Bachelor of Science · 100% online
Data Science
Learn to find the truth in data, and the mathematics that makes it work. A rigorous data science degree taught by SVU's own faculty, entirely online.
About the degree
Data science, joined to a field you care about.
The Bachelor of Science in Data Science prepares you to collect, manage, analyze, and communicate data, and to understand the mathematics behind those methods. The major joins programming, data structures, and databases with calculus, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, mathematical statistics, and statistical modeling, along with courses in computational data science, artificial intelligence, data visualization, and applied data analytics.
Every data science student also completes a minor in another field, so data science is always tied to a discipline where you apply it. You finish with a senior capstone project. Graduates are prepared for work as data analysts and data scientists and for graduate study in data science, statistics, and related fields.
At a glance
- Degree
- Bachelor of Science with a major in Data Science
- Delivery
- Online, in the same small, full-semester classes as students on campus, with the same professors
- Major
- 53 credit hours: computing, mathematics and statistics, applied data science, and two electives
- Required minor
- A minor in a field other than Data Analytics, Mathematics, or Computer Science
- Capstone
- DAT 498 Senior Capstone
- Graduation GPA
- 2.00 minimum
- Financial aid
- Federal financial aid and VA education benefits can be used to pay for this program
Program features
Why study data science at SVU.
Personal, not mass-produced
Online students join small, full-semester classes taught by the professors who teach on campus, not accelerated 7- or 8-week courses built for scale.
Rigorous mathematics
Calculus I and II, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, and two semesters of mathematical statistics and statistical modeling prepare you for graduate school as well as work.
Interdisciplinary by design
A required minor in another field, plus an applied analytics workshop where you analyze data from that field.
What you'll learn.
Graduates of the Data Science major will be able to:
- Use Python, its data science libraries (such as pandas, matplotlib, and scikit-learn), regular expressions, and Jupyter notebooks to collect, clean, analyze, and visualize data.
- Apply the theory of data science, including regularized multiple linear regression, statistical and stochastic modeling, principal component analysis, and the fundamentals of machine learning, and explain the mathematics behind these methods.
- Apply data science methods to a problem in their minor field, through the applied data analytics workshop and the senior capstone.
- Communicate the results of a data analysis, from question to conclusion, to technical and non-technical audiences.
Curriculum
What you'll study
120 credit hours: the SVU Core, the 53-credit Data Science major, a minor in another field, and electives. If you're not ready for Calculus I, you start with MAT 115 College Algebra, which also meets the SVU Core mathematics requirement.
SVU Core
The shared foundation of an SVU education: a first-year seminar, writing, philosophy and literature, the American republic, civilizations, mathematics, life and physical science with a lab, language and culture, fine arts, social science, and health.
Data Science major
Computing, mathematics and statistics, applied data science, two electives, and a senior capstone.
Minor and electives
A required minor in another field, with its credits set by that minor, and free electives for the rest of your 120 credits. A data science elective may also count toward your minor where the minor allows it.
Major requirements · 53 hours
Computing · 18 hours
- CSC 110 Authoring for the Web · 3 credits
- CSC 120 Programming Fundamentals · 3 credits
- CSC 220 Data Structures · 3 credits
- CSC 333 Computational Data Science · 3 credits
- CSC 340 Artificial Intelligence · 3 credits
- CSC 350 Database Systems · 3 credits
Mathematics and statistics · 22 hours
- MAT 221 Statistics · 3 credits
- MAT 241 Calculus I · 4 credits
- MAT 242 Calculus II · 3 credits
- MAT 321 Mathematical Statistics I · 3 credits
- MAT 322 Mathematical Statistics II (Statistical Modeling) · 3 credits
- MAT 332 Discrete Mathematics · 3 credits
- MAT 343 Linear Algebra · 3 credits
Applied data science · 7 hours
- ART 362 Data Visualization · 3 credits
DAT 3XX Applied Data Analytics · 3 creditsNew course
Preparation of real data for analysis and the core tools of applied statistical modeling. Students import, reshape and clean messy data sets; explore and summarize them; and fit, diagnose and interpret multiple linear regression (ordinary least squares) and factor analysis models. In the second half of the course, a workshop, each student carries an analysis of data from their own field of study from question to written and oral report. Prerequisites: MAT 221 and CSC 120.
