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Insights gathered from data have broad-reaching effects. Visualizations communicate findings to audiences. These insights then form the basis of various actions. New programs and initiatives can be geared towards specific populations. Organizations can make changes to positively shape scientific research. Data drives real change around the world.
The human element intertwines with data science and analytics at multiple points. This starts with platform interfaces to visual presentation to how data is stored and used. The online Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics with an emphases in Human Centered Design from Mizzou prepares you to better understand and communicate data to users. Our curriculum makes you an invaluable asset to a variety of potential employers.
Through this online program, you'll be transformed into a stronger visual communicator. You will apply social awareness to your data analysis. And as a graduate, you'll put your expertise to use in crafting high-quality user experiences as you communicate key findings.
Explore other emphasis areas from Mizzou's master of science in data science and analytics:
Quick facts
Official name
Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics with an emphasis in Human Centered Science DesignCampus
Program type
Master's degreeAcademic home
Graduate School | MU Institute for Data Science and InformaticsDelivery mode
100% onlineAccreditation
Higher Learning CommissionCredit hours
30Estimated cost
$32,514.00*This cost is for illustrative purposes only. Your hours and costs will differ, depending on your transfer hours, your course choices and your academic progress. See more about tuition and financial aid.
About the Human Centered Design program
Human-centered design 's overall goal is to improve user engagement. As an interdisciplinary emphasis, it merges several fields to shape user experiences. You'll study bits of psychology, information systems, technology and visual presentation principles. The discipline influences how we interact with many products. It touches software, hardware, systems, websites and more.
The convergence helps designers create more usable and effective data analytics tools. It helps improve visual communication to technical and nontechnical audiences. The discipline requires data analysts and organizations to consider how findings will impact targeted communities.
The online master’s in data science and analytics’ rigorous, immersive structure:
- Introduces you to big data analytics tools and techniques.
- Teaches you to compile, extract, analyze and visualize information.
- Approaches data as a problem-solving tool for a number of scenarios.
- Touches on relevant mathematical and statistical principles.
- Explores visualization methods, database system design and management.
- Teaches you programming languages, pattern recognition, data mining and information retrieval.
- Covers ethical considerations in data science, including securing and protecting sensitve data sets.
- Reveals the components of the information lifecycle.
- Illuminates the strengths and limitations of various technical and social analytics techniques.
- Explores the economic, ethical, policy and political effects of technical data analytics elements.
- Requires you to think about the relationship between analytics and information lifecycle stages.
Career prospects
Pursue a career using data to shape design with the end-user in mind, give research a more human perspective or drive new programs, products and services that benefit and grab the attention of an organization’s targeted audience.
With data-driven and user experience-focused roles seeing strong demand in a number of industries, a master’s in data science and analytics opens up multiple opportunities. Potential job titles include:
- Human factors engineer
- User-experience designer
- Education strategist
- Human-centered designer
Program structure
Students interested in this path progress through a 30 credit-hour structure consisting of a core (16 credit hours), the human-centered science design emphasis area (nine credit hours), a case study (two credit hours) and a capstone project (three credit hours).
This master’s program is entirely online and geared toward working professionals interested in growing their knowledge of data analytics and human-centered design. You have the option to attend an on-campus Data Science Week in the spring, where you can work closely with world-class faculty members.
Courses throughout the online master’s in data science and analytics program are held in eight-week modules using a semester structure. Attending full time allows most students to finish in about two years.
No matter the emphasis area selected, all students start with a sequence of core courses covering all facets of data science and analytics and providing a hands-on introduction to tools, languages and techniques. You’ll learn about how to access, extract, model, analyze and visualize data and the statistical foundation of the results derived. Continuing in this direction, courses go over data storage and database systems, ethical considerations for certain industries, data collection, security and applied machine learning and modeling.
Faculty members are invested in both your academic and career success and help guide your progress during the program. Helping you push your knowledge further, a team case study project followed by a team capstone project requires you to utilize your full breadth of skills to analyze and gain insights from large data sets.
Human-centered science design courses
Once you transition from the core to the human-centered science design emphasis, you’ll learn about:
- Advanced visualization concepts and techniques for creating interactive interfaces, using infographics and telling a story through art, technology and data
- Usability evaluations in data science, including the design of systems and applications to accomplish specific goals
Delivery
100% onlineCalendar system
Semester-basedTypical program length
2 yearsAccreditation
The University of Missouri is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.