Master of Science in Data Science

Yes. Learners can begin with individual courses or take a non-credit version first, then upgrade later to the for-credit version by paying tuition when they are ready.

The program is delivered fully online through lecture videos, quizzes, readings, and online assessments. Courses are designed specifically for online learning, and some final assessments use online proctoring. Students should plan for about 4 to 6 hours of work per week for each course.

The degree requires 30 credits, with each course worth 1 credit. Students who take three courses per eight-week session can finish in about two years, but the program is flexible and can be completed more slowly if needed. All degree requirements must be finished within eight years.

Students have access to weekly online office hours, discussion forums, Slack, online and in-person networking events, career resources such as Handshake and VMock, online library access, Career Services, and Forever Buffs alumni services after admission.

When you successfully complete the online MS-DS degree, you may come to campus to participate in the graduation ceremony.

Tuition is $525 per credit hour, for a total tuition cost of $15,750 for the full 30-credit degree. The program uses a pay-as-you-go model, so students pay only for the courses in the upcoming term. There is no application fee, and there are currently no scholarships or financial aid available for this program.

The program accepts up to six graduate-level credit hours from eligible CU degree programs on Coursera as elective credit, subject to academic rules. It does not accept transfer credit from other institutions.

A cross-listed course is offered under two or more CU Boulder degree programs on Coursera. For example, Dynamic Programming, Greedy Algorithms is offered as both CSCA 5414 for the MS-CS and DTSA 5503 for the MS-DS.

• You may not earn credit for more than one version of a cross-listed course.
• You can identify cross-listed courses by checking your program’s student handbook.
• Your transcript will be affected. Cross-listed courses are considered equivalent when evaluating graduation requirements. However, we encourage you to take your program's versions of cross-listed courses (when available) to ensure your CU transcript reflects the substantial amount of coursework you are completing directly in your home department. Any courses you complete from another program will appear on your CU transcript with that program’s course prefix (e.g., DTSA vs. CSCA).
• Programs may have different minimum grade requirements for admission and graduation. For example, the MS-DS requires a C or better on all courses for graduation (and a 3.0 pathway GPA for admission), whereas the MS-CS requires a B or better on all breadth courses and a C or better on all elective courses for graduation (and a B or better on each pathway course for admission). All programs require students to maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA for admission and graduation.

An outside elective (sometimes called an “external” elective) is a course offered by another CU Boulder degree program on Coursera. You may apply credits earned from outside elective courses to complete your degree’s elective requirements. Tuition rates vary by program. Credit limits apply and not all courses are applicable to all degree programs. See your program’s student handbook for details and restrictions.

The following courses are not considered outside electives:

• Courses offered by your degree program: You can identify courses offered by your degree program by the four-letter prefix before the course number: Computer Science: CSCA, Data Science: DTSA, Electrical Engineering: ECEA, Engineering Management: EMEA
• Courses that are cross-listed with a course offered by your degree program: You can identify cross-listed courses by checking your program’s student handbook.

For example, Data Mining Pipeline is a one-credit cross-listed course available as both DTSA 5504 and CSCA 5502. CSCA 5502 is not considered an outside elective for Data Science students, and DTSA 5504 is not considered an outside elective for Computer Science students. These courses would be considered outside electives for Electrical Engineering and Engineering Management students because they are not cross listed with ECEA or EMEA courses, respectively.