CURRICULUM

The Ph.D. in Data Science at UNC Charlotte’s School of Data Science (SDS) prepares candidates to be leaders in education, research, and industry innovation.  Focused on addressing complex societal challenges, SDS provides rigorous, transdisciplinary training in data analysis and research methodology.  With over 80 faculty members representing a wide range of disciplines and specialities, the School emphasizes ethical, community-driven research.  The University is on track to achieve R1 research status, highlighting our collective dedication to academic excellence and meaningful social impact.

In consultation with their Ph.D. dissertation advisors or the Ph.D. Program Director, students should select and successfully complete the required credit hours of elective courses (36 credit hours for regular standing and 6 credit hours for advanced standing students) that build towards measurable expertise in data science, concentration of the student, and methods and approaches central to rigorous data science research.

• Students and their academic advisor must agree on the course selections, and a request for approval to register should be submitted to the Ph.D. program director before registering. 
• In general, 8000-level graduate courses, including cross-listed options, are considered eligible electives. If lower-level courses (minimum 6000-level) are deemed necessary, prior approval from both the academic advisor and the Ph.D. program director is required before registering.
• The selection of elective courses should primarily align with each student’s research interests and academic needs. Electives may be chosen from various colleges, including College of Computing and Informatics, Klein College of Science, College of Health and Human Services, College of Humanities and Earth and Social Sciences, William States Lee College of Engineering, and Belk College of Business.

For example, a student whose research interest is in Business Analytics could take the following elective courses: