The study of data science has been exploding on campuses throughout the country as demand for employees with skills in data analysis, modeling and statistics, and engineering and prototyping continues to increase. According to LinkedIn, data scientist is the second fastest growing job in the United States and among the highest paying.

Now, the Lehman College School of Natural and Social Sciences (NSS) has announced the creation of its own Data Science minor. The minor will officially begin in the Fall 2018 semester, but classes students have already taken will be counted toward its completion.

The minor encompasses a five-course area of study with three required classes: Mathematics 128: Foundations of Data Science; Mathematics 328: Techniques in Data Science; and Sociology 3470: Reasoning with Data. Students will also be required to take a statistics course and another elective from a list of data focused classes across different disciplines. As the program grows, more electives will be added.

"Data science is an exciting career path for people from a variety of backgrounds," said Elin Waring, a professor in the Department of Sociology and co-coordinator of the program along Megan Owen, an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. "Data science skills are also increasingly necessary for many different careers as the use of data grows across all sectors," she said. "Being knowledgeable about how data is used is also an essential part of being an informed citizen in the 21st century."

Data Science combines "statistics, coding, and domain knowledge," according to Waring. And that knowledge is becoming necessary for professionals in engineering, chemistry, sociology, and business.

"Over the past three years, NSS has looked for ways to build intellectual and academic bridges between the natural and social sciences—and a robust interdisciplinary data science program fits seamlessly into that vision," says Christopher Malone, associate dean of Lehman's School of Natural and Social Sciences. "It has been truly remarkable to see our faculty come together and think through the merits and goals of data science at Lehman, and then develop a program that will benefit students across NSS and the College in their career paths."