Program Overview

Introduction to the Doctorate in Data Science

The Doctorate in Data Science at Bowling Green State University is a highly recognized program that prepares students for competitive leadership roles in industry, government, academia, and beyond. This multidisciplinary program engages expert faculty from two BGSU colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences for mathematics, statistics, and computer science, and the Schmidthorst College of Business for applied statistics and operational research.

Program Details

• The Pinnacle of Expertise: A doctorate in data science prepares students for competitive leadership roles in various fields.
• Optimal Career Satisfaction: Data scientist is routinely ranked among the top five best jobs in the U.S., with a job satisfaction of 4.3 out of 5.
• Exceptional Faculty and Peers: Students learn from and alongside the best in the field.
• Graduate Assistantships: Opportunities for graduate assistantships, including scholarships and stipends, are granted on a competitive basis.
• Balanced Curriculum: The program includes classes in communication and responsible data use, ensuring graduates are well-rounded professionals.

Admission Information

• The program builds on prerequisite coursework, including differential, integral, and multivariate calculus, linear algebra, and senior-level introduction to probability and statistics.
• Excellent skills in programming languages such as C, C++, Java, and Python, as well as an understanding of data structures and computer algorithms, are required.
• Doctoral candidates ideally have a master's degree in mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science, or a closely related field.
• Additional requirements include three letters of recommendation, a resume, and a statement of purpose.

Career Opportunities

A Ph.D. in data science from Bowling Green State University puts students at the forefront of exciting and lucrative career opportunities in the field of computer science. Career paths include:

• Business intelligence analyst
• Data mining specialist
• Marketing analyst
• Data engineer
• Machine learning engineer
• Business analyst
• Data analytics manager

Curriculum

The curriculum prioritizes exceptional technical skill and moral philosophy, teaching students superior competency in core data science concepts and techniques. This includes analysis of structured, unstructured, and dynamic data sets. Doctoral students learn how to:

• Organize data using appropriate tools
• Code new techniques in the appropriate computer language
• Optimize performance and scalability
• Distribute new tools in a usable form

Culminating Experience

Doctoral students must register for a minimum of 16 hours in Dissertation Research.

Sample Courses

• Visualization
• Machine Learning
• Big Data Analytics
• Statistical Learning
• Data Science Exploration & Communication
• Ethical Issues in Data Science
• Advanced Data Mining

Accreditation

Bowling Green State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The most recent reaffirmation of accreditation was received, with the next reaffirmation scheduled for a future date. Questions should be directed to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.