BS in Data Science with a Social Technology Studies Concentration

Degree Requirements

To earn a Bachelor of Science in Data Science with a Social Technology Studies Concentration from UIC, students need to complete university, college, and department degree requirements. The degree requirements are outlined below. Students should consult the College of Engineering section for additional degree requirements and college academic policies.

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Summary of Requirements
General and Basic Education Requirements		37
Core Courses		57
Social Technology Studies Concentration Requirements		18
Free Electives		8
Total Hours		120

General and Basic Education Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
ENGL 160	Academic Writing I: Writing in Academic and Public Contexts	3
ENGL 161	Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research	3
Foreign Language		8
Understanding the Individual and Society course ^a		3
Understanding U.S. Society course ^a		3
Exploring World Cultures course ^a		3
Understanding the Creative Arts course ^a		3
Understanding the Past course ^a		3
Two Analyzing the Natural World courses (with lab) ^a,b		8
Total Hours		37

Students should consult the General Education section of the catalog for a list of approved courses.

Students planning to pursue the Bioinformatics Concentration will take BIOS 110 and BIOS 120 to fulfill the Analyzing the Natural World requirement.

Core Courses

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
ENGR 100	Engineering Orientation (no graduation credit)	1
MATH 180	Calculus I	4
MATH 181	Calculus II	4
MATH 210	Calculus III	3
MATH 310	Applied Linear Algebra	3
CS 111	Program Design I	3
CS 141	Program Design II	3
CS 151	Mathematical Foundations of Computing	3
or MCS 361	Discrete Mathematics
CS 211	Programming Practicum	2
CS 251	Data Structures	4
CS 377	Ethical Issues in Computing	3
Select one of the following:		3
STAT 381	Applied Statistical Methods I
IE 342	Probability and Statistics for Engineers ^a
ECE 341	Probability and Random Processes for Engineers ^b
STAT 382	Statistical Methods and Computing	3
or IDS 462	Statistical Software for Business Applications
STAT 385	Elementary Statistical Techniques for Machine Learning and Big Data	3
STAT 481	Applied Statistical Methods II	3
IDS 312	Business Project Management	3
IDS 435	Optimization for Analytics	3
CS 418	Introduction to Data Science ^c	3
or IDS 472	Business Data Mining
CS 480	Database Systems ^c	3
or IDS 410	Business Database Technology
Total Hours		57

IE 342 must be taken for the Concentration in Industrial Engineering.

ECE 341 must be taken for the Concentration in Data Processing, Science, and Engineering.

CS 418 and CS 480 must be taken for the Concentration in Computer Science.

Social Technology Studies Concentration Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
Select three of the following:		9
COMM 206	Public Relations and Digital Media
COMM 216	Digital Journalism
COMM 220	Social Media and Marketing
COMM 240	Data Journalism
COMM 250	Social Media and Society
Selectives
Select three of the following:		9
COMM 205	The Health Media Environment
COMM 206	Public Relations and Digital Media
COMM 220	Social Media and Marketing
COMM 260	Games as Social Technology
COMM 425	Digital Advocacy ^a
COMM 430	Media, Information and Society
COMM 433	Mobile Media and the City
COMM 435	Data, Privacy and Ethics in the Digital Age
COMM 489
Total Hours		18

Free Electives

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Electives
Select 8 hours of Free Electives.		8
Total Hours		8

COMM 301 is a prerequisite for COMM 425. Data Science majors must obtain department approval.

Sample Course Schedule

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
First Semester		Hours
CS 111	Program Design I	3
ENGL 160	Academic Writing I: Writing in Academic and Public Contexts	3
MATH 180	Calculus I	4
Analyzing the Natural World (with Lab) General Education course		4
ENGR 100	Engineering Orientation	1
	Hours	15
Second Semester
CS 141	Program Design II	3
ENGL 161	Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research	3
MATH 181	Calculus II	4
General Education Core course		3
Foreign Language		4
	Hours	17
Second Year
First Semester
CS 151 or MCS 361	Mathematical Foundations of Computing or Discrete Mathematics	3
CS 211	Programming Practicum	2
STAT 381 or IE 342 or ECE 341	Applied Statistical Methods I or Probability and Statistics for Engineers or Probability and Random Processes for Engineers	3
Analyzing the Natural World (with lab) General Education course		4
Foreign Language		4
	Hours	16
Second Semester
CS 251	Data Structures	4
STAT 382 or IDS 462	Statistical Methods and Computing or Statistical Software for Business Applications	3
IDS 312	Business Project Management	3
MATH 210	Calculus III	3
General Education Core course		3
	Hours	16
Third Year
First Semester
CS 377	Ethical Issues in Computing	3
CS 480 or IDS 410	Database Systems or Business Database Technology	3
STAT 385	Elementary Statistical Techniques for Machine Learning and Big Data	3
MATH 310	Applied Linear Algebra	3
General Education Core course		3
	Hours	15
Second Semester
CS 418 or IDS 472	Introduction to Data Science or Business Data Mining	3
STAT 481	Applied Statistical Methods II	3
IDS 435	Optimization for Analytics	3
Concentration Requirement		3
Concentration Requirement		3
	Hours	15
Fourth Year
First Semester
Concentration Requirement		3
Concentration Requirement		3
General Education Core course		3
Free Elective		4
	Hours	13
Second Semester
Concentration Requirement		3
Concentration Requirement		3
General Education Core course		3
Free Elective		4
	Hours	13
	Total Hours	120

Academic Catalog

2021-2023 Undergraduate Catalog