NU wrangles new data science major

By PAVAN ACHARYA

daily senior staffer

@ pavanacharya02

Students are now able to seize the data with Northwestern’s new data science major, which began in Fall 2022.

The University first approved the major in Spring 2021, followed by over a year of hiring and preparation, according to data science director and Prof. Arend Kuyper.

Now, over 200 students are enrolled in the major, which operates under the Department of Statistics and Data Science. Within the 200, students from various academic focuses, such as economics, computer science and journalism are represented.

“Our belief is that (the data science major) is a good one to have another minor or major with because doing good data science work requires a context in which you work,” Kuyper said.

Kuyper said within the data science major, students learn more about theory and foundational knowledge than those who complete the minor, which focuses on visualization.

He added that the major also incorporates a more extensive curriculum including courses in mathematics and computer science.

But, Kuyper said the data science major also aims to be as accessible as possible.

The Office of the Provost currently runs a grant program to provide resources to develop free materials for classes, according to Kuyper. He said data science Prof. Arvind Krishna was awarded a grant and has been creating his own textbooks for Statistics 303-1: Data Science 1 with Python.

“We don’t want to make buying a book a roadblock,” Kuyper said.

Weinberg junior Annabel Skubisz, an economics and data science major, is currently enrolled in Statistics 303-2: Data Science 2 with Python. She said she appreciates that some of the textbooks from the year-long Statistics 303 sequence are created by professors who are familiar with students’ levels of knowledge.

Skubisz said she chose the data major to do more mathematics and learn data-related skills that are key to consulting positions.

“If there’s some company that needs younger people who understand the rising field of data analytics (and) data science, then I can step in and be like, ‘I know a little bit,’” Skubisz said.

Similarly, Weinberg sophomore Becca Muro said she took on the data science major because it combined computer science and statistics elements into one requirement.

Even though the data science major is still new, Muro said she appreciates the efforts of faculty members involved in the discipline.

“They are all extremely dedicated and are willing to help you with whatever you need,” Muro said.

Although the data science major has seen increased demand, Kuyper said he believes the department has managed the situation well.

He also said that students declaring a data science major may face a few trade-offs, especially since the major includes a year-long sequence.

But, there are other upsides — for example, students can choose to take courses in either the programming language “R” or Python. Kuyper said that it is advantageous to give students a choice between different programming languages and paths within the major.

“Students have a choice,” he said. “That’s one of the challenges of the curriculum.” pavanacharya2025@u.northwestern.edu

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