Certificate of Graduate Study in
Data Science for Public Affairs

Fall: August 1
Spring: January 1
Summer: May 1

There is no departmental assistantship consideration for this program.

• Transcripts from all schools attended
• Resume
• Statement of goals
  The statement is generally one to two pages discussing what you have to offer the program and what you wish to get out of the program.  It should include a brief description of the applicant's field of interest, related background, desired area of study and research emphasis or career goals.
• One or two letters of recommendation are encouraged but not required for admission.

Available information for International Applicants.

In this certificate program, you’ll prepare to manage data and develop computer-based models to make, implement and evaluate policy and strategy in the public and nonprofit sectors.

• Knowledge of data science: Learn about the data production cycle, data models, issues that influence data quality and usability, the role of public policy analysis in decision-making and the conceptual framework underlying different types of policy analysis techniques.
• Skills of data scientists: Apply a variety of techniques and technological tools to organize, manage and analyze data for decision-making including statistics, visualization, mathematical models, machine learning and other computational tools.
• Traits of a data scientists: Develop important traits necessary to making evidence-based decisions and informing policy debates such as examining complex policy problems from multiple perspectives, presenting results to a variety of audiences, teamwork, creativity, curiosity, attention to detail and becoming a critical data consumer.