DAT 498 Senior Capstone · 1 creditNew course
A senior project in which students carry a data science problem from question to communicated result, applying statistical modeling, machine learning and visualization to real data. Prerequisites: CSC 333, DAT 3XX and senior standing.
Data science electives · 6 hours
Take two.
- BUS 355 Data Science · 3 credits
- CSC 210 Advanced Authoring for the Web · 3 credits
- CSC 375R Special Topics in Computer Science · 3 credits
- ECN 210 Principles of Microeconomics · 3 credits
- ECN 490 Econometrics · 3 credits
- POL 233 Comparative Politics · 3 credits
- PSY 435 Psychometrics: Tests & Measures · 3 credits
Select a course to read its description. Courses marked New course are new to SVU and not yet in the catalog. Electives taught outside Mathematics and Computer Science are available online when their programs offer them online; CSC 210 and CSC 375R are always open to online students.
Required minor
Complete a minor in a field other than Data Analytics, Mathematics, or Computer Science. Its credits are in addition to the 53 in the major. The applied data analytics workshop and the capstone give you a place to bring that field's questions and data.
Select a course to read its description.
SVU Core requirements
| Requirement | Course options | Credits | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knight Academy | SVU 101 | 1 | Freshman year |
| Freshman Writing | WRI 120 | 3 | Freshman year |
| Philosophy | LIB 110 | 3 | By sophomore year |
| American Republic | LIB 120 | 3 | By sophomore year |
| Literature | LIB 130 | 3 | By sophomore year |
| Civilization I | ART 210, HIS 210, HIS 260, HUM 210, PHI 210, or POL 210 | 3 | By sophomore year |
| Civilization II | ART 215, HIS 215, HUM 215, MUS 215, PHI 215, POL 215, or THE 215 | 3 | By sophomore year |
| Mathematics | MAT 106, 114, 115, 221, 241, or 242; CSC 120; or PHI 223 | 3–4 | By sophomore year |
| Life Science | BIO 114, 126, 201, or 212 | 3–4 | By sophomore year |
| Physical Science | CHE 114 or 201; PHY 114, 117, 126, or 201 | 3–4 | By sophomore year |
| Culture and Language 1 | HUM 235R or a foreign language course (or an approved equivalency exam) | 3 | By sophomore year |
| Culture and Language 2 | HUM 235R or a foreign language course (or an approved equivalency exam) | 3 | Any year |
| Fine Arts | ART 120, 121, or 263; ENG 220; MUS 108, 129R, 139R, 221, 256R, 259R, 275R, or 350R; THE 110, 206, or 230R/330R | 3 | Any year |
| Social Sciences | ECN 210; EDU 200 or 250; FHD 210 or 250; POL 203 or 223; or PSY 105 | 3 | Any year |
| Health and Wellness | PER 143, or 2 credits of activity courses | 2 | Any year |
| Advanced Writing | WRI 320 | 3 | By the end of junior year |
One of the two science courses must include a lab; BIO 126, PHY 117, and PHY 126 have no lab. The ensemble courses MUS 221, 256R, 259R, 275R, 350R and THE 230R/330R need two semesters of the same ensemble to fill Fine Arts. PER 203 First Aid doesn't count as an activity course.
Getting started
How your first semesters work
Every bachelor's student starts with the same core classes in the first few semesters, along with a few introductory classes related to their major.
Apply and enroll
Once you're admitted and enrolled, we place you in your first semester of classes, so you don't have to build a schedule on your own.
Make changes if you need to
Look over the classes you've been assigned. If something doesn't work for you, you can make changes.
