Master of Data Science overview
Master of Data Science courses are for computer science, engineering, IT or information systems graduates who desire comprehensive knowledge of data science for a business context. Students of courses like those offered by the RMIT or Monash University even provide opportunities for students outside these fields to gain foundational programming and statistical knowledge throughout the two year duration. With existing proficiency in these comes the opportunity to accelerate the course duration, learning about big data, data pre-processing and advanced data analytics sooner.
Employment options
The extensive uses of this field give ample opportunity to master level graduates. Business intelligence analysts can find work at Tableau handling the data of massive companies. Data mining engineers can work for Blia Solutions and Semcasting, extracting useful data from incomprehensible amounts of information through the use of machine learning and state-of-the-art computer science.
You can read about some of the many employment opportunities for data science graduates here.
Scholarships and funding
Master of Data Science students have access to several dedicated scholarships.
- The Postgraduate Coursework Diversity Scholarship from the University of Sydney provides partial funding to applicants originating in Latin America, the Middle East or Asia Pacific.
- The Master of Data Science Entry Scholarship award high-achieving students admitted to the appropriate faculties at the University of Sydney.
- The Spring Data Science Fellowship Opportunity from Cornell University aids master students in pursuing a data science career.
There are general scholarships available should students not meet the requirements of these, such as the Endeavour Scholarships and Fellows initiative or Gallipoli Scholarship Fund. These and scholarships like them tend to have unique prerequisites, however; students are advised to read them carefully before applying.
Prerequisites and selection process
Master level data science courses tend to require a background in programming, be it through an engineering degree or computer science. It’s possible to enter some of them at the completion of unrelated degree programs, however. Students taking this route are advised to prepare by familiarising themselves with basic business statistics and the fundamentals of Python, as the course could prove overwhelming for a complete novice to both.