Data Analytics

Data is at the heart of many of today’s daunting challenges and greatest opportunities. And with the ever-increasing quantity and complexity of available data, it is more important than ever to foster individuals who can make sense of the information and communicate it effectively to a broad audience.

Data analytics will be a critical tool in shaping the future, and those with the right skills and perspective will be ready to help tackle important issues, including climate change, the future of work, globalization, healthcare, artificial intelligence and critical aspects of privacy and security. Data analytics at Dickinson was designed to transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries, integrating computational acumen with opportunities in the natural sciences, social sciences, arts, languages and humanities.

Data analytics majors will learn to be critical consumers, users, explorers and communicators of data, ready for a multitude of postgraduate degrees, careers and experiences. The major will give students a depth and breadth of knowledge, including the technical expertise to perform sophisticated analyses, and the ability to meaningfully comprehend, critique and construct data-driven arguments.

The data analytics curriculum at Dickinson is highly interdisciplinary, involving:

• foundational courses in mathematics and computer science
• a course in the philosophy and ethics of data
• an experiential component such as an internship or an independent research project
• a three-course disciplinary focus in a field that allows students to meaningfully apply their skills in data analysis to a particular subject area.

This data analytics curriculum will prepare students to become the citizen-leaders and agents of change in today’s data-rich environment, ready to adapt rapidly to the data-driven global society of today and tomorrow.