Human-Centered Data Science Lab

The University of Washington is launching a new master’s degree program in data science. The program was designed in collaboration between six UW departments and the eScience Institute, with input from data science hiring managers from around the country. HDS Lab Director, Cecilia Aragon, serves as co-chair of the UW Interdisciplinary Data Science Group that is coordinating the formation of the Master of Science in Data Science program.

The 45-credit MSDS program will launch in autumn 2016, and will accept full and part-time students. The curriculum covers a range of skills that are in high demand in today’s job market, including statistical modeling, machine learning, software engineering, data management, data visualization and user interface design. A full description of the program can be found here, and a press release is available here.

Two HDS Lab members, Daniel Perry and Michael Brooks, completed their PhD’s from the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering in 2015. After graduating, Daniel took a position as lecturer and postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley’s Information School, where he continues to study ways that gaming and virtual environments can be used for science learning, data visualization, and creative design practices. Michael is now a data scientist at Dato, a startup company specializing in machine learning platforms. His interests include the development of novel visual analytics techniques and systems to improve understanding of social media and communication.