MSDS Cheat Sheet for Fall 2022

Alva Couch, Co-Director, Data Science Programs

This document discusses courses relevant to the MSDS program in Fall 2022.

Important note on section numbers: Starting in Fall 2022, there will be several sections of
the same CS course in many cases.
● Section numbers containing G: for Graduate students.
● Section numbers containing U: for Undergraduate students.
● Section numbers containing S: for Postbac and other Special students.
● Section numbers containing M: online sections -- require special permission.
You will only be allowed to sign up for the section corresponding to your status. The multiple
sections correspond to one course. There are no sections in the course itself. This is to ensure
that new students matriculating in the fall get enough seats in the fall courses. For an example,
see the CS 135 listing in SIS.

Quick rule of thumb for special topics courses: in our department, courses can be offered
three times on an informal basis before being added to the catalog. These courses usually
highlight faculty research. The numbering scheme is as follows:
● CS 150 special topics courses are not eligible to count toward data science programs.
● CS 151 special topics courses count toward Category 1: data infrastructure.
● CS 152 special topics courses count toward Category 2: data analysis and interfaces.
● DS 153 special topics courses count toward Category 3: computational and theoretical
aspects.
● DS 154 special topics courses count toward Category 4: practice of data science (MS
only).
● CS 155/156 special topics courses are not eligible to count toward data science
programs.

With these issues in mind, here are the courses in the MS in Data Science degree (and
Certificate in Data Science) that are offered in Fall 2022.

CS 112-01 -- Networks -- F. Dogar

Category 1/A elective. Programming intensive. Assumes knowledge of C/C++. Taught by researcher in
network performance. Fall only.

CS 115-01 -- Database Systems -- D. Lillethun

Category 1/A elective. Not programming intensive.

CS 116-01 -- Computer System Security -- M. Chow

Category 1/A elective. Programming intensive. Assumes knowledge of C/C++.
CS 117-01 -- Internet-Scale Distributed Systems -- N. Mendelsohn
Category 1/A elective. Writing-intensive. High demand. Assumes knowledge of C/C++. Fall only.

CS 118-01 -- Cloud Computing -- R. Sambasivan

Category 1/A elective. Programming intensive. Taught by researcher in cloud debugging. Fall only.

CS 119-01 -- Big Data -- J. Singh

Core requirement. Fall/Spring.

CS 131-01 -- Artificial Intelligence -- F. Santini

Category 3/C elective.

CS 135-01 -- Introduction to Machine Learning -- B. Huang

Core requirement. All semesters including summer.

CS 137-01 -- Deep Neural Networks -- L. Liu

Category 2/B elective. Taught by researcher in deep neural networks. Fall only.

CS 138-01 -- Reinforcement Learning -- J. Sinapov

Category 2/B elective. Programming intensive. Fall only.

CS 142-01 -- Network Science -- L. Cowen

Category 2/B elective. Taught by researcher in graph theory applied to data science. Fall only.

CS 152-G1 -- Bayesian Deep Learning -- M. Hughes

Category 2/B elective. Taught by a researcher in applied Bayesian methods. Fall only.

CS 152-G2-- Statistical Bioinformatics -- D. Slonim

Category 2/B elective. Also satisfies Category 4/D elective requirement. Taught by researcher in
bio-informatics. Fall only.

CS 160-01G -- Algorithms -- K. Edwards, M. Allen

Category 3/C elective. All semesters including summer.

CS 175 -- Computer Graphics -- R. Chang

Category 2/B elective. Programming intensive. Taught by researcher in visual analytics/visualization.
Fall only.
CEE 132 / DS 143 -- Data Science for Sustainability -- D Sunter
Category 2/B or category 4/D elective, but not both. Satisfies project requirement. Fall/Spring.

DS 204-01 -- Programming for Data Science -- A. Couch

Optional course in python programming. Fall only.
EE-0104 -- Probabilistic Sys Analysis -- B.Aull
Core requirement. (or Math 165). Fall only.

MATH-0123 -- Mathematical Aspects of Data Analysis

Core selective elective, along with CS 0136, MATH 0125, and MATH 0126, or Category 3/C elective.
MATH 0125 -- Numerical Analysis -- A. Tasissa.
Core selective elective, along with CS 0136, MATH 0123, and MATH 0126, or Category 3/C elective.

MATH 0126 -- Numerical Linear Algebra

Core selective elective,along with CS 0136, MATH 0123, and MATH 0125, or Category 3/C elective.

MATH 0165 -- Probability

Core option (substitute for EE104). Fall only.

Best starting options are COMP135 and EE104.

Reminders of MSDS requirements and recommendations:

For a first-term student, recommendations include:

1. CS 135 Intro to Machine Learning
2. EE 104 Probabilistic Systems or Math 165 Probability
3. CS 119 Big Data

Requirements of the program (For students arriving in Fall 2022 or later) include:
1. Either EE 104 Probabilistic Systems Analysis or Math 165 Probability, but not both.
2. Math 166 Statistics (Not required for students arriving in Fall 2019).
3. CS 135 Introduction to Machine Learning.
4. CS 119 Big Data.
5. One course in Data Infrastructure and Systems (Category 1/A).
6. One course in Data Analysis and Interfaces (Category 2/B).
7. One course in Computational and Theoretical Aspects (Category 3/C).
8. One (capstone) course in the Practice of Data Science (Category 4/D; DS 154, DS
143, 293, …)
9. Remainder of courses from categories 1-4 for a total of 30 credit hours.

New for Fall 2022: CS 152: Statistical Bioinformatics satisfies Category 4/D: Practice of Data
Science (as well as Category 2/B).

A note on getting involved in research projects: I’ve notated above which courses are taught
by active researchers in specific disciplines. These are the professors who could mentor
research projects in these disciplines. It’s considered polite to take their courses to come up
to speed on the disciplines they study! The courses numbered 151-153 often specifically
highlight faculty research; that is more or less the purpose of 151-153 courses!

Students involved in research with faculty can -- with faculty approval -- sign up for DS 293
MS Project and receive credit applicable to Category 4/D.