Data Science and Health Sciences, Integrated, B.S.

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BS in Data Science and Health Sciences, Integrated

Description

The combination of data science and health sciences provides an innovative program for students who are interested in the intersection between data and health sciences. The study of health sciences gives students the fundamental knowledge in public health, while data science enables students to build the efficient computational, data analysis and machine learning skills to perform more complex quantitative analysis in modern health systems. The graduates from this innovative degree program will understand the complexities of the healthcare industry and how to leverage technology to improve patient care, streamline operations, personalized medicine, and enhance health outcomes. This program will also equip the students with the information systems/technology skills needed to work in a health care setting.

What careers can this major prepare you for?

Health/clinical informatics specialists/consultant; Clinical informatics analysts; Clinical informatics managers/directors; Biostatisticians; Bioinformatics Scientist; Nursing informatics specialist; Pharmacy informaticist; Informatics specialist; Data scientist; Healthcare ML Specialist/Engineer; Informatics Manager; Informatics Director; Electronic medical record analyst/ keeper; Health informatics consultant; Healthcare IT project manager

What skills are developed within this major?

Analytical and problem-solving skills for healthcare problems; Written and verbal communication skills; Mathematical and statistical skills; Programming and data analysis skills for healthcare problems; General understanding of how the health care environment and systems works; Broad understanding of how the technology landscape for data analytics and processing works.

Hours Required for Degree

Minimum hours required for the degree: 120

Major Requirements

The following list is a guide to the academic requirements for the Data Science and Health Sciences major. Each student’s specific program requires approval from the student’s advisor.

Mathematics Required Courses - 3 Courses

Statistics Required Courses - 4 Courses

Writing Related Required Courses - 2 Courses

Data Ethics Required Course - 1 Course

PHL 216 - AI & Data Ethics

Data Science Required Courses - 10 courses (32 credits)

Health Science Required Courses - 8 Courses (19 credits)

Health Care Management Required Courses (College of Business) - 3 Courses (9 credits)

General Elective Courses - 4 Courses (11 or 12 credits)

2 General Elective Courses (5 or 6 credits)
2 General Elective Courses (6 credits)

(OR)

Select Information Systems Technology Courses - 2 Courses (6 credits)

Capstone Requirement - 1 course

DSA 492 - Special Topics in Data Science

Core Curriculum Elective Courses - 5 Courses (16 credits)

BIO 266 with BIO 267 (Human Anatomy & Physiology I and Lab)
1 Course: Society and Human Behavior Elective
1 Course: American Civic Literacy Elective
1 Course: Global Human Perspectives Elective
1 Course: Science Inquiry Elective

Honors/University Scholars Requirements

Students in the Honors or University Scholars programs are required to complete an Honors Thesis (three credit hours, minimum) and at least six (6) credit hours of honors courses in the Computer Science Department or Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance. General guidelines for these credit hours are given below. However, the specific courses that each student takes will be agreed upon by the student, the undergraduate advisor, and the student’s honors thesis advisor. The student’s regular undergraduate advisor is responsible for finding an honors thesis advisor who is mutually agreeable to the undergraduate advisor, the honors thesis advisor, and the honors student.

a. Honors Courses

The honors credits (9 hours) should be selected from the following list:

Honors Thesis (required) (DSA 499H , 3 credits)-Each honors student conducts research and writes a thesis under the supervision of an Computer Science faculty member.
Honors Research (DSA 495H , 1 to 3 credits)-If the proposed research project for the Honors Thesis is anticipated to require more than one semester, the student can register for DSA 495H in those semesters when research is performed prior to the semester when the Honors Thesis completion (DSA 499H ) is anticipated.
Graduate Course-Any 500 level Computer Science or Health Sciences graduate course for which the student has the prerequisites.
Junior Honors, Senior Honors-Most 300 level and 400 level Computer Science (OR) health sciences courses can be expanded to become an honors course. This is referred to by the Honors Program as a “contract course.” This is done in collaboration among the undergraduate advisor, the honors thesis advisor, and the course instructor.

b. Replaced Credit Hours

Credits from the honors courses can be used to replace Data Science Technical Electives.

Academic Plan

Students will consult with the Honors departmental faculty advisors in the Department of Computer Science and Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance, ideally in the spring of their sophomore year, to formulate an academic plan, in consultation with their Honors College advisor.