Interdisciplinary degree offers six tracks in application areas that use the data science core
CareerCast named this the top job for 2020. It reigned for four years as Glassdoor's Best Job In America and topped the LinkedIn Emerging Jobs List. Wired magazine even suggested parents should encourage their kids to become one of these instead of a doctor or lawyer.
What is this highly touted career?
Data scientist.
The School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Arizona State University launched its Bachelor of Science in data science degree this fall. The new program helps students develop a core set of skills in data analysis that are currently in high demand in industry and would make excellent preparation for further study in any discipline where data plays a prominent role, such as medicine, law or economics.
"In my opinion, data science is what a modern liberal arts education looks like," said Richard Hahn, associate professor of statistics. "Data literacy is increasingly critical to contribute meaningfully to solving the problems of modern society."
Data science is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of mathematics, computer science and statistics. It consists of methods for collecting, modeling, and analyzing modern data sets rigorously and efficiently.
"Data science is important in today's world because we are collecting more data at a faster rate than ever before," Hahn said. "Data science constitutes the arsenal of techniques that one can use to marshal that data in the service of better decision-making."
Students should consider majoring in data science at ASU because the program exposes them to mathematics, statistics and programming.
"It is a combo, an everything bagel, and important knowledge that provides skills for a variety of jobs today and even more in future," said Clinical Assistant Professor Marko Samara. "Knowledge of at least some basics of data science is becoming a 21st-century literacy.
"As the No. 1 university for innovation, ASU should have a data science program that is not just keeping up with modern trends, but is also a leader in raising the bar and setting up new trends."
One of the unique aspects of the new degree in data science is its interdisciplinary flavor. The degree requires students to complete a “track,” which is essentially a minor field of study in an application area that uses the data science core. Students select one of six tracks: behavioral sciences, biosciences, computer science, mathematics, social sciences and spatial sciences. Students will obtain experience in using data science tools in an application area taught by another science or engineering academic unit.
"Because data science as a field is a collection of methods to be used in the service of empirical investigation, we felt it made sense to require students to dive a little deeper into a particular applied area," Hahn said.
"The rationale for this is less that this choice will dictate the course of one's future study so much as to learn data analysis deeply you have to actually do it — a substantive emphasis allows students this hands-on experience. Working in a substantive area encourages a step away from pure book learning."
The six tracks are hosted at corresponding schools and academic units across the university. All tracks have the same required math and computer science courses, as well as five data science core courses. The rest of the courses are specialized for that particular track. At the end, students take their sixth data science course, data science capstone, which is hosted by the corresponding unit of their selected track.
The mathematics track in data science provides a fresh alternative for mathematics majors who prefer computations and applications of math and statistics over abstract theory.
"This track has some high-level mathematics in it while simultaneously not being too abstract," said Don Jones, associate director for undergraduate programs and associate professor. "Students should consider the new data science degree because it's where the high-paying jobs are right now."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, data scientist jobs will grow more than 31% over the next 10 years, with a median annual salary of over $94,000. A quick search for data scientist jobs on LinkedIn reveals over 20,000 listings.
"Our successful graduates can be competitive when searching for any job that emphasizes a good deal of programming skills in R or Python, data analytics, statistical modeling or the basics of statistical or machine learning," Samara said.
"In the era when it is so easy to access, collect and store large amounts of data, why not use them to develop self-driving cars which would considerably reduce traffic accidents, to help doctors discover a disease much earlier than they would, to make robots learn to do complex, demanding or dangerous jobs instead of humans?" Samara said.
"The more complex job we want a machine to do, the more data we need to collect and teach the machine with, and the more sophisticated data science tools we need to use. This is why data science is important today and its importance will only grow in the future."
The online version of ASU's data science degree will be phased in starting in January. Social sciences is the only track available initially, but more will be available in future semesters for this innovative and ever-evolving program.
"This will be our school’s first online degree program and it will provide access to this program for nontraditional students who would otherwise have difficulties in enrolling in an on-campus degree program," said Al Boggess, school director and professor.
ASU researcher’s newest book inspires readers to unleash their innovative architect to build a better world for all
When you envision the future, what image springs to mind? A joyful social gathering in a postpandemic world? A sea of solar panels or a skyline of billowing smokestacks? Bleached-out coral graveyards or reefs teeming with life? Flocks of drones buzzing across the sky?
When Andrew Maynard envisions the future, he thinks of a soap bubble.
With its swirling colors and spherical resemblance to the Earth, the soap bubble caught the imagination of Maynard, associate dean in Arizona State University’s College of Global Futures and professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society.
“It’s an object that captures the idea of a chaotic, yet beautiful future,” he said.
Though the soap bubble represents a future full of promise, it also captures how incredibly fragile the future can be.
