The Data Science Program has Moved!

Data Science faculty, staff, and students have a new home at 27 Boynton Street, Worcester, MA. The recently completed Academic and Services building is named 'Unity Hall.'
The amazing new Data Science labs house our 50+ Ph.D. students and have designated spaces for collaborative research discussions. There is ample room for our MS and Undergraduate students to study and learn in a sunny, bright, and energizing environment.

It's a dream come true. Read more here. 

 

Big Data

The term ‘Data Science’ was first coined by Google, and like Google, the field of data science has taken off! Corporations are overwhelmed by a fire hose of data that they don't have the capability to sort, manage, or interpret. They are faced with a critical shortage of data scientists who can synthesize huge amounts of information from multiple sources, derive new insights, convert data into actionable information, and articulate their findings.

With its long history of research in data management, statistics, and business analytics, WPI is one of a handful of universities ready to prepare graduates for the challenges of this rapidly expanding field. The program brings together a trifecta faculty mentors from computer science, mathematics, and business. Combined with our community of student scholars from all over the world, we have a team of visionary leaders and researchers prepared to contribute important insights that will change the way we live, how we work, and our interaction with the world around us.

"Data Scientist" Leads 50 Best Jobs In America

According to 2019 Glassdoor data, data scientists are in high demand. With a median base salary of $108,000 and plenty of opportunity, we ask: What will you do with your degree?

Women in Data Science - 2022

We are busy organizing the 2022 Women in Data Science (WiDS) annual event, scheduled for Monday, March 7, 2022 at WPI. Please join us in making this amazing event a great success. Everyone is invited to attend the WiDS regional event where we feature outstanding women doing outstanding work. Learn more.

Contact

Location: 
Unity Hall
Floor/Room Location: 
3rd Floor, Room 366
Phone: 
508-831-4883
Fax: 
508-831-5776
datascience@wpi.edu

Data Science PhD Graduate Delivers Commencement Speech to Class of 2021

Susmitha Speech PhD and Master’s School of Arts & Sciences, Foisie Business School

Susmitha Wunnava delivers her commencement speech to the class of 2021.

Congratulations! Best Paper Award goes to Allison Rozet, Olga Poppe, Chuan Lei and Elke Rundensteiner!

 

Best Online Program

Degrees & Certificates

Area of Study Bachelor Minor Certificate Master PhD
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WiDS Central Massachusetts Annual Conference

Women in Data Science Central Massachusetts Website about WiDS Central Massachusetts Annual Conference

Data Science is Hiring Faculty for Fall 2022

Tenure Track Faculty Data Science about Data Science is Hiring Faculty for Fall 2022

Recent Alumni Careers

Xiao-Qun Wang, Software Development Engineer at Amazon

I learned the data eco-system from both academic and industrial perspective in the Data Science program. The graduate qualifying project (capstone) gave me  exposure in industry. It not only helped me to learn the foundation of industrial core tech, but also how to build good relationships both with the company and other developers. 

Yao-Chun Hsieh, Software Engineer at Wayfair

DS 501 taught by Professor Paffenroth is one of the best courses I have taken at WPI.
The curriculum is flexible and provides students the opportunity to grow their skills based on their interest or their ideal job.
You also learn ways of communicating with your teammates, dealing with conflicts, and schedule/time management skills. All of this helped me to fit into the real world quickly and smoothly.

Yang Tao, Retail marketing team, strategy & operation analyst, contractor for Google

During my course of study, I could choose different classes in areas like AI, machine learning, Big Data, and business intelligence. I learned database (sql), data processing and analysis (python), data reporting (tableau). Each course benefited me during my job hunting, as I talked about my projects in the different courses to match different roles and job descriptions. Through my graduate qualifying project (capstone), I also learned new techniques/methods/software to solve data related problems, while improving my public speaking and communication skills.

Alexander Shoop, Software Engineer at DataRobot

The Data Science graduate program has taught me the necessary fundamentals of machine learning and pragmatic data science projects through teamwork. Personally, it has also allowed me to use my creative talent, especially with regards to presentations and video demonstrations. I would absolutely recommend the Data Science program (undergraduate, graduate, and PhD) to any of my friends and colleagues! The program emphasizes team collaboration and working towards having a diverse skill set to handle any kind of data science scenario.

Mukund Khandelwal, Quantitative Associate at Wells Fargo

The overall graduate experience involved collaborating with students coming from different academic and cultural backgrounds. Through this experience, I learned how a problem could be approached from multiple angles and solved effectively.

Chenjie Jiang, Data Scientist at Burning Glass

The high flexibility for course selections gave me a strong background in data science, engineering, and business. I can create my own learning path, based on my career plan. The program also offers interesting colloquium and conversations. WPI is a good place if someone wants to dive into the data science world.

Chen Liang, Data Scientist at Burning Glass

This program starts from a fundamental base and keeps upgrading the difficulty, which made me comfortable and built up my confidence and enhanced my skills—and ultimately made me ready to walk into my new job. It has provided such a great way to not only get our hands dirty real quick, but allows us to innovate.

