Berkeley, Calif. — July 17
Responding to the national shortage of data scientists, the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Information announced the launch of an online Master’s of Information and Data Science (MIDS) degree program.
“This new degree program is in response to a dramatically growing need for well-trained big data professionals who can organize, analyze and interpret the deluge of often messy and unorganized data available from the web, sensor networks, mobile devices and elsewhere,” said AnnaLee Saxenian, dean of the School of Information.
By 2018, the U.S. may face a shortage of up to 190,000 people who have the analytical skills — and another 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how — to make wise use of virtual mountain ranges of data for critical decisions in business, energy, intelligence, health care, finance and other fields, according to a 2011 McKinsey Institute report.
With the new program beginning in January 2014, the School of Information is staking out new master’s degree territory in educating data scientists. While other institutions provide individual classes, certificates, or associate master’s degrees in data science, UC Berkeley says it has designed a comprehensive and integrated suite of courses that culminate in a capstone course designed to solidify a student’s knowledge of the breadth of data science concepts and skills.
Source: UC Berkeley School of Information
