Accelerated 3+2 B.S./B.A. in Physics with MS in Data Science

The accelerated curriculum can be completed in five years to obtain the B.S. or B.A. in Physics after four years and the M.S. in Data Science within one additional year. The curriculum for the B.S./B.A. in Physics is a traditional on-campus program whereas the M.S. in Data science graduate courses are offered online only. The students take one graduate course during the summer preceding the senior year and two additional graduate courses during the senior year. Subsequently, the students complete the requirements for the M.S. in Data Science within one year. The accelerated program applies 9-12 graduate credits for undergraduate courses.

Requirements for Program Admission and Continuation

• Submit an application for the M.S. in Data Science program during the Spring semester of Junior Year
• Meet the M.S. in Data Science admission requirements, except having completed the undergraduate degree program, with undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75
• Have Senior status (earned at least 90 credits) before taking graduate courses
• Have completed MATH 2111 Statistics for Science Majors and CSAS 1113 Computing for Science Majors by Spring of Junior Year. B.A. majors may also complete ISCI 1117 Computing for Informatics instead of CSAS 1113.
• Have at least a 3.0 GPA in the undergraduate Physics curriculum before taking graduate courses from the Data Science curriculum
• Before taking graduate courses during the fifth year, fulfill all the requirements for admission to the M.S. in Data Science, including having earned the undergraduate degree

Accelerated Curriculum

• By Spring of Junior Year:

• The students must have completed MATH 2111 Statistics for Science Majors (general elective) and CSAS 1113 Computing for Science Majors (elective for the B.S. in Physics). B.A. majors may also complete ISCI 1117 Computing for Informatics  instead of CSAS 1113 Computing for Science Majors.

• Summer between the Junior and Senior Years
  • Take the graduate course DASC 7211 Network Analysis  or DASC 7521 Operations Research, which shall count as a general elective for the undergraduate requirements.
• Senior Year:
  • Take DASC 6010 Data Mining and DASC 7111 Text Mining. DASC 6010 Data Mining and DASC 7111 Text Mining replace the undergraduate courses DASC 3010 Data Mining / CSAS 3010 Data Mining and DASC 3111 Text Mining. Optionally, students may additionally take DASC 7000 Data Visualization which replaces the undergraduate course DASC 3000 Data Visualization.
• Graduate Year:
  • Fall Semester: Take DASC 6811 Statistics for Data Science and DASC 7000 Data Visualization (if not yet taken)
  • Spring Semester: Take DASC 6911 Big Data Analytics and two elective graduate courses from the M.S. in Data Science curriculum
• Summer Session:
  • Take DASC 9311 Data Science Project and one elective graduate course from the M.S. in Data Science curriculum.