“As humans we have a profound ability to not only imagine new futures but to change them,” Maynard said. “That comes with a lot of responsibility. If we are doing things intended to change the future, we have to do so smartly.”
In his newest book, “Future Rising: A Journey From the Past to the Edge of Tomorrow,” Maynard embarks on a 14-billion-year historical journey to show readers how we started and what we are steering toward.
For Maynard, it was vital to empower readers to take ownership of how they can and do change the future. Whether for the better (developing health care innovations to save lives) or for the worse (provoking climate change and world wars), our individual and societal actions impact the trajectory of our future every day.
“I wanted to try and inspire people, through this journey from the past to the future, to have agency of their future and flex those muscles,” Maynard said. “Our future is an incredibly complex system. The only way we can begin to manage this complex system is to build a sense of future-looking responsibility and agility.”
In “Future Rising,” Maynard frames the future as a personal belonging or object that readers have control and responsibility over in order to get them thinking creatively about their relationship to and role in their own futures.
The book’s title was inspired by the Earthrise photo taken by astronaut William Anders in 1968.
“That photo really captured the spirit of future Earth as an object,” Maynard said. “If we start with Earthrise, I wanted to end the book with Future Rising.”
Some worry about the future because it can seem daunting and full of “what-ifs,” but Maynard encourages readers to continue thinking about the future to dampen the fear of it.
“We won’t know how to plan for the future if we are not intentional about where it is going,” he said. “There are some things we have done that have left us in an incredible mess, such as climate change. We need to think about the future in a more responsible way so that we can create a future we want, not one that we fear.”
Maynard, a physicist by training, warns against using a “theory of relativity” to compare where society is today to the past.
“Many great thinkers look to the past and conclude that things have been getting better as we go into the future, but it depends on what metrics we use to measure that,” he said. “If you choose the rate of innovation or the rate that we cure disease, then yes we are getting better. But, if you look at measures of happiness or the number of people who live below the poverty line and don’t have access to basic sanitation, we are not doing such a great job.”
Progress isn’t consistent across all fronts, nor is it necessarily permanent. Thus, there is always more that can be done better, according to Maynard.
“Just because things have worked in the past doesn’t mean that they will continue to work well in the future,” he said. “That is an inherent part of complex systems. One slight slip in the system can lead to chaotic outcomes. We need to be cognizant of that.”
In the course of researching and writing “Future Rising,” Maynard discovered the importance of faith and despair in the conversation about a better future.
“The normal way of doing things as a scientist discounts faith for the sake of rationale. What intrigued me was thinking about how faith is an important part of who we are as future builders. Whether it’s faith in a deity or faith in ourselves, our community or in science itself — faith can ground us in hope for a better future,” he said.
“I also recognized that many people find themselves in a position where they can imagine a different future, but there is no way of getting there. Someone or something has robbed them of the ability to get there.”
According to Maynard, human evils such as slavery, human trafficking and forced relocation are examples of how humans are disturbingly good at stealing the futures of others when it suits our needs.
"Sadly, this is a fate that’s been imposed on a shocking number of communities over the centuries, as our basic instincts lead us to marginalize, abuse and repress others. Or worse, imprisoning them within the walls of futures we impose on them,” Maynard said.
Though deeply influenced by his background in science, Maynard sees the greatest success in a future where humanity lies at the forefront and innovative technologies play a supporting role.
“We wouldn’t be here as a society if it weren’t for our science and technology. And we wouldn’t have visions for the future if not for those things,” he said. “But all of that is meaningless without the imagination, creativity, hope, desire, faith and fear of people.”
“Rather than have people who develop technologies decide what is good for society, we need to learn how to engage with everybody that those technologies are going to touch,” said Maynard. “This means putting people at the center of the picture rather than innovation.”
Maynard does not discount the inherent challenges society faces in accomplishing this.
“We live in a market-driven economy — the dollar is everything, not people. This is very difficult to break away from,” he said. “Our society also prizes individuals who push the boundaries forwards without thinking about the consequences. As a result, we leave a lot of people behind.”
Maynard hopes that “Future Rising” empowers people to better understand not only where the future is going, but also how they can fit in to building it.
“I’m acting as a guide, navigating the readers through these complex examples and examining questions that come up through my eyes. Readers can run with that, they can walk away, they can do whatever they want. I want to partner with them, rather than try and inform them,” Maynard said.
“If we begin to think about big challenges, not in terms of telling people what to do, but opening people’s eyes to how they can be part of a process that benefits themselves and those around them, that changes the conversation.”
“Future Rising: A Journey From the Past to the Edge of Tomorrow” is available for preorder on Amazon and available in stores starting Oct. 27.
Written by Maya Shrikant
Top photo: Andrew Maynard, associate dean in Arizona State University’s College of Global Futures and professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society. Credit: Arizona State University
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