Data Science Minor

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Administration
Robert J. Padgett, PhD, Program Director

Program Website
www.butler.edu/arts-sciences/data-science-minor/

The field of data science concerns the transformation of data into actionable insights. Butler’s interdisciplinary minor in data science is designed to provide undergraduate students with the mathematical, statistical, and computer programing tools necessary to broaden their disciplinary education, preparing them for success in an increasingly data-driven world.

At Butler, a minor in data science is an ideal vehicle for students whose passion may be in the social sciences, the natural sciences, health sciences, engineering, economics, or business to gain useful and marketable technical skills that will prepare them for graduate training in data science/data analytics and give them broader skills immediately applicable to the workplace. The courses required for the minor in data science can be customized so that students can choose options that will allow them to develop competencies to complement their majors.

Requirements for the Minor

The minor consists of 24/25 hours of total course work, comprising a content core and electives.

Content Core

(18 or 19 if MA106 is taken)

MA 162 - Elementary Statistics Min Units: 3 or equivalent (e.g., MS 264 and PS 211 )
CS 142 - Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Min Units: 3
DS 110 - Introduction to Data Science Min Units: 3 Math students may substitute MA 468
MA 106 - Calculus and Analytic Geometry 1 Min Units: 4
OR
MA 125 - Business Calculus Min Units: 3
CS 151 - Foundations of Computing 1 Min Units: 3
OR
MA 205 - Discrete Mathematics Min Units: 3
DS 210 - Data Engineering and Curation Min Units: 3

Electives

(6 hours selected from any of the courses below)

DS 394 - Internship in Data Science Min Units: 1
DS 498 - Special Topics Min Units: 3
Computer Science Electives *
CS 248 - Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures Min Units: 5
CS 333 - Database Systems Min Units: 3
CS 351 - Algorithms Min Units: 3
SE 361 - Introduction to Software Engineering Min Units: 3
Math and Statistics Electives *
MA 360 - Probability Theory 1 Min Units: 3
MA 361 - Statistical Theory Min Units: 3
MA 362 - Linear Regression and Time Series Min Units: 3
MA 365 - Numerical Analysis Min Units: 3
MA 369 - Multivariate Statistical Methods Min Units: 3
MA 397 - Actuarial Mathematics 1 Min Units: 3
MA 398 - Actuarial Mathematics 2 Min Units: 3
Other electives *
EC 464 - Quantitative Methods: Econometrics Min Units: 3
MS 372 - Database Design Min Units: 3
MS 495 - Special Topics in Management Science Min Units: 3
PS 310 - Advanced Statistics in Psychology Min Units: 3
DD 330MTSE - Data Acquisition in Motorsports 1 Min Units: 3
DD 331MTSE - Data Acquisition in Motorsports 2 Min Units: 3
SP 455 - Spanish Second Language Acquisition Min Units: 3
* Other courses qualify; see the Program Director for a complete list.