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Specializations in the Major

Each student in the major chooses an area of specialization to learn how data analytics is applied in a particular field. Coursework in some specializations can be tailored based on a student’s interests. Each specialization includes a capstone or integrative experiential component. It is recommended that students choose their specialization early on with the help of their academic advisor.

The specializations available in the major are:

  • Biomedical and Public Health Analytics (formally Biomedical Informatics)
    The Biomedical and Public Health Analytics specialization introduces students to the core sub-disciplines of biomedical informatics and public health analytics that play a role in data analysis and discovery in biological and medical information systems, environmental health, and emerging infectious diseases.
  • Business Analytics
    The Business Analytics specialization introduces students to the practice of data analytics in business, with a focus on applications in finance, accounting, customer insights, and operations and logistics.
  • Computational Analytics
    The focus of the specialization in Computational (Data) Analytics is to allow students to further explore and specialize in the areas of large-scale data analytics and architectures from theory to practice with more of a computational focus.
  • The Data Visualization specialization provides students with an understanding of the human-centered approach to the design of static and interactive visual and experiential materials. Students will learn visualization techniques and produce their own visual stories to interpret complex information. 
  • Social Science Analytics
    Students pursuing the Social Science Analytics specialization will develop an understanding of the fundamental concepts and issues involved in doing social science research (e.g., theory development and hypothesis testing, ethics, sampling, various types of validity, and measurement) and the skills necessary to design original research.