Data Sciences Academy
The DSA spearheads an extensive educational program from professional development of K-14 teachers to undergraduate research to a new professional master’s degree In Data Science and Applied Statistics. The DSA is a partner with the Arizona Department of Education to establish data science standards and guidelines and to collaborate with native communities in Southern Arizona on computer science curriculum.
Data Science K-14 Education
The Data Sciences Academy's Educators in Data Science (EDSci) Fellowship supports K-14 data science training and academic year-round implementation support. The DSA partners with numerous professional development through Tucson Unified PD, Mathematics Educators Appreciation Day and beyond. Supporting Data Science education through Arizona community colleges includes supporting new class offerings in Data 101 and Data 201. At the undergraduate level, the University of Arizona offers Data 101, Data 201, and a Statistics and Data Science major. Finally at the graduate level numerous degrees are supported such as the Data Science and Applied Statistics Degree, Data Science Masters, Statistics and Data Science Masters.
Partnership with Arizona Community Colleges
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the workforce needs in data science are projected to grow projected 36% employment growth over the next decade. The Community Colleges are linchpins for the nation’s ability to expand education in the data sciences and computational sciences. Representatives from colleges across the state are working together to forge a common vision in a way that respects the particular needs of each college while creating multiple pathways for those 1) entering the workforce for the first time, 2) in the workforce who want to expand their skills, and 3) seeking undergraduate degrees at one of Arizona’s public universities.
Undergraduate Biology Research Program
Over its 36 year history, the Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) has placed thousands of undergraduates in research labs across campus. UBRP complements this experience with a variety of student-centered professional development programs. In recognition that biology research has become increasingly quantitative, the Data Sciences Academy has partnered with UBRP since 2021 to sponsor ~8-10 UBRP/DSA fellows each year. This year’s fellows have majors in Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Neuroscience & Cognitive Science, Physiological Sciences, and Statistics & Data Science. Applications are due each year on February 1.
Announcements
Take a look at the "What's Up" page and the Calendar page to see what the Data Sciences Academy team has been working on recently.
Data 201 is off and running! Good luck and have fun to those students that filled the roster for this exciting new adventure into data science, as it applies to your major and project interests! We look forward to continuing our drive to support more students in data science exploration with the upcoming Data 101.