BS in Computational and Data Sciences

Preparing Students to Power the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Data ScienceThe analysis of large amounts of data lies as the center of the fourth industrial revolution, which exploits new, digitized connections between people and things. The ubiquitous flow of information over the web, the development of e-commerce and the shift to the web of many of other kinds of transactions, the development of the internet of things and sensing technologies, and the digitization of large amounts of information­—from historical records, to the buying of stocks, to the physical features of faces, to the function of hearts—produce huge amounts of data.  In 2017, the World Economic Forum reported that 90% the world’s data had been produced in the previous two years. With this explosion of data has come an increasingly sophisticated set of data analytical tools—machine learning, AI, computer simulation, data visualization—to make sense of and gain new kinds of value from this data.

Students trained in the Computation and Data Sciences (CDS) major at Mason Korea will be prepared to work in our data-rich world. Students in the CDS program have undertaken analyses of light rail and bus traffic, school systems efficacy, urban issues, global corporate interaction with customers and resources, recommender systems, interaction with complex networks, the effect of social interactions on public policy, remote sensing data, complex simulation, and medical images. Whatever they focus on, graduates of the program will possess the computational, scientific, and mathematical skills necessary for participating effectively as members of the scientific simulation and data analysis groups that are of increasing importance in the government public sectors and in high-technology firms.

George Mason's Department of Computational and Data Sciences

George Mason University’s Computational and Data Sciences department is a leader in this cutting-edge, transdisciplinary field, both in the United States and globally. In the US it is one of a handful of departments that offer degrees, from bachelors to doctorates, in the field. Established in 2015, the Bachelor of Science (BS) continues to experience exponential growth, becoming the fifth largest department in the College of Science (COS), and accounting for half of the College’s growth in recent years.

The educational and research foci of CDS reflect the interests of neighboring federal laboratories, scientific institutions, and high-technology firms in Northern Virginia’s technology corridor and in the Washington, D.C. area. This location provides an excellent environment to promote innovative, policy-relevant research and to provide unique opportunities for student internships and employment. CDS and COS contribute to the research-intensive environment at George Mason University, which the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education designates in its top, R1 category for high levels of research productivity and impact, a designation reserved for only 120 universities in the United States. 

Opportunities

All students have opportunities to

  • conduct independent research
  • engage in globally-related activities through coursework and language study at Mason and abroad
  • participate in many forms of public service
  • prepare for their future careers through internships, career-focused minors and other college-to-career activities