An undergraduate degree in data science

Abstract

We describe Data Science, a four-year undergraduate program in predictive analytics, machine learning, and data mining implemented at the College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, USA. We present a ten-year status report detailing the program's origins, successes, and challenges. Our experience demonstrates that education and training for big data concepts are possible and practical at the undergraduate level. The development of this program parallels the growing demand for finding utility in data sets and streaming data. The curriculum is a seventy-seven credit-hour program that has been successfully implemented in a liberal arts and sciences institution by the faculties of computer science and mathematics.