BS in Data Science with Urban Planning and Public Affairs Concentration
Degree Requirements
To earn a Bachelor of Science in Data Science with a Urban Planning and Public Affairs Concentration from UIC, students need to complete university, college, and department degree requirements. The Department of Computer Science degree requirements are outlined below. Students should consult the College of Engineering section for additional degree requirements and college academic policies.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Summary of Requirements | ||
| General and Basic Education Requirements | 37 | |
| Core Courses | 57 | |
| Urban Planning and Policy Administration Concentration Requirements | 18-19 | |
| Free Electives | 7-8 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
General and Basic Education Requirements
| 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 | |
- a
Students should consult the General Education section of the catalog for a list of approved courses.
- b
Students planning to pursue the Bioinformatics Concentration will take BIOS 110 and BIOS 120 to fulfill the Analyzing the Natural World requirement.
Core Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| ENGR 100 | Engineering Success Seminar (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 |
| Select one of the following | 3 | |
| Program Design I | ||
| Program Design I in the Context of Biological Problems | ||
| Program Design I in the Context of Law and Public Policy | ||
| CS 141 | Program Design II | 3 |
| CS 151 | Mathematical Foundations of Computing | 3 |
| or MCS 361 | Discrete Mathematics | |
| CS 211 | Programming Practicum | 3 |
| CS 251 | Data Structures | 4 |
| CS 377 | Ethical Issues in Computing | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Applied Statistical Methods I | ||
| Probability and Statistics for Engineers a | ||
| 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 | |
- a
IE 342 must be taken for the Concentration in Industrial Engineering.
- b
ECE 341 must be taken for the Concentration in Data Processing, Science, and Engineering.
- c
CS 418 and CS 480 must be taken for the Concentration in Computer Science.
Urban Planning and Public Affairs Concentration Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students will select two classes from each of the following three categories. | ||
| Understanding Public Problems | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Individual Action and Democratic Citizenship | ||
| Introduction to Public Policy | ||
| Introduction to Civic Technology | ||
| Nonprofit Organizations and Civil Society | ||
| Planning Practices for Great Cities | ||
| Introduction to Urban Studies | ||
| Social Justice and the City | ||
| Political Economy of Urban Development a | ||
| Urban Data Visualization and Geospatial Analysis | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6-7 | |
| Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Public Managers | ||
| Geographic Information Systems for Planning and Policy | ||
| Intermediate GIS for Planning and Policy | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems I | ||
| Policy Analysis | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Policy Analysis III: Identifying and Developing Alternatives | ||
| Evaluating Public Policies and Programs | ||
| Topics in Geospatial Analysis and Visualization (Spatial Statistics section) | ||
| Analyzing the City | ||
| Urban Policy Analysis Methods a | ||
- a
Course has prerequisites that can be taken as a free elective in order to register for this course.
Free Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Electives | ||
| Select 7-8 hours of Free Electives. | 7-8 | |
| Total Hours | 7-8 | |
Sample Course Schedule
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | |
| CS 111 |
Program Design I or Program Design I in the Context of Biological Problems or Program Design I in the Context of Law and Public Policy |
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 Success Seminar (no graduation credit) | 1 |
| Hours | 14 | |
| 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 | 3 |
| STAT 381 |
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 | 17 | |
| 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 | |