Rosemarie Day, Senior Engineer in Applied Data Science at Collins Aerospace

I greatly enjoyed the GQP, which connected me with a company and a project that I could interact with and develop while finishing my degree. The project work allowed me to grow my skills in more of a corporate environment while still in school. This provided me with insights into how a data science team works outside of the classroom, what expectations would be set, and also allowed me to work alongside both other students and industry professionals.

"Data Scientist" Leads 50 Best Jobs In America

According to 2019 Glassdoor data, data scientists are in high demand. With a median base salary of $108,000 and plenty of opportunity, we ask: What will you do with your degree?

Manasi
Alumni Success Story

Manasi Vartak '10

Manasi Vartak '10 founded Verta to help companies build AI-enabled products faster than ever.

Read More in the WPI Journal about Manasi Vartak '10

$2.8 Million to Help Soldiers Suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury

Research Team

WPI Secures $2.8 Million to Develop a Smartphone App to Help Assess the Health of Soldiers

The project, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), aims to use “smartphone biomarkers” and machine learning to create an early warning system for soldiers and veterans who may be suffering from traumatic brain injuries and infectious diseases.

WPI Computer Science professors Emmanuel Agu, faculty director for WPI’s Healthcare Delivery Institute, and Elke Rundensteiner, director of the university’s Data Science Program, are developing the new technology. The $2.8 million award from DARPA comes through its Warfighter Analytics Using Smartphones for Health (WASH) program.

 

Promoting the Data Science Minor at WPI Campus Center

ds minor on campus

Prof. Lane Harrison, Luke Buquicchio and Walter Gerych promote the Data Science Minor in the WPI Campus Center.

Media Coverage

SEE ALL MEDIA COVERAGE
Worcester Business Journal
WPI awarded $3M for graduate data program

In the article, “WPI Awarded $3M for Graduate Data Program” the Worcester Business Journal reported on WPI using a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a unique graduate curriculum to train the next generation of scientists who can apply chemical sciences along with data analytics, mathematics, and computing power to reduce energy usage, waste, and pollution. Elke Rundensteiner, professor of computer science, founding director of the Data Science program, and principal investigator on the grant, is collaborating with Michael Timko and Aaron Deskins, associate professors of chemical engineering, and Randy Paffenroth, associate professor of mathematical and data sciences, among others.

Diversity in Action
Business Sense: WPI's Master's Program Merges IT with Analytics for Real-World Applications

Diane Strong, department head and professor of information technology and data science, spoke with Diversity in Action magazine about WPI's revised Master's in Information Technology program. (pg. 70). "Starting at the intersection of technology, business and people, we prepare our students to become leaders, to think simultaneously about what businesses need, how to answer that with innovative tech solutions and then deliver intuitive, easy-to-use products and programs," she said. 

News

SEE MORE NEWS
Lawn signs spelling out 2022 are put in place next to a giant inflatable Gompei.
A Celebration of the Class of 2022
May 09, 2022
From left, Ermal Toto, Elke Rundensteiner, and ML Tlachac alt
From left, Ermal Toto, Elke Rundensteiner, and ML Tlachac
Researchers Develop Technology to Screen Voice Recordings for Depression
April 26, 2022

Announcements

SEE MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Applications are Open: Strage Innovation Award - Deadline March 17th
February 09, 2022
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
2022 Summer Training in Arts & Sciences Research (STAR) Program
February 04, 2022
School of Arts & Sciences
rundenst

Professor Rundensteiner quoted in TechTarget

Skills and Temperament Drive Success in Cloud-based Data Science

Fearlessness, curiosity, and mastery of statistics are keys to data science success, says Elke Rundensteiner, director of WPI’s Data Science program.

Read more about Professor Rundensteiner quoted in TechTarget
STEM Designated Degree Program

STEM Degree Program

WPI’s Data Science program is a 
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-designated degree program. Its Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code is 30.0801, indicating it has a Mathematics and Computer Science focus.

Read More about STEM Degree Program

A Successful Series of Data Science GQP Projects with Our Sponsor Pfizer Corporation

In Great Company: WPI + Pfizer, Inc.

Technological advances in devices, software, networking, and other technologies have given rise to digital data rich in variety, volume, velocity, and complexity.
Elke Rundensteiner
Professor, Computer Science
Director of the Data Science Graduate Programs
The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight.
Carly Fiorina
Ex CEO of Hewlett-Packard
Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine.
Peter Sondergaard

STEM OPT Hub

The U.S. government has recognized the importance of STEM education by offering certain privileges to STEM degree recipients who are foreign nationals, including a 24-month extension of Optional Practical Training (OPT).  Nearly all of WPI’s graduate programs are eligible for this extension, including data science, information technology, and operations analytics and management. Learn more about the STEM OPT Hub.

Department of Computer Science
Department of Mathematical Sciences
The School of Business
Cyber, Data, Security Science & Engineering Research

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Facts & Figures

#5

Best Online Master’s in Data Science Programs

(Fortune, 2022)
#6

best career placement

The Princeton Review (2019)
#63

Best National Universities

U.S. News & World Report (2022 rankings)