Data Science
Graduate program at Colorado School of Mines
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Select a program type below to learn more. What’s the difference? Read more about program types.
Data Science Master’s Non-Thesis
The Master of Science in Data Science program gives students a foundation in statistics and computer science as well as the knowledge to apply these skills to a particular science or engineering discipline. The program follows a 3 X 3 + 1 design: three modules, each consisting of three 3-credit courses in a particular aspect of data science (data modeling and statistical learning; machine learning, data processing and algorithms and parallel computation; individualized and domain-specific coursework), plus a mini-module of three 1-credit professional development courses.
Application Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- GRE: Not Required
- Letters of Recommendation (2 letters)
- Letters are not required for current Mines students
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Statement of Purpose
- Transcripts
- International students please review the English proficiency requirements
Data Science Certificates
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Data Science – Computer Science
The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Data Science – Computer Science, 12 credits, focuses on data science concepts within computer science. It helps students develop essential skills, including (1) deriving predictive insights by applying advanced statistics, modeling, and programming skills, (2) acquiring in-depth knowledge of machine learning and computational techniques, and (3) unearthing important questions and intelligence for a range of industries, from product design to finance.
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Data Science – Foundations
The 12-credit Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Data Science – Foundations provides an introduction to foundational concepts in statistics and computer science as well as applying methods to analyze data. Students will gain a perspective on the kinds of problems that can be solved by data-intensive methods.
Prerequisite Courses
- Programming and Data Structures (CSCI 261-262)
- Linear Algebra (MATH 332)
- Probability (MATH 334) or equivalent courses at another institution and earning a B grade or higher
Application Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- GRE: Not Required
- Letters of Recommendation
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Statement of Purpose
- Suggested if GPA is less than 3.0/4.0
- Transcripts
- International students please review the English proficiency requirements
Data Science Certificates
Graduate Certificate in Data Science – Earth Resources
The Graduate Certificate in Data Science – Earth Resources, 12 credits, builds on the foundational concepts in data science as it pertains to managing surface and subsurface Earth resources and on specific applications from the petroleum and minerals industries as well as water resource monitoring and remote sensing of Earth change.
Graduate Certificate in Data Science – Statistical Learning
The Graduate Certificate in Data Science – Statistical Learning, 12 credits, covers statistical methods for interpreting complex data sets and quantifying the uncertainty in data analytics. The program helps students gain new skills in computer science but is grounded in statistical models for data rather than algorithmic approaches.
Data Science is about solving problems and making decisions with data. Statistics provides a foundation for extrapolating from features in data to more general patterns and quantifying the uncertainty in the conclusions one draws. This certificate builds understanding and skills in core data science tools and how to assess their strengths and weaknesses.
Prerequisite Courses
- Programming and Data Structures (CSCI 261-262)
- Linear Algebra (MATH 332)
- Probability (MATH 334) or equivalent courses at another institution and earning a B- grade or higher
Graduate Certificate in Petroleum Data Analytics
The Graduate Certificate in Petroleum Data Analytics, 12 credits, is focused on the data foundation of the oil and gas industry, the challenges of Big Data to oilfield operations and on specific applications for petroleum analytics. The Certificate includes two core introductory Data Science courses and two course specific to petroleum engineering.
Application Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree
- GRE: Not Required
- Letters of Recommendation
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Statement of Purpose
- Suggested if GPA is less than 3.0/4.0
- Transcripts
- International students please review the English proficiency requirements
Data Science Program
Data Science is about solving problems and making decisions with data. The field of data science draws on elements of computer science, statistics and interdisciplinary applications to address the unique needs of gaining knowledge and insight through data analysis. Data science skills open doors to almost any field such as applications in the physical processes and the environment, additive manufacturing, health care, economics and e-commerce.
The data science program consists of a Master of Data Science non-thesis, four graduate certificates, and two post-baccalaureate certificates in data science. These programs are designed for college graduates and professionals seeking entry into this emerging field.
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Credits and Deadlines
View the academic catalog to see the courses and credit requirements for this program.
Master's Thesis & Doctorate (PhD) Program Deadlines
Select a Term:
Spring 2025 Deadlines | Fall 2025 Deadlines
Spring Deadlines
Fall Deadlines
| Degree Program | Priority | International* | Domestic* | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Energy Systems | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Applied Chemistry | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Applied Mathematics & Statistics | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Applied Physics | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Chemical Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Chemistry | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Civil & Environmental Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Computer Science | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Earth Resources Development Engineering | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Electrical Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Engineering & Technology Management | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Environmental Engineering Science | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Geochemistry | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Geological Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Geology | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Geophysical Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Geophysics | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Humanitarian Engineering & Science | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Hydrology | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Materials Science | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Mechanical Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Metallurgical and Materials Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Mineral & Energy Economics | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Mining Engineering | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Nuclear Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Operations Research with Engineering | January 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Petroleum Engineering | March 1 | March 1 | ||
| Physics | December 15 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Quantitative Biosciences & Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Quantum Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Robotics | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 | |
| Space Resources | March 1 (International on-campus) | July 1 (Domestic on-campus) | August 1 | |
| Underground Construction & Tunnel Engineering | December 15 | March 1 | July 1 |
Residential (on-campus) Master's Non-Thesis & Graduate Certificates Deadlines
| Spring Deadlines | Fall Deadlines | |
|---|---|---|
| International Students* | October 1, 2024 | March 1, 2025 |
| Domestic U.S. Students | December 15, 2024 | August 1, 2025 |
| International students are not eligible to apply for residential certificate programs. We encourage you to check out our online certificate options | ||
Online Master's Non-Thesis & Graduate Certificates Deadlines
| The following deadlines apply to online master's non-thesis and graduate certificate programs for domestic U.S. and International students. | |
| Spring I & II (January 6 start) | January 2, 2025 |
| Spring III*** (March 10 start) | February 17, 2025 |
| Fall I & II (August 19 start) | August 1, 2025 |
| Fall III*** (March 10 start) | October 1, 2025 |
| **The Fall III deadline is only available for the following programs: Additive Manufacturing; Business Analytics; Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage; Chemical Engineering Processes in Energy Transitions; Data Science: Computer Science; Data Science: Earth Resources; Electrical Engineering (Professional Master and Certificate Only); Engineering and Technology Management; GIS & Geoinformatics; Mechanical Engineering; Underground Construction and Tunnel Engineering | |
| ***The Spring III deadline is only available for the following programs: Additive Manufacturing; Business Analytics; Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage; Electrical Engineering (Professional Master and Certificate Only); Engineering and Technology Management; GIS & Geoinformatics; Mechanical Engineering; Product Management (Offered for only session III in spring); Underground Construction and Tunnel Engineering | |
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Program Director
Soutir Bandyopadhyay
Program Director, Data Science and Associate Professor, Applied Mathematics and Statistics
Research Areas:
- Spatial and Environmental Statistics
- Time Series and econometrics
- Panel Data
- Bootstrap/Resampling methods
- Large Sample Theory
You Are Ready
Contact Us
(303) 273-3247
grad-admissions@mines.edu
Career Connections
At Mines, your career goals are the focus. You will connect with world-class faculty and industry experts in your field, all while enhancing your knowledge through hands-on learning and research.
