Graduate Certificate in Applied Data Science

Students who complete this certificate will be able to pursue professional careers in data science. They will be eligible to be considered for admission to the following MSc programs in data science: Applied Data Science, Communications Data Science, Spatial Data Science, Healthcare Data Science, Public Policy Data Science, and Environmental Data Science.

Students will first learn advanced techniques in data science, including building scalable data systems, core algorithms in machine learning, and practical approaches to mining diverse kinds of data. Through class projects and homeworks, students will create a portfolio of their work to demonstrate their skills to potential employers.

Students will need to complete the three required courses and an elective with no possibility of substitutions or waivers.

This graduate certificate is offered through the USC Viterbi Admissions & Student Engagement (VASE) office. Prospective students can refer to the VASE website for more information about the program.

The most up to date description of the program is in the USC Catalogue. Course descriptions are available here.

Total Units: 16

Core Courses - 3 Courses (12 Units):

DSCI 551 Foundations of Data Management (4 units)
DSCI 552 Machine Learning for Data Science (4 units)
DSCI 553 Foundations and Applications of Data Mining (4 units)

Elective - Choose One Course (4 Units):

CSCI 544 Applied Natural Language Processing (4 units)
CSCI 550 Advanced Data Stores (4 units)
CSCI 570 Analysis of Algorithms (4 units)
CSCI 572 Information Retrieval and Web Search Engines (4 units)
CSCI 587 Geospatial Information Management (4 units)
DSCI 510 Principles of Programming for Data Science (4 units)
DSCI 529 Security and Privacy (4 units)
DSCI 549 Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science (4 units)
DSCI 550 Data Science at Scale (4 units)
DSCI 554 Data Visualization (4 units)
DSCI 555 Interaction Design and Usability Testing (4 units)
DSCI 556 User Experience Design and Strategy (4 units)
DSCI 558 Building Knowledge Graphs (4 units)
DSCI 560 Data Science Professional Practicum (4 units)
DSCI 599 Special Topics (1 - 8 units with advisor approval)

Notes:

Students will need to complete the three required courses and an elective with no possibility of substitutions or waivers.
Requirements for graduation, course offerings, course availability, track offerings, and any other degree requirements are subject to change. Students should consult with an academic advisor prior to registering for any classes.
A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation. Students who complete the certificate will be eligible to be considered for admission to the following MS programs in data science: Applied Data Science, Communications Data Science, Spatial Data Science, Healthcare Data Science, Public Policy Data Science, and Environmental Data Science.

All information contained here is summarized from the USC Catalogue and is considered non-official. For all rules, regulations, procedures, and outlines, please see the current academic year USC Catalogue. The USC Catalogue supersedes all other publications.

Current students follow degree requirements in effect for the academic year they began their studies at USC. If you are a current student, please refer to your STARS report or the appropriate USC Catalogue for your year. Students seeking to advance their catalogue year to follow updated curricula may contact their department advisor.

Published on July 6th, 2021Last updated on May 6th, 2025