Data Science – Earth Resources
Online at Colorado School of Mines

Program Overview

Digitalization has profoundly affected all facets of geoscience, including extractive industries (e..g, oil and gas, minerals, water resources), remote sensing of Earth change, environmental monitoring and remediation, and geological engineering. More data is available for detailed analysis to improve decision making and influence policy at all levels, and changing commodity prices have added to the need to improve the efficiency of operations in order to drive more effective and responsible development of Earth resources. The Data Science Earth Resources graduate certificate introduces the fundamentals of data science (using Python) as it pertains to characterization, extraction and sustainable development of surface and subsurface Earth resources. This program will allow you to become a more efficient and innovative scientist who can organize, analyze, and visualize earth-resource data as well as automate repetitive tasks, implement machine-learning models and create web-scraping algorithms.

way finder

6% projected job
growth in geosciences
2018-28

salary growth

Ranked #2 Return
on Investment by
Money Magazine, 2019

graduation value

$92,040 median
salary in
geosciences (2019)

Requirements and Costs

Graduate Certificate

Bachelor’s degree in an earth science-related field (e.g., geology, geophysics, petroleum engineering, chemistry, physics)
No GRE required
No previous coding experience required
Statement of goals/purpose: share your professional, academic and personal goals and why you believe Colorado School of Mines is the best place to achieve those goals
Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
For international applicants or applicants whose native language is not English, please review the English Proficiency requirement

For additional information about these admissions requirements, please refer to the Admissions Requirements page

Graduate Certificate

12 credit hours of coursework

DSCI403/CSCI303 Introduction to Data Science (3.0)
GEOL557 Earth Resource Data Science I: Fundamentals (3.0)
GEOL558 Earth Resource Data Science II: Applications and Machine Learning (3.0)
Elective: see catalog page (towards bottom of page)

CREDIT HOURS	TOTAL ONLINE TUITION & FEES 2021-22
1.0	$1,114
2.0	$2,141
3.0	$3,168
4.0	$4,195
5.0	$5,222
6.0	$6,249
7.0	$7,276
8.0	$8,303
9.0	$9,330
10.0	$10,357
11.0	$11,384
12.0	$12,411
13.0	$13,438
14.0	$14,465
15.0	$15,492

Employer contributions are routinely applied to cover a portion of this cost.
Serious about a Mines program? Let Financial Aid help you consider payment options, identify employer contributions and more. We’re here to help.

FEES

Fees for students enrolled in Mines Online programs or courses are included in the cost of tuition.

More information about tuition and fees.

Career Outcomes

Digital earth-scientist who blends domain knowledge with data science skills
Data scientist in the oil and gas or minerals industries
Data scientist working in environmental remediation, geological engineering, water resources, or sand resources
Earth-resource data analyst
Earth-resource data engineer
Earth-resource machine-learning engineer

Mines Career Services