{"id":2003,"date":"2021-11-10T14:37:57","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T19:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/?page_id=2003"},"modified":"2026-02-10T15:12:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:12:30","slug":"minor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/programs-admissions\/minor\/","title":{"rendered":"Minor in DS"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span>Data Science Minor<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Adding a Minor in Data Science from Boston University\u2019s Faculty of Computing &amp; Data Sciences (CDS) equips students across disciplines with essential skills in data analysis, computational thinking, and ethical decision-making. Whether you&#8217;re majoring in economics, biology, psychology, or the humanities, the data science minor offers a flexible, high-impact way to enhance your academic and professional toolkit\u2014preparing you to work with data in meaningful, informed ways. <\/span>Our Minor in Data Science equips students from any major with a solid understanding of the key conceptual and methodological dimensions of data-driven discovery and innovation, and provides them with the basic skills necessary to apply this knowledge in various settings by assembling data analysis pipelines and developing information products.<\/p>\n<p>With this preparation, students who minor in Data Science will be ready to leverage competencies and skills they acquire through the program to pursue careers in which they contribute to the synthesis of knowledge in a variety of fields and professions through extraction of insights from data and through the actionable use of those insights in a wide range of application domains.<\/p>\n<p>Students who wish to pursue additional professional degree programs either in data science or in a data-science-driven disciplines &#8211; such as public health or business analytics &#8211; will benefit from earning the Data Science Minor.<\/p>\n<p><em>Regardless of academic programs, there is wealth of opportunities for both STEM and non-STEM majors!<\/em><\/p>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>Non-STEM Majors<\/strong><\/summary>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>From marketing to journalism, and from sociology to philosophy \u2013 a Data Science minor exposes you to foundational skills such as programming, inferential analytics, and data visualization.<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>STEM Majors<\/strong><\/summary>\n<ul>For those pursuing another STEM major, the minor allows students to gain deeper knowledge within a particular area of data science. For example, a Physics student minoring in Data Science would be highly competitive for jobs that require strong mathematical foundations as well as capacity for software or data engineering, applied machine learning, etc.<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nRequirements for the DS minor are intentionally flexible; <\/strong>however, it will be important for students pursuing the minor to think critically about a chosen pathway, being sure to recognize and prepare for any prerequisites in the advanced courses you are planning to take in the future.<\/p>\n<h2>Requirements for the Minor<\/h2>\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Pre-Minor Computing Experience<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<ul>To qualify for the minor, students must have taken at least one course covering basic computing and programming concepts such as those covered in CDS DS100, CAS CS111, or ENG EK125 or (ENG EK121 and ENG EK122).<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Credit Hour Requirements<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The minor requires completion of a total of <strong>24 units, with at least 16 units <\/strong>earned through coursework (four 4-unit courses) covering foundational, methodological, or applied data science topics.<\/li>\n<li>At least <strong>16 units <\/strong>(four 4-unit courses) taken towards the minor <strong>MUST be offered through the Faculty of Computing &amp; Data Sciences<\/strong> covering at least two core data science subjects. This may also include cross-listed courses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Course Requirements<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>Data Science Foundations<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p><i> Unless covered by equivalent courses taken to satisfy the requirements of other programs of study, students must complete at least one course in each of the following foundational subjects of the major in Data Science:\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Computational Foundations: CDS DS110<\/li>\n<li>Mathematical Foundations: CDS DS120, CDS DS121, CDS DS122<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>Data Science Core<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p><i>At least three courses covering two or more of the following core subjects of the major in Data Science:<\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Programming: CDS <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DS210<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data Mechanics: CDS <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DS310<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Statistics: CAS <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MA214<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Algorithms: CDS <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DS320<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Machine Learning: CDS<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DS340<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Ethical &amp; Social Implications: CDS DS480 or CDS DS381<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary><strong>Data Science Electives and Practicums<\/strong><\/summary>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nElectives<br \/>\n<\/strong><i>Students may take any courses covering the subjects under with the Methodology or In-the-Field tracks from the Data Science Major.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Visit the &#8216;Academic Guides&#8217; section on the CDS advising page for <a href=\"https:\/\/bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/academics\/undergraduate\/advising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">available options<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Practicum Experience<\/strong><br \/>\n<i>At most 8 units earned through&#8230;<\/i><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CDS practicum <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/programs-admissions\/undergraduate\/bs-courses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">courses<\/a> or workshops<\/li>\n<li>Pre-approved directed studies pursued under the supervision of a BU CDS faculty member: DS 490<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h3 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Important Details Regarding DS Minor Requirements<\/h3><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Students may<strong> not use more than 8 units (two courses) <\/strong>from another degree program to fulfill the requirements for the minor in data science.\n<ul>\n<li><em>To reach the minimum requirement of 24 units to earn the DS minor, at least 16 units (four courses) must be taken from CDS.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Students may use <strong>&#8211; with permission &#8211;<\/strong> previous coursework to place out of prerequisites for courses that count towards the minor in data science.\n<ul>\n<li><em>If you have taken lower-level courses to fulfill major requirements you will be encouraged to take courses at a more advanced level.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The maximum units that may be earned through practicum workshops, directed studies, or supervised internships <strong>is 8 (two courses).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/cds-faculty\/files\/2026\/02\/CDS-DS-Minor-2026.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here for a visual guide to the DS Minor<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Curious about the minor? Email <a href=\"mailto:cds-advising@bu.edu\" style=\"text-align: center;\">cds-advising@bu.edu<\/a><span style=\"text-align: center;\"> or schedule a meeting with a <a href=\"https:\/\/bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/programs-admissions\/undergraduate\/advising\/\">CDS academic advisor<\/a>!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Data Science Minor Adding a Minor in Data Science from Boston University\u2019s Faculty of Computing &amp; Data Sciences (CDS) equips students across disciplines with essential skills in data analysis, computational thinking, and ethical decision-making. Whether you&#8217;re majoring in economics, biology, psychology, or the humanities, the data science minor offers a flexible, high-impact way to enhance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17518,"featured_media":0,"parent":1709,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2003"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2003"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19546,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2003\/revisions\/19546"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}