Graduate Certificate or Diploma of Data Science overview
Graduate certificates in data science are for people wanting to gain an entry-level knowledge of the field. They tend to be broad courses, encompassing data management, data mining and essential methodology. Charles Darwin University offers these to students from a quantitative line of study wishing to specialise in data science. These take six months to complete if studied full time, or a full year if part-time.
Graduate diplomas provide programmers with the means to be effective data scientists. They offer units in Python, data analysis, data modelling and more. Institutions like Monash University grant the opportunity to choose electives best suited to students’ interests and career ambitions. These can take nearly a year and a half to complete if studied full time, making them longer than many other graduate diplomas.
Employment options
Companies like Semcasting and Teradata are always searching for data scientists to meet their clients’ needs. Where some companies require cloud architects, others like Teradata take on data architects and data mining engineers to meet their needs. The specialised nature of the field combined with a low supply of data scientists make it an excellent career prospect for programmers, engineers and system administrators alike. The full range of specialisations mentioned here is made more accessible to graduates.
Scholarships and funding
There are several dedicated funding opportunities for data science students, but they tend to be at the master level. Students undergoing graduate certificates and diplomas instead have access to a plethora of general opportunities. The EU 2020 Horizon Scholarship for Curtin University students provides the opportunity to study overseas; the Endeavour Scholarships and Fellows also does this, but without the specificity of an institution.
Prerequisites and selection process
Certificate level courses require students to have a background in computer science, engineering, information systems or information technology for entry. Prospective students from other backgrounds must have taken a number of units in quantitative disciplines to satisfy most selection committees.
Diplomas demand prospective students have some level of programming ability, as units in Python or SQL tend to be mandatory across many courses.