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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is
published every Thursday during the
spring and summer terms by students
at the University of Michigan. One copy
is available free of charge to all readers.
Additional copies may be picked up at the
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2
Thursday, May 28, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS
New data science
major to launch
in fall semester
Faculty members
estimate 150
students will declare
the major by 2019
By SAM COREY
For the Daily
The
University
estab-
lished a new data science
major, which will be sub-
sumed under LSA’s Statis-
tics Department and the
College
of
Engineering’s
Division of Computer Sci-
ence and Engineering. The
new major will be available
in Fall 2015 to both LSA and
Engineering students.
According
to
Atul
Prakash, professor of elec-
trical engineering and com-
puter science, working to
craft a data science major
has been a joint effort for
several years.
“(The)
Department
of
Statistics
and
Computer
Science
and
Engineering
(CSE) Division have been
collaborating for close to a
decade on curriculum inno-
vation and both programs
observed that there is going
to be a need for majors that
have strong foundations in
both computing and statis-
tics to help drive data-driv-
en knowledge discovery in a
wide range of fields includ-
ing medical sciences and
healthcare, transportation,
robotics, insurance, social
networks, natural scienc-
es and other engineering
fields,” Prakash said in an
e-mail interview.
The new program will
include theory and prac-
tice from disciplines such
as statistics, computer sci-
ence, math and information
science.
Vijay Nair, professor of
statistics as well as indus-
trial and operations engi-
neering, said in an e-mail
interview that the cross-
discipline focus is neces-
sary to adequately prepare
students for the “big data
phenomenon”
that
will
drive the work environ-
ment.
“Massive amounts of data
are now collected routine-
ly in all areas: science and
technology, business, medi-
cine and daily applications
(Facebook, Twitter, smart
phones, World Wide Web,
etc.). We are seeing a huge
demand for data scientists,
people who have the skills
to work with massive data-
bases — manage, analyze
and transform data into
useful information quickly
in order to make critical
decisions.”
Nair said data science
is becoming more vital in
the corporate and medical
world.
“Most companies are rely-
ing more and more on data
for their business, and even
hospitals, governments and
research institutions will
need people with skills in
data science,” he said. “To
name a few: Google, Micro-
soft, Facebook, LinkedIn;
Amazon, IBM, SAS; Banks
and Financial Institutions
such as Citibank, Bank of
America, Capital One, and
so on. A recent report esti-
mated that, by 2018, the
demand for Data Scientists
will be close to 500,000 and
there will be a shortfall of
about 150,000 people with
the right skills.”
According to Nair, data
science
faculty
members
have
estimated
that
by
2019, 150 students will have
declared the major.
@MICHIGANDAILY
SAN PHAM/Daily
Detroit resident Jamisha Kearney remembers the Black women and girls
who have lost their lives to police brutality and state violence at the #Say-
HerName Silent Protest: National Day of Action for Black Women and Girls
in front of the Washtenaw County Circuit Court on Thursday.
PROTEST FOR SOCIAL J USTICE