Dec 11, 2024 CSUCI will offer a new degree in the rapidly expanding field of Data Science

Dec.11, 2024 - CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will offer a new Bachelor of Science degree in the field of Data Science beginning in Fall of 2025. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), students who choose the degree will graduate with a very promising job outlook.

Employment of data scientists is projected to grow 36% from 2021 to 2031, according to the BLS, much faster than the average for all other occupations. And the pay for data scientists with bachelor's degrees in the U.S. was $100,910 per year in 2021. If you land a job as a data scientist in California, the average salary is $166,000, according to Indeed.com.

"The job of data scientist is a rapidly emerging job title," explained CSUCI Chair of Mathematics Geoffrey Buhl. "A data scientist uses tools from mathematics, statistics and computer science to turn data into useable information that can inform decision-making processes and answer questions."

Every corporation will need a data science department because the corporation is generating streams of data, according to Buhl, "just like everybody has an accountant when there is a lot of money coming in."

Buhl developed the curriculum along with Associate Professor of Mathematics Alona Kryshchenko and Assistant Professor of Mathematics Isaac Quintanilla Salinas. The faculty members designed the degree to require fewer units so that students can pair their data science major with another area of interest by carrying a double major.

Numerous industries are now using data scientists, according to Buhl, so students can target a specialty for their data science skills. A double major in Data Science and Business Marketing, for example, would enable a graduate to work for a marketing corporation. A double major in Data Science and Health Science would enable the graduate to target a career in field of health and medicine, and so on.

Potential students and transfers interested in a degree in data science will find the degree listed when they apply for the Fall 2025 semester at Cal State Apply.