Data Science Degree Programs in New York
With the big data industry in the middle of a booming expansion, many are looking to plot their careers in the field, taking advantage of the growing opportunities available to data scientists. One of the best ways to assure you’ll find work as a data scientist is by choosing to live somewhere with an abundance of opportunities for your skills.
If you’re starting a career as a data scientist and considering relocating, be sure to put New York on your list.
It’s well known that New York is one of the world’s major international financial hubs and also boasts many outposts of the tech industry, meaning opportunities in those sectors are plentiful. Additionally, there are other large-scale industries within the Empire State that significantly contribute to its GDP and where data scientists are needed, including healthcare, manufacturing, and company management.
If you don’t yet have a data science degree, it is worth considering relocating before pursuing your education, as degree programs can often lead to your first work opportunities. This means that receiving your data science degree in New York can help fast-track you to take advantage of the many incredible big data opportunities that the city has to offer.
To learn more about the many options for data science degree programs in New York as well as career overview statistics for the state, read on.
Career Outlook for Data Scientists in New York
There are great reasons for aspiring data scientists to pick New York as the place where they intend to build their careers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New York is the state with the second highest level of employment for data scientists in the country, offering 10,050 jobs.
New York is also one of the top-paying states for data scientists, with mean annual salaries averaging an impressive $122,540. This breaks down to an hourly wage of $58.91.
In fact, the numbers go up when looking at the New York city metropolitan area alone (as opposed to the statewide data reported above). The New York City / Newark metropolitan area has the highest employment rate in the country, surpassing hubs in Northern California, and DC. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual salary of $128,250, breaking down to an hourly mean wage of $61.66.
There are, however, a few inhibiting factors for New York data scientists. First and foremost is the cost of living: it’s 29% higher than the rest of the U.S. Now, there is a problem with using averages. New York City is more expensive than its neighboring suburbs. And Manhattan? Even more expensive, by 138% when compared to the U.S. average. So, the above described 29% can be deceiving. If you’ve set your mind to living in New York City, you should expect the basic living expenses to consume a large chunk of your data science salary — which, by the way, averages approximately $124,000 yearly.
The other factor to consider is the increased competition for data science jobs. Yes, there may be page after page of postings, but in a state that is home to two Ivy League universities along with a wealth of other high profile academic institutions, employers have the advantage when it comes to applicant selection (and would-be data scientists from all over the world are attempting to apply to those jobs as well).
Now that we have the caveats out of the way, if you’re inexorably drawn to the Empire State, whether just to attend school or as a permanent place for your post-school living, then you’ll find a great number of data science education options.
On-Campus Undergraduate Data Science Programs in New York
Columbia University, located in New York City, offers an on-campus Bachelor’s Degree in Data Science via it’s School of Engineering. In the past, this was known as a computer science and statistics degree, but due to the increasing demand for data science education programs, this Ivy League school quickly recognized the need for an undergraduate degree specifically designed for data science.
Columbia’s program covers all core data science competencies including Calculus, Linear Algebra, various statistics courses (e.g., Probability Theory, Linear Regression Models, and Machine Learning), along with a deep dive into computer science.
Along with the Ivy League designation, their thorough data science program will have you ready to enter a data science position upon degree completion.
On-Campus Graduate Data Science Programs in New York
New York University, another well-known and well-regarded academic institution located within New York City, has an on-campus Masters in Data Science available to those students who’ve already established a core competency baseline in math, stats, and computer science.
Once your core courses are done, you have the choice of embarking on one of seven specifically designed concentrations (they call them “tracks”): Data Science, Data Science and Mathematics, Data Science Natural Language Processing, Data Science Physics, Data Science Biology, or Data Science Bioinformatics.
Regardless of which track you choose, the knowledge and skills gained through NYU’s program can quickly place you at the top of the applicant pool for data science jobs throughout the U.S. (and likely the world).
On-Campus Data Science Masters Programs in New York
For those with Bachelor’s Degrees in Business, but who also have programming experience, the on-campus Master’s in Data Science offered by the University of Rochester may be a more feasible option (as compared to NYU’s admission requirements).
The degree can be completed in 12 or 18 months, depending on your course load tolerance and the strength of your math and computer science knowledge.
After you finish the core courses in Computational Introduction to Statistics, Intermediate Statistical and Computational Methods, Data Mining, and Database Systems, you’ll select another 10 credits worth of electives from any three categories: Computational and Statistical Methods, Health and Biomedical Sciences, or Business and Social Science.
Any of the elective choices will fulfill data science core competencies in some way, shape, or form. So, you don’t have to worry about choosing the “right” course; choose the area that you find most relevant to your career goals.
On-Campus Data Science Graduate Certificates in New York
Whether on-campus or online, almost every graduate certificate in data science requires that candidates have a quantitative and programming background prior to entry. The reason should be completely clear by now (especially if you’ve read any of the other data science education blogs on our site), and Columbia’s Certification of Professional Achievement in Data Science is no exception.
The program centers on four main data science courses, which are the primary data science domains: Algorithms for Data Science, Probability and Statistics, Machine Learning for Data Science, and Exploratory Data Analysis and Visualization. If you decide to move forward with Columbia’s Master’s Degree in Data Science, three of the courses can be applied towards that degree program.
The per credit tuition is pretty steep for those with limited funding options: approximately $2,000 per credit (and this is definitely subject to change — in particular you’ll likely see it increase). But, you’ll gain definitive data science competencies that you can, in turn, leverage to either continue your graduate education or increase the probability of attaining a job in data science.
On-Campus Data Science Ph.D. Programs in New York
A Ph.D. is the pinnacle of academics. The expectation is for Ph.D. students to push the discipline forward through rigorous research. Since data science is a newly minted field of expertise, earning a Ph.D. in Data Science (along with your line of research) will quickly place you into a leadership position within the data science industry.
NYU’s 72 credit Ph.D. in Data Science is an in-depth data science program.
Your starter courses will consist of Introduction to Data