By Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer, Coursera
The University of Pittsburgh, one of the top 35 public U.S. universities, now offers a fully online Master of Data Science (MDS) on Coursera for $15,000, which is 38% more affordable than the average online master’s degree.
To expand access, Pitt is removing common admissions barriers, including an application, GRE scores, recommendation letters, and even a background in STEM. Anyone with a bachelor’s degree who earns a B or better in an introductory course on Coursera is automatically admitted, having already completed three credits.
Pitt is now the fifth university on Coursera in 2023 alone to adopt performance-based admissions, reflecting a growing trend of institutions reimagining how admissions can be more inclusive.
The MDS creates a path for anyone to become a data scientist, one of the fastest-growing careers in the U.S., with more than 17,000 new professionals needed annually over the next decade. This lucrative career, with an annual salary of $145,200* for those with a master’s, is also highly rewarding, offering flexibility and mobility.
“The incredible demand for data skills in today’s workforce underscores the significance of the MDS. This innovative program welcomes students, regardless of their data or computing backgrounds, to learn career-focused skills in data science through a curriculum offered by the school’s exceptional faculty and staff. We are excited to start the MDS in partnership with Coursera,” said Bruce Childers, Dean of The School of Computing and Information (SCI) at Pitt.
Built for working adults, this degree offers the flexibility to balance careers, families, and education. Students can watch lecture videos on their own time while engaging in optional live sessions with the same esteemed faculty who teach on campus at this R1 research institution. Within 20-36 months, this 10-course program teaches students:
- Core computational, mathematical, statistical, and ethical concepts needed to responsibly collect, analyze, and mine large data sets.
- Leadership skills and strategies to guide data-driven decision-making and collaborate cross-functionally with global teams.
- Programming languages, including Python and R, for data analysis and machine learning.
- How to design and query database systems using SQL and Neo4j.
- The principles and best practices of supervised and unsupervised modeling systems.
- Data exploration and visualization using Pandas, Seaborn (Python), and tidyverse (R).
- Bayesian data analysis, deep learning, cloud computing, or computational text analysis, pending elective choices.
Students gain practical experience by working with large, real-world data sets throughout the program before completing a rigorous capstone project — resulting in a robust portfolio upon graduation. Pitt Career Services supports students’ job search with access to job boards, resume writing, interview prep, and salary negotiation training. Graduates of SCI programs have secured positions at Apple, IBM Research, Microsoft, and the National Security Agency.
We’re proud to partner with Pitt on this innovative degree. Graduates from diverse backgrounds can leverage their knowledge and unique perspectives to solve society’s most pressing challenges and transform lives, companies, and communities worldwide.
Enrollment opens on February 12, 2024, to begin learning in summer 2024. To learn more, visit https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-data-science-university-of-pittsburgh.
*Source: Lightcast™.(2023), Job Postings Report (Nov 2022 – Oct 2023). Retrieved Nov 2023.