Program Overview

Course Overview

The Advanced Techniques in Data Science course, denoted as DATA 501, is a comprehensive program that delves into the application of Data Science techniques to solve problems. Each student is required to develop a distributable software package to process, investigate, analyze, manipulate, summarize, and visualize data from a data source. The package must be developed in a standard programming environment, fully documented, and peer-tested. Additionally, students will write an accompanying critique of relevant data limitations and any legal or ethical considerations.

Course Details

• Dates: 6 July 2026 to 8 November 2026
• Starts: Trimester 2
• Fees:
  • Domestic students: NZ$1,376.40
  • International students: NZ$5,679.00
• Lecture Start Times:
  • Tuesday: 3.10pm
  • Thursday: 3.10pm
• Campus: Kelburn
• Estimated Workload: Approximately 150 hours or 8.3 hours per week for 18 weeks
• Points: 15 points (one point is about 10 hours of work)

Entry Restrictions

• Prerequisites: 30 approved 400-level points from (AIML, COMP, DATA, or STAT)
• Corequisites: None
• Restrictions: None (students who have already passed similar content courses cannot take this course)

Taught By

The course is taught by the School of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Disclaimer

This course outline may be subject to change.

Key Dates

Important dates, including mid-trimester teaching breaks, can be found on the University's key dates calendar. Assessment dates will be communicated once the course has begun.

About This Course

This course requires in-person attendance and cannot be taken online.

Course Learning Objectives

Students who pass this course will be able to:

1. Write a software design and development plan.
2. Comment on the legal and ethical implications of data science projects.
3. Follow a software testing protocol, evaluate software functionality, and communicate findings.
4. Develop a functional software package in a standard software development environment.
5. Document and report on a software package.

How This Course Is Taught

The course requires in-person attendance and includes lectures, seminars, and labs.

Assessment

• Project Design Plan (4 hours): 15%
• Software Demonstration: 10%
• Three Written Assignments: 30%
• Peer Assessment Report: 10%
• Software Package, Documentation, and Final Report: 35%

Lecture Times and Rooms

• 6 July 2026 to 16 August 2026
• 31 August 2026 to 11 October 2026

What You'll Need to Get

Students should install Rstudio on their machines.

Past Versions of This Course

Older versions of this course may be accessible through the course archive.

Student Feedback

Previous students' feedback on this course can be found in the student feedback database.