5 tracks to a data science degree

You can have one of the hottest careers in America and earn a generous salary right out of school.

Data Science

This major or minor focuses on the analytic skills and the critical thinking and decision making that are needed to solve today’s problems. You will gain skills in computer programming, statistics, data modeling, data mining and data visualization, and also will learn how to interpret and present information.

Why Data Science?

This emerging field is an area of demand by employers as they seek graduates who can interpret quantitative information, create predictive models and translate analytic results. Harvard Business Review calls data science the “sexiest job of the 21st century,” and Glassdoor names data scientist No. 1 on its Best Jobs in America list. (Links open in new window)

Professors who specialize in the disciplines of physics, mathematics, business and leadership, chemistry, biochemistry and biology teach classes in the data science major and collaborate with you on research, projects and our internship requirement.

Emphasis Areas

In the Bachelor of Arts in Data Science program at Jewell—the most robust program in Kansas City—you will choose one of five areas of emphasis:

  • Bioinformatics
  • Business Intelligence
  • Economic Analysis
  • Math & Modeling
  • Molecular Design

Each emphasis area includes a capstone course your senior year and an internship. You may opt to add a second major in a related area, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, business, biochemistry or Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry. You’ll also find opportunities for creative approaches to your coursework through innovation studios on campus.

“Numbers are transcendent across languages, cultures and time. You can do anything you want with them. What Jewell does differently from other institutions is produce graduates who can write and speak effectively about solutions. It’s not enough to have raw skills for data.”

Dr. Jason Morrill, Professor and Chair of Chemistry

Emily Dema

Accepted: University College London Institute of Global Health

After one year at the University of Oxford and completing extensive research projects, Emily plans to track infectious diseases on an international level. She is pursuing a master’s degree in applied infectious disease epidemiology that incorporates bioinformatics and molecular epidemiology, as well as statistical and epidemiological methods.

Jacob Dice

Hired: Research Associate, Federal Reserve Bank

As a Python support intern at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jacob wrote code to clean and analyze datasets with banking regulation economists. This led to an offer for a full-time job after graduation. He also held an IT internship at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.

Megan Anderson

Career Goal: Address ethical issues inherent in emerging technologies

At Meg's paid internship at Barkley, a full-service advertising agency, she translated data sets into charts and reports for strategists. "If you look at the workforce, you can see how big of a need there is for people who encounter big data sets without fear. Jewell produces students who are not afraid of tackling big problems.”

  • Meet our Data Science Advisory Board

    Dr. Mark Hoffman, ’91

    • Chief Research Information Officer at the Children’s Research Institute, Children’s Mercy Kansas City
    • Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
    • Ph.D. in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
    • Former vice president at Cerner Corporation

    Trevor Nicks, ’17

    • Biotechnical engineering doctoral student at Tufts University
    • Cofounder of a biotechnology startup focusing on the use of spirulina as a sustainable food source

    Dr. Ana Pedraza

    • Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, The Stowers Institute for Medical Research
    • Ph.D. in cell biology from Yale University

    Andrew Sallee, ’99

    • Data and Analytics Strategist, HR Information Management, Cerner Corporation
    • Master's degree in predictive anaylsis, Northwestern University
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  • Data Science Required Courses
    • Calculus I
    • Coding: HTML & CSS
    • Coding II: Javascript
    • Introduction to Data Science
    • Introduction to Programming
    • Data Modeling, Databases & Querying
    • Applied Statistics
    • Data Visualization
    • Data Mining With Applications
    • Internship
    • Data Science Capstone

     

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