3675 Market acts as a physical nexus, bridging academic campuses and medical centers to the east and south, the commercial corridors along Market Street and Chestnut Street, and the residential communities to the north and west.

The uCity Square building offers:

  • Speculative lab/office space
  • World-class facilities operated by CIC
  • Café/restaurant on-site
  • Quorum, a two-story, 15K SF convening space and conference center
  • Adjacent to future public square
  • Access to Science Center’s nationally renowned business acceleration and technology commercialization programs

Drexel University Libraries

Drexel University Libraries is a learning enterprise, advancing the University’s academic mission through serving as educators, supporting education and research, collaborating with researchers, and fostering intentional learning outside of the classroom. Drexel University Libraries engages with Drexel communities through three physical locations, including W. W. Hagerty Library, Queen Lane Library, and the Library Learning Terrace, as well as a vibrant online presence which sees, on average, over 8,000 visits per day. In the W.W. Hagerty Library location, College of Computing & Informatics students have access to private study rooms and nearly half a million books, periodicals, DVDs, videos and University Archives. All fields of inquiry are covered, including: library and information science, computer science, software engineering, health informatics, information systems, and computing technology. Resources are available online at library.drexel.edu or in-person at W. W. Hagerty Library.

The Libraries also make available laptop and desktop PC and Mac computers, printers and scanners, spaces for quiet work or group projects and designated 24/7 spaces. Librarians and library staff—including a liaison librarian for computing and informatics—are available for individual research consultations and to answer questions about materials or services.

CCI Commons

Located on the 10th floor of 3675 Market Street, the CCI Commons is an open lab and collaborative work environment for students. It features desktop computers, a wireless/laptop area, free black and white printing, and more collaborative space for its students. Students have access to 3675 Market's fully equipped conference room with 42” displays and videoconferencing capabilities. The CCI Commons provides technical support to students, faculty, and professional staff. In addition, the staff provides audio-visual support for all presentation classrooms within 3675 Market. Use of the CCI Commons is reserved for all students taking CCI courses.

The computers for general use are Microsoft Windows and Macintosh OSX machines with appropriate applications which include the Microsoft Office suite, various database management systems, modeling tools, and statistical analysis software. Library-related resources may be accessed at the CCI Commons and through the W.W. Hagerty Library. The College is a member of the "Azure Dev Tools for Teaching” platform that allows students free access to a wide array of Microsoft software titles and operating systems.

The CCI Commons, student labs, and classrooms have access to networked databases, print and file resources within the College, and the Internet via the University’s network. Email accounts, Internet and BannerWeb access are available through the Office of Information Resources and Technology.

CCI Learning Center

The CCI Learning Center (CLC), located in 3675 Market Street's CCI Commons student computer lab, provides consulting and other learning resources for students taking courses offered by the Computer Science Department. The CLC is staffed by graduate and undergraduate computer science students from the College of Computing & Informatics.

The CLC and CCI Commons serve as a central hub for small group work, student meetings, and TA assistance. 

Research Laboratories

The College houses multiple research labs, led by CCI faculty, in 3675 Market Street including: the Metadata Research Center (MRC), Interactive Systems for Healthcare (IS4H) Research, Economics and Computation (EconCS), The TeX-Base Lab, SPiking And Recurrent SoftwarE (SPARSE) Coding, Human-System Evaluation and Analysis Lab (H-SEAL), Applied Symbolic Computation Laboratory (ASYM), Software Engineering Research Group (SERG), Social Computing Research Group, Vision and Cognition Laboratory (VisCog) and the Vision and Graphics Laboratory. For more information on these laboratories, please visit the College’s research web page.

Evaluations

The College of Computing & Informatics works continually to improve its degree programs. As part of this effort, the Data Science degree is evaluated relative to the following Objectives and Outcomes.

BS Data Science Program Educational Objectives

Within three to five years of graduation, alumni of the program are expected to achieve one or more of the following milestones:

  • Be valued contributors to private or public organizations as demonstrated by promotions, increased responsibility, or other professional recognition
  • Contribute to professional knowledge as demonstrated by published papers, technical reports, patents, or conference presentations
  • Succeed in continuing professional development as demonstrated by completion of graduate studies or professional certifications
  • Display commitment and leadership within the professional and community as demonstrated by contributions towards society's greater good and prosperity

BS Data Science Program Student Outcomes

The program enables students to attain by the time of graduation

  • An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to the discipline
  • An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution
  • An ability to design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based system, process, component, or program to meet desired needs
  • An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal
  • An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security, and social issues
  • An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
  • An ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society
  • Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional development
  • An ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practice
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