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.

Summary of Requirements
General and Basic Education Requirements37
Core Courses57
Urban Planning and Policy Administration Concentration Requirements18-19
Free Electives7-8
Total Hours120

General and Basic Education Requirements

ENGL 160Academic Writing I: Writing in Academic and Public Contexts3
ENGL 161Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research3
Foreign Language a8
Understanding the Individual and Society course b3
Understanding U.S. Society course b3
Exploring World Cultures course b3
Understanding the Creative Arts course b3
Understanding the Past course b3
Two Analyzing the Natural World courses (with lab) b,c8
Total Hours37
a

Additional information on the COE's foreign language policy can be found in the College of Engineering section of the catalog.

b

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

c

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

Core Courses

Required Courses
ENGR 100Engineering Success Seminar (no graduation credit)1
MATH 180Calculus I4
MATH 181Calculus II4
MATH 210Calculus III3
MATH 310Applied Linear Algebra3
Select one of the following3
Program Design I
Program Design I in the Context of Biological Problems
Program Design I in the Context of Law and Public Policy
CS 141Program Design II3
CS 151Mathematical Foundations of Computing3
or MCS 361 Discrete Mathematics
CS 211Programming Practicum3
CS 251Data Structures4
CS 377Ethical Issues in Computing3
Select one of the following:3
Applied Statistical Methods I
Probability and Statistics for Engineers a
Probability and Random Processes for Engineers b
STAT 382Statistical Methods and Computing3
or IDS 462 Statistical Software for Business Applications
STAT 385Elementary Statistical Techniques for Machine Learning and Big Data3
STAT 481Applied Statistical Methods II3
IDS 312Business Project Management3
IDS 435Optimization for Analytics3
CS 418Introduction to Data Science c3
or IDS 472 Business Data Mining
CS 480Database Systems c3
or IDS 410 Business Database Technology
Total Hours57
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

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

This course has prerequisites that can be taken as free electives in order to register for this course.

Free Electives

Electives
Select 7-8 hours of Free Electives.7-8
Total Hours7-8

Sample Course Schedule

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
First SemesterHours
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
 Hours14
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
 Hours17
Second Year
First Semester
CS 151
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
 Hours17
Second Semester
CS 251 Data Structures 4
STAT 382
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
 Hours16
Third Year
First Semester
CS 377 Ethical Issues in Computing 3
CS 480
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
 Hours15
Second Semester
CS 418
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
 Hours15
Fourth Year
First Semester
Concentration Requirement 3
Concentration Requirement 3
General Education Core course 3
Free Elective 4
 Hours13
Second Semester
Concentration Requirement 3
Concentration Requirement 3
General Education Core course 3
Free Elective 4
 Hours13
 Total Hours120