Pacific University to Offer Bachelor’s Degree in Growing Field of Data Science

Pacific University will offer a bachelor’s degree in the rapidly growing field of data science, beginning this fall. The university’s Board of Trustees approved the program addition during its recent meeting, held March 7-8.

Data science is transforming all sectors of society as organizations realize the power of using data in an intelligent manner. Data scientists collect, analyze, model and present data to identify trends and solutions relevant to a given topic. In short, data science has emerged as a key driver of an organization’s ability to develop, grow and solve large-scale problems.

Students earning a bachelor of science in data science at Pacific will learn the foundations of data curation, mathematical analysis, computational thinking, statistical thinking, data modeling, communication and visualization, and understanding ethical implications. Additionally, Pacific’s capstone project requirement will enable students to synthesize their coursework by delving into a research topic of their choice.

In addition to the private sector, data scientists are fast becoming a critical part of the community sector, including public health, education and government entities.

IBM predicts the annual demand for data scientists, data developers, and data engineers will reach nearly 700,000 openings by 2020, with estimated starting salaries between $105,000 and $117,000.

Pacific’s data science program will be administered by the Math and Computer Science Department of the university’s School of Natural Sciences. For more information, visit pacificu.edu/datascience.