Data Science

Online at Colorado School of Mines

Online Master’s Degree in Data Science

The Master of Science in Data Science program gives students a foundation in statistics and computer science as well as the knowledge to apply these skills to a particular science or engineering discipline. The program follows a 3 X 3 + 1 design: three modules, each consisting of three 3-credit courses in a particular aspect of data science (data modeling and statistical learning; machine learning, data processing and algorithms and parallel computation; individualized and domain-specific coursework), plus a mini-module of three 1-credit professional development courses.

Online Master’s in Data Science Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree: Required
  • GRE: Not Required
  • Letters of Recommendation: Required – two letters. Letters of recommendation are not required for current Mines students.
  • Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV): Required
  • Statement of Purpose: Required
  • Transcript(s): Required. Must be submitted for all schools attended (unofficial transcripts accepted for admissions review and must show successful completion of any required prerequisite course(s).
  • 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

Tuition

View Annual Cost of Attendance
  • 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.

Admissions Deadlines

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Investment You Can Count On

#2

Data Scientist Ranked No. 2 Best Job in America for 2021 (Glassdoor)

$143,000

Average Annual Salary for Data Scientists (LinkedIn)

#3

Best Engineering Colleges in the U.S. (Money Magazine 2022)

Career Outcomes

  • Algorithm Engineer
  • Analyst
  • Analyst, Partnerships Science
  • Analytical Programmer, Biostatistics and Data Science
  • Analytics Consultant
  • Analytics Strategy Manager
  • Applied Scientist
  • Artificial Intelligence Data Scientist
  • Bioinformatics Data Engineer
  • Bioinformatics Scientist
  • Business Analytics
  • Business Intelligence Developer
  • Business Intelligence Engineer
  • Client Solutions Statistician
  • Clinical Data Manager
  • Clinical Trial Data Science Consultant
  • Cloud Data Engineer
  • Data Analyst
  • Data and Applied Scientist
  • Data Architect
  • Data Science Analyst
  • Data Science Engineer
  • Data Science Manager
  • Data Science Strategist
  • Data Scientist
  • Data Visualization
  • Decision Science Analyst
  • Deep Learning Researcher
  • Financial Modeling and Research
  • Machine Learning Engineer
  • Mathematical Statistician
  • Model Validation Data Scientist
  • People Analytics
  • Product Strategy Leader
  • Programmer Analyst
  • Quantitative Analyst
  • Quantitative Modeling / Data Science Associate
  • Quantitative Researcher
  • Quantitative Risk Analyst
  • Research Science Manager
  • Research Scientist
  • Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Research Scientist
  • Scientific Programmer
  • Senior Programmer and Data Analyst
  • Software Engineer – Mathematical Modeling
  • Solution Designer
  • Spatial Data Scientist
  • Statistical Programmer
  • Statistician
  • System Engineer
  • Systems Analyst
  • Systems Modeling and Optimization
  • Test Engineer

Mines Career Center

  • The Mines Career Center helps students chart their career paths and prepare for job searches, holds networking events and brings hundreds of employers to campus, among a host of other services.

Scientific Journals

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery
  • Data Science Journal
  • Decision Analytics
  • IIEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering
  • INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics
  • INFORMS Journal on Data Science
  • International Journal of Data Science and Analytics
  • Journal of Big Data

Research and Trade Publications

  • Analytics Magazine
  • Towards Data Science

Professional Organizations

  • American Statistical Association
  • Association of Data Scientists
  • Data Science Association
  • Data Science Council of America
  • Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
  • International Institute for Analytics
  • International Machine Learning Society

The Harvard Business Review called data scientist “the sexiest job of the 21st century,” all the way back in 2012.

Glassdoor has named data scientist the No. 2 best job in America for 2021, after holding the top spot four years running, from 2016 to 2019, and taking No. 3 in 2020. That’s all no surprise, given the median base salary of $107,801 and a job satisfaction rating of 4.0 on a scale of 1 to 5.

LinkedIn’s 2020 Emerging Jobs Report, which spotlights jobs experiencing tremendous growth, ranked data scientist at No. 3, with 37 percent annual growth since 2015 and average pay of $143,000 per year.

The data science field has topped the report three years running, and LinkedIn says it’s a specialty that continues to grow across all industries. “Our data indicates some of this growth can likely be attributed to the evolution of previously existing jobs, like statisticians, and increased emphasis on data in academic research,” the report says.

Skills unique to the job include machine learning, data science, Python, R and Apache Spark, and the top industries hiring data scientists are information technology and services, computer software, internet, financial services and higher education.

Data engineer also made LinkedIn’s list at No. 8, with 33 percent annual growth since 2015. “Data has quickly become every company’s most valuable resource, and they need savvy engineers that can build infrastructure to keep it organized,” the report says. “Industries from retail to automotive are snapping up this hard-to-hire talent.”

Data specialists were among the tech positions in high demand across North America, according to human resources consulting company Robert Half, along with business intelligence analysts and machine learning specialists.

According to the company’s 2020 salary guide, data jobs were well compensated in the United States. Here’s a sampling of job titles and median annual salaries:

  • Big data engineer: $163,250
  • AI architect: $143,750
  • Data architect: $141,250
  • Data scientist: $125,250
  • Data modeler: $101,750
  • Business intelligence analyst: $110,250
  • Data analyst / report writer: $100,250
  • Data warehouse analyst: $99,250

Value in Action

The annual salary survey consistently demonstrates the value  of a Mines degree.