Keep building your foundation
Your first few semesters are mostly the same core classes every SVU student takes, plus a few introductory classes in your major.
Transferring in credit?
If you're a transfer student, you'll choose the classes that make sense for you, and you'll work with an advisor to plan the rest of your degree.
Graduation requirements
To earn your Bachelor of Science in Data Science, you must:
- Complete at least 120 credit hours, with at least 60 credits, or your last 30 credits before graduation, at Southern Virginia University. No more than 9 credits of internship courses count.
- Complete all requirements of the SVU Core.
- Complete all requirements of at least one major.
- Earn a minimum 2.00 GPA on all coursework taken at the university.
- Comply with all university standards, regulations, and procedures from matriculation through graduation.
How you'll learn
Your professor, personally.
SVU courses are taught through the Asynchronous Video Learning Model, designed to keep the teacher at the center of the experience.
Watch how it works
Lessons, presentations, and feedback are all recorded and submitted, so everyone takes part on their own schedule.
Read the video transcript
- How SVU Online works: online, but never anonymous.
- The professor creates videos to teach and demonstrate the subject matter.
- You watch it on your own schedule.
- You record your own video presentation and submit it.
- Your professor watches when it suits them.
- Your professor records personalized video feedback.
- You watch feedback made just for you.
- Teaching assistants record personalized video posts, too.
- They keep in touch with you throughout the course.
- You record a video post for your classmates.
- They watch and respond on their own time.
- Your classmate records a reply.
- You get to know each other through video.
- SVU Online, Southern Virginia University.
Watch
Your professor teaches through recorded, highly structured lessons.
Present
You record and submit video presentations, practicing what you are learning out loud.
Be seen
Your professor often responds to critical work with personalized, learning-centered feedback in video format. Teaching assistants also send personalized video posts to continually stay in touch with students.
Learn together
You exchange video responses with classmates, so discussion stays human.
Your first semester includes SVU 101, where you learn the tools and habits of successful online study: the Canvas learning platform, the online library, and the assessment tools your courses use.
What you'll need
The basics for learning on video.
Your courses are recorded and submitted online, so you will need a few basics.
A computer
A laptop or desktop computer. At a minimum, a tablet.
A camera
An embedded camera or an external webcam, for recording video assignments and video feedback to other students.
Screen recording
The ability to record your screen (a screencast) for some assignments.
Support
You won't be doing this alone.
Library
Online students have the same access as on-campus students to the Von Canon Library: electronic databases, interlibrary loan, and reference services through SVU single sign-on.
A team behind every course
The Office of Online Operations supports students and faculty, and every course has teaching assistants and instructional support staff working alongside your professor.
Accessibility
Students with disabilities can request accommodations through SVU's Accommodation Request Form, and the same accommodation process applies to online courses.
Enrollment
From application to your first class
The steps from applying to starting your first semester.
- Apply
- Receive access to submit forms for the application process
- Receive acceptance confirmation
- Pay deposit
- Receive registration confirmation
- Select classes for the semester
- Start learning as the semester starts
Admissions
Who can apply
- First-year applicants are expected to have a 2.5 grade point average at any high school previously attended.
- Homeschooled students can submit homeschool transcripts or a portfolio of schoolwork showing variety and depth of study.
- Students who begin before finishing high school show evidence of readiness in writing and mathematics.
- Applicants who do not meet the minimum academic standard may be considered for provisional admission following further review and an interview.
- Students with prior college credit have it evaluated under SVU's standard transfer credit policy.
Cost
Tuition
$348 per credit hour.
Federal financial aid and VA benefits can be used
Eligible students can use federal financial aid, such as Federal Pell Grants and Federal Direct Loans, to pay for tuition in this program. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to see what you qualify for.
Eligible veterans, service members, and family members can also use VA education benefits, such as the GI Bill, to help pay for this program.
Questions? Talk with an Admissions Counselor.
Start your application, or talk with our team about whether this program is the right fit.
Apply Now