Data Science, BS (Mathematics)

About the Program

Data science is one of the fastest-growing fields in the mathematical and computational sciences, with applications in almost every area of science, technology, and business. The Data Science track in Mathematics is designed to couple a foundation of mathematical training with the computational skills required to analyze large data sets to uncover and leverage predictive patterns and insights. Graduates will have learned to process and analyze continuous and discrete data, quantify uncertainty, construct hypotheses, design and validate models, and to explain these steps and put results in context. This major will open doors to Master’s and Ph.D. programs in a variety of data-related fields and to a quickly-expanding range of careers in finance, industry, cybersecurity, medicine, and physical and social sciences.

Data Science (Mathematics) Major Change (CODO) Requirements  

Curriculum and Degree Requirements for College of Science

A College of Science degree is conferred when a student successfully completes all requirements in their degree program. Students will complete coursework or approved experiential learning activities to meet the following three degree components:

1. Major
2. Science Core Curriculum
3. Electives

Students may use any of the following options to meet College of Science degree requirements:

• Purdue Coursework
• AP, IB, and CLEP credit. The use of AP and IB coursework varies between College of Science degree plans.
• Transfer Credit. Students should consult the Admissions Transfer Credit Resource page for all available transfer options.

College of Science degree programs vary widely in their approval and use of the proceeding options and thus students are strongly encouraged to work closely with their academic advisors and to regularly consult their MyPurduePlan to view the use of each option in their degree plan. 

Most College of Science degree programs contain elective credits students may use to pursue courses that relate to their interests or which support their major area of study. The elective area of a degree plan may also be used to complete minors, second majors and certificates such as the Entrepreneurial Certificate. Any Purdue course may be used to meet the elective area of a student’s degree plan.

College of Science Core Requirements

All Students starting Purdue University Fall semester, 2007 or later are required to pursue the 2007 Science Core curriculum.

The College of Science Core Curriculum requires the completion of approved coursework and/or experiential learning opportunities in the following academic areas:

• Composition and Presentation  
• Computing    
• Cultural Diversity (Language and Culture)   
• General Education  
• Great Issues in Science   
• Laboratory Science   
• Mathematics    
• Science Technology and Society   
• Statistics    
• Teambuilding and Collaboration       

Earning Core Curricular Requirements through Experience

Students may meet selected core curriculum requirements through approved experiential learning opportunities. Interested students should contact their academic advisor for more information on this option and incorporating experiential learning into their four-year program of study. For more information on earning requirements through experience, please click here.

Degree Requirements

120 Credits Required

Data Science Major Courses (60-61 credits)

• CS 18000 - Problem Solving And Object-Oriented Programming Credits: 4.00 ♦ (satisfies Computing, and Team-Building and Collaboration, for College of Science core)
• CS 18200 - Foundations Of Computer Science Credits: 3.00
• CS 25300 - Data Structures And Algorithms For DS/AI Credits: 3.00
• CS 38003 - Python Programming Credits: 1.00
• MA 35100 - Elementary Linear Algebra Credits: 3.00
• MA 37500 - Introduction To Discrete Mathematics Credits: 3.00
• MA 42100 - Linear Programming And Optimization Techniques Credits: 3.00
• MA 43200 - Elementary Stochastic Processes Credits: 3.00
• STAT 35500 - Statistics For Data Science Credits: 3.00 (satisfies Statistics for College of Science core)
• STAT 41700 - Statistical Theory Credits: 3.00

•  

• CS 24200 - Introduction To Data Science Credits: 3.00 or
• STAT 24200 - Introduction To Data Science Credits: 3.00

•  

• CS 34800 - Information Systems Credits: 3.00 or
• MA 34900 - Signals And Systems For Mathematicians Credits: 3.00

•  

• CS 37300 - Data Mining And Machine Learning Credits: 3.00 or
• MA 37400 - Mathematical Foundations For Machine Learning Credits: 3.00 (CS37300 must be taken if planning to complete Capstone Requirement with CS49000 Data Science Capstone course; CS37300 must be taken if planning to take CS44000 Large Scale Data Analytics to complete CS Selective)

•  

• MA 26100 - Multivariate Calculus Credits: 4.00 or
• MA 27101 - Honors Multivariate Calculus Credits: 5.00

•  

• MA 34100 - Foundations Of Analysis Credits: 3.00 or
• MA 44000 - Honors Real Analysis I Credits: 3.00

•  

• MA 41600 - Probability Credits: 3.00 or
• STAT 41600 - Probability Credits: 3.00

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (29-49 credits)

Electives (10-31 credits)

CS19300 is strongly encouraged to be taken with CS18000. CS 19300 is not a degree requirement.

Grade Requirements

• *All courses required for the major, regardless of department, must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. 
• *All prerequisites to CS, MA, and STAT courses required for the major, regardless of department, must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.

GPA Requirements

• 2.0 Major and Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Science degree.

College of Science Pass/No Pass Option Policy

• Only electives and courses at the 50000-level general education requirement may be taken under the pass/no pass option. 
• The pass/no pass grade mode may be entered for courses which are not required by a student’s major(s), minor(s) or science core curriculum.
• Grade mode Passing is equivalent to at a minimum grade of C- had a letter grade been awarded.
• Students may elect to use the pass/no pass option for no more than 20% of the 124/120 credit requirement for graduation and for no more than two courses per academic year (Fall-Summer).
• The pass/no pass option cannot be elected for a course that has already been completed with a letter grade. University Regulation.
• Students may take elective credit while abroad using the P/NP mode. In the case of universities which only post P/NP, the University will apply a calculation process to determine a letter grade.
• Department of Languages and Cultures P/NP policy and Language Placement results. Students must take advanced coursework for a letter grade to receive credit for lower-level language courses.

Transfer Credit Policy

• Equivalent 10000 and 20000-level Mathematics (MA) transfer credit courses (including credit from regional campuses) may be used to meet degree requirements if those courses were taken prior to admission to the Purdue West Lafayette Data Science, B.S. Mathematics program.
• Equivalent 10000 and 20000-level Computer Science (CS) transfer credit courses (including credit from regional campuses) may be used to meet degree requirements if those courses were taken prior to admission to the Purdue West Lafayette Data Science, B.S. Mathematics program.
• CS and MA transfer credit at the 30000-40000-level may not be used to meet degree requirements. As exception to this policy is the application of pre-approved Study Abroad coursework.

University Requirements

Sample 4-Year Plan

Pre-Requisite Information

For pre-requisite information, log in to mypurdue.purdue.edu and click here.

World Language Courses

World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor. (ASL-American Sign Language; ARAB-Arabic; CHNS-Chinese; FR-French; GER-German; GREK-Greek(Ancient); HEBR-Hebrew(Biblical); HEBR-Hebrew(Modern); ITAL-Italian; JPNS-Japanese; KOR-Korean; LATN-Latin; PTGS=Portuguese; RUSS-Russian; SPAN-Spanish)

Critical Course

The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major. Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful. These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program.”

Disclaimer

The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student. The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.