Advising and Program Overview

The program director and graduate coordinator oversee all aspects of study while students are enrolled in the program. As the program is cohort based with a very structured plan of study, students are not assigned a primary advisor outside of the program director. The graduate coordinator can answer questions about registration and the course planning, and if students have questions about electives they can consult with the program director.

The program is taught in a cohort-based model that offers both fall and spring intake. Students take a combination of core courses (21 credits), electives (3 credits), a data science survey course (3 credits) and then finish with either a data science project or elective (3 credits respectively) for a total of 30 credits.

Students who enroll in the fall have the opportunity to finish the program in one calendar year of study.

Regardless of the term of entry, students follow the same course plan:

• First semester: Data Science Basics – 4 core courses (Math and Stats Basics)
  • EAS 501 Numerical Computing
  • EAS 502 Probability
  • EAS 503 Programming Database Fundamentals
  • EAS 508 Statistical Learning and Data Mining I
• Second semester: Data Analytics– 3 core courses + 1 elective
  • CSE 574 Machine Learning
  • CSE 560 Data Models Query Language
  • EAS 509 Statistical Learning and Data Mining II
  • choice of elective (pending pre-reqs)
• Third semester: Project and Survey – 1 Data Science Survey course + 1 Project/Capstone
  • EAS 504 (Survey)
  • EAS 560 (Data Science Project)

Students cannot stray from this schedule and must take courses in a specific order. Students can review the FAQ section for a breakdown of the schedule and options to complete the program in 1 or 1.5 years.

Students are required to maintain continuous registration until they complete the program. Full-time status is 12 credit hours. If students meet the requirement to be registered for less than 12 credit hours, then a certification of full-time status form must be completed with the graduate coordinator. International students should contact ISS about a reduce course load form as well.

As part of the degree requirements, students must choose between one of two culminating experience options. The master’s project is the recommended path for graduate students, where students will work on a data science project either via supervised research with a UB faculty member or through an internship in industry. An all-course option is also available for students who want to take an additional elective or cannot find a project to work on. In the all-course option, students will complete an oral presentation in their final semester with the program director.

Students have the opportunity to complete an internship as part of their culminating experience. Students will enroll in 3 credits of EAS 560 to complete this requirement. The earliest students can enroll in the master’s project is after successful completion of two semesters of full-time study.

Students must have their project/internship site approved by the program director. An offer letter is needed that includes the job duties, schedule/hours worked per week, and dates of the internship.

International students must apply for CPT and meet the eligibility requirements. Students who enroll in the fall semester can start CPT the following summer. 

Students should refer to the internships page for more details about internship enrollment and contact their career and internship coach with any questions.

Candidates must meet the Graduate School’s degree conferral requirements to be eligible to graduate:

1. Maintain continuous registration each spring and fall semester until all requirements for the degree have been completed
2. Complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate study
3. Fulfill the minimum residency requirement of 24 UB credits of registration
4. Apply to graduate (in HUB) before deadline.
5. Pass a comprehensive exam (oral presentation) or successfully complete a project

• Project must be approved by the program director (who serves as the advisor for all students)

General information regarding graduation from the Graduate School may be found at grad.buffalo.edu/succeed/graduate/requirements. This includes information regarding deadlines, required forms, and a checklist of requirements.