In today’s world, Data Science has become a buzzing keyword and many large enterprises and industry leaders are shifting their focus towards Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning or Data Sciences. This paradigm shift in industry has created a huge demand for Data Scientists and they have more attractive salary packages than traditional software engineers. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average data scientist earns $100,560 per year. While, a Java developer or any other programming language developer earns around $72,000 per year. Besides, an attractive salary package, Data Science has a lot to offer in terms of learning and innovation opportunities. Let’s dwell on the best U.S universities to study Data Sciences in 2021.

1. 1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Founded in 1861, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of the best and top-ranked university for data sciences. According to QS Ranking, MIT is the number one university for year 2021-2022. It offers both Bachelors and Masters in Data Sciences.

 

Undergraduate Data Sciences Degree Programs:

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science: It is jointly offered by Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Department of Economics. For complete requirements and roadmap of this program please click here.

Undergraduate Data Sciences Minor Programs:

• Minor in Statistics and Data Science: It is an interdisciplinary program offered by MIT. For complete requirements and roadmap of this program please click here.

Masters of Data Sciences Programs:

• MicroMasters Program in Statistics and Data Science: This course is offered by MITx and the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS). It is an online course and anyone can enroll in this program. It is specially designed for those people who want rigorous data sciences learning and hands-on experience without leaving their jobs. For complete requirements and roadmap of this program please click here.

2. 2. Harvard University

Another top-ranking Ivy League university with world best faculty, diverse community and carefully curated courses is Harvard University. It was founded in 1636 as Harvard college and one of the oldest university. Undoubtedly, it’s one of the most prestigious institute to fulfil your data science dreams. It offers the following courses.

Masters in Data Science

• Data Science Graduate Program: It is offered by Harvard Extension School. To secure admission in this program, your performance in two specific Harvard Extension courses plays the key role. The format of this program is online for 2021-2022. After successfully finishing this program you will earn “Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Extension Studies, field: Data Science” degree. For more information, related to this program please click here.

Online Data Science Courses

• Apart from full-fledged degrees, Harvard offers 17 online data science courses which are as good as data science courses. Some courses are free as well and typically takes 5-8 weeks to complete. Following are the free courses offered by Harvard.
  1. Fundamentals of TinyML
  2. Applications of TinyML
  3. Deploying TinyML
  4. Introduction to Digital Humanities
  5. Data Science: Wrangling
  6. Data Science: Linear Regression
  7. Data Science: Machine Learning
  8. Data Science: Capstone
  9. Data Science: Visualization
  10. Data Science: Probability
  11. Data Science: Inference and Modeling
  12. Data Science: Productivity Tools
  13. Data Science: R Basics

Following are the paid Data Sciences courses offered by Harvard University.

1. 1. Data Science for Business ($1600, 4 weeks long)
   2. Designing and Implementing AI Solutions for Health Care ($2150, 2 weeks long)
   3. Data Privacy and Technology ($1,600, 5 weeks long)
   4. Data Visualization: Communicating Data and Complex Ideas Visually ($2150)
   5. Stanford University

Stanford University is yet another exceptional university which offers variety of options for data science learners. It is a private university and amasses almost more than 17 thousand students. Its acceptance rate is only 4% which implies that it only chooses the best out of best.

Undergraduate Data Science Programs:

• The Data Science Minor program is especially designed for those students who have major in humanities and Social Sciences but want to gain practical exposure to Data Sciences. For more information regarding this degree program please click here.

Masters Programs:

• S. in Statistics: Data Science: This program is offered by Stanford’s Statistics School of Humanities and Sciences. This program is not offered online. For more information regarding this degree program please click here.

4. 4. Yale University

The list would be incomplete without mentioning the third oldest Ivy League university of United States i.e. Yale University. Yale is just not an institute but also a complete brand which gives you a chance to study within a diverse community and under the mentorship of top faculty. It offers following Data Sciences programs.

Bachelors Program in Data Sciences:

• A. in Statistics and Data Science: This undergraduate programs is offered by Department of Statistics and Data Science. This program will give enough exposure and hands-on experience of data science for pursuing a graduate degree in data sciences. For more information, regarding this course please click here.

Masters and PhD Programs

• The terminal M.A. and M.S. programs: These programs are offered by Department of Statistics and Data Science. These programs are open for anyone outside of Yale as well. For more information, related to these programs please click here.
• D. PROGRAM: This PhD programs is also offered by Department of Statistics and Data Science. The main areas of focus are statistical theory, probability theory, information theory, bioinformatics and genetics, classification, data mining and machine learning, neural nets, network science etc. For more information, related to these programs please click here.

5. 5. University of California Berkeley

UC Berkeley is another one of the most prestigious institutes to pursue your data science interests. According to QS Ranking 2021, its rank 4^th worldwide and 1^st nationally. It’s a public land-grant university and has a fairly good acceptance rate i.e. 16%. It offers wide variety of undergraduate and graduate data sciences programs.

Undergraduate Programs

For undergraduate programs, UC Berkeley offers degrees both with data science as a major and a minor.

• Data Science B.A. degree: It is offered as a data science major and offered by College of Letters & Science. For more information, related to this programs please click here.
• Data Science Minor: It is also offered by College of Letters & Science. You need to declare your minor and all undergraduate students (at UC Berkeley) can opt this except Data Science B.A. degree students. For more information, related to this programs please click here.

Master’s Program in Data Sciences

• Online Master’s in Data Science: It is an online master’s program and based on various fields including computer science, social sciences, statistics, management, and law. It provides three paths for completing this course i.e. accelerated, standard, or decelerated which students can choose as per their convenience. For more information, related to this programs please click here.
• Masters of Engineering – Data Science and Systems Concentration: This program is offered by Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences school. It is an on-campus program and typically completed in one year. For more information, related to this programs please click here.
• Masters of Information and Data Science: This program is offered by Berkeley School of Information. As per UC Berkeley, the program starts thrice throughout the year and applications are screened on rolling basis. For more information, related to this programs please click here.
• Master of Engineering in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research – Data-driven Decision Analytics Track: This program is offered by Berkeley Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership school. It is an on-campus program and taught in evening classes. For more information, related to this programs please click here.

Closing Thoughts:

We are currently living in 4^th industrial revolution and due to huge volumes of data industries are inclined towards creating “value” with the help of data. So, the future belongs to data science. The data science field has a lot of employment and entrepreneurship opportunities available. So, if you have interest in mathematics, computer and statistics then you should not think twice before opting data sciences as your undergraduate, graduate or PhD option.