Data Science

Why study data science?

Students who study data science become technical experts with an in-demand skill set who can interpret the meaning behind the data and communicate their results to multiple audiences.

  • In today’s data-driven society, students in this rapidly growing field interpret data in strategic and ethical ways, while Augustana courses teach them to think creatively, work collaboratively and communicate effectively.
  • Technical courses provide the tools to work with data and create models, while domain knowledge courses help students understand the meaning in the data.
AU Computer Science Class

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Latest News

Azam Shaik ‘25 is a data science, quantitative economics and finance triple major from Hyderabad, India. At Augustana, he is a Viking Advisor (VA), Augustana Cultural Exchange (ACE) Ambassador, Beacom Research Fellow, tutor and involved with the Viking Distance Project and intramurals. This summer, Shaik completed a remote internship with CORE Molding Technologies, a plastics engineering solutions company.

Augustana University is excited to announce a new STEM Scholars Program made possible through a more than $30,000 Project Innovation Grant (PIG) from the South Dakota Space Grant Consortium (SDSGC).

Augustana University will launch its newest academic program, Augustana University Fintech Program by Pathward™, in the fall of 2023. With the support of Augustana’s key strategic partner, Pathward™, N.A., (formerly MetaBank, N.A.), the major will be the first of its kind in the region. 

Highlights

Student looking at code for data

Careers

Graduates have secured careers as database architects, business data analysts, survey researchers, bioinformatics scientists, management analysts and statisticians.

Hands-On Learning  

Internship opportunities include:

  • NASA
  • DataSync Corporation
  • Billion Auto
  • Citibank
  • POET
  • Raven Industries

The alliance between the data science department and partners of the data warehouse builds capacity for scholarly research opportunities for faculty and students. 

Augustana hosts this central repository consisting of two data hubs: a proprietary hub used for warehouse partners’ research projects and “OpenSiouxFalls,” a central repository of community indicators.

Data science students study away in:

  • Exeter, England — at the University of Exeter
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands — at Vrije Universiteit
  • Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — at RMIT Vietnam
  • The United Kingdom — focusing on physics and math

Courses & Organizations

Students choose an application domain in the following areas:

  • Biology
  • Business Administration
  • Computer Science
  • Mathematics 

This stand-alone major focuses on mathematics, statistics and computer science with application domain courses. Additionally, a double major in mathematics or computer science results in an in-demand skill set and is simple to achieve because of course overlap between the majors. Data science also pairs well with business administration, economics and biology majors.

Data science students often participate in:

  • Math Club
  • Computer Club