Central College has added two new data science areas of emphasis beginning Fall 2022 – one with a focus in mathematics and the other in computer science. The new interdisciplinary data science tracks at Central teach students skills in programming, modeling, machine learning, data visualization and statistics as well as how to assess the ways data can be used to solve novel problems. Central faculty created the data science focus in response to changes in the industry and high demand in the workforce. Data science skills can be used in a variety of areas such as politics, business, economics and athletics. Students are encouraged to pick up coursework outside their major in other fields where data science can be applied.

“This allows students to come at data science from different skill perspectives,” says Russ Goodman, professor of mathematics. “The computer science major with a data science track allows students to enter the data science world while focusing on skills like coding and working with databases.”