Data Science Career Types
- Algorithm Engineer
- Analyst
- Analyst, Partnerships Science
- Analytical Programmer, Biostatistics and Data Science
- Analytics Consultant
- Analytics Strategy Manager
- Applied Scientist
- Artificial Intelligence Data Scientist
- Bioinformatics Data Engineer
- Bioinformatics Scientist
- Business Analytics
- Business Intelligence Developer
- Business Intelligence Engineer
- Client Solutions Statistician
- Clinical Data Manager
- Clinical Trial Data Science Consultant
- Cloud Data Engineer
- Data Analyst
- Data and Applied Scientist
- Data Architect
- Data Science Analyst
- Data Science Engineer
- Data Science Manager
- Data Science Strategist
- Data Scientist
- Data Visualization
- Decision Science Analyst
- Deep Learning Researcher
- Financial Modeling and Research
- Machine Learning Engineer
- Mathematical Statistician
- Model Validation Data Scientist
- People Analytics
- Product Strategy Leader
- Programmer Analyst
- Quantitative Analyst
- Quantitative Modeling / Data Science Associate
- Quantitative Researcher
- Quantitative Risk Analyst
- Research Science Manager
- Research Scientist
- Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Research Scientist
- Scientific Programmer
- Senior Programmer and Data Analyst
- Software Engineer – Mathematical Modeling
- Solution Designer
- Spatial Data Scientist
- Statistical Programmer
- Statistician
- System Engineer
- Systems Analyst
- Systems Modeling and Optimization
- Test Engineer
Career Resources
Mines Career Center
The Mines Career Center helps students chart their career paths and prepare for job searches, holds networking events and brings hundreds of employers to campus, among a host of other services.
Scientific Journals
- Artificial Intelligence
- Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery
- Data Science Journal
- Decision Analytics
- IIEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering
- INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics
- INFORMS Journal on Data Science
- International Journal of Data Science and Analytics
- Journal of Big Data
Research and Trade Publications
- Analytics Magazine
- Towards Data Science
Professional Organizations
- American Statistical Association
- Association of Data Scientists
- Data Science Association
- Data Science Council of America
- Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
- International Institute for Analytics
- International Machine Learning Society
Industry Outlook
The Harvard Business Review called data scientist “the sexiest job of the 21st century,” all the way back in 2012.
Glassdoor has named data scientist the No. 2 best job in America for 2021, after holding the top spot four years running, from 2016 to 2019, and taking No. 3 in 2020. That’s all no surprise, given the median base salary of $107,801 and a job satisfaction rating of 4.0 on a scale of 1 to 5.
LinkedIn’s 2020 Emerging Jobs Report, which spotlights jobs experiencing tremendous growth, ranked data scientist at No. 3, with 37 percent annual growth since 2015 and average pay of $143,000 per year.
The data science field has topped the report three years running, and LinkedIn says it’s a specialty that continues to grow across all industries. “Our data indicates some of this growth can likely be attributed to the evolution of previously existing jobs, like statisticians, and increased emphasis on data in academic research,” the report says.
Skills unique to the job include machine learning, data science, Python, R and Apache Spark, and the top industries hiring data scientists are information technology and services, computer software, internet, financial services and higher education.
Data engineer also made LinkedIn’s list at No. 8, with 33 percent annual growth since 2015. “Data has quickly become every company’s most valuable resource, and they need savvy engineers that can build infrastructure to keep it organized,” the report says. “Industries from retail to automotive are snapping up this hard-to-hire talent.”
Data specialists were among the tech positions in high demand across North America, according to human resources consulting company Robert Half, along with business intelligence analysts and machine learning specialists.
According to the company’s 2020 salary guide, data jobs were well compensated in the United States. Here’s a sampling of job titles and median annual salaries:
- Big data engineer: $163,250
- AI architect: $143,750
- Data architect: $141,250
- Data scientist: $125,250
- Data modeler: $101,750
- Business intelligence analyst: $110,250
- Data analyst / report writer: $100,250
- Data warehouse analyst: $99,250
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