advertisement

COD offers foundations of data science certificate

GLEN ELLYN - The new Foundations of Data Science certificate program at College of DuPage prepares students for careers in data analysis fields while providing cross-training for employees who want a sought-after skills set.

Recently approved by the Illinois Community College Board, the certificate provides a point of entry into a relatively new field while helping existing employees sharpen skills in data collection, research methods, basic statistics, exploratory data analysis, data visualization and data mining.

"The data scientist has been described as the sexiest job of the 21st century," said Christine Monnier, professor of sociology at College of DuPage. "We are awash in a world of data. We now have the power to run massive computations on computers, resulting in more information than ever before. We live in a new world with facts at our fingertips, and anything we do now generates data. But do we know what to do with it?"

Monnier said much of data science relates to human behavior, which is why three of the required courses for the 13-credit hour certificate are in sociology. She said that most existing certificates in this field are very specialized or require prerequisites, while the few general certificate programs focus on the technical aspects of data processing.

For more information about the Foundations of Data Science certificate, visit www.cod.edu/programs/sociology, email monnier@cod.edu or call (630) 942-2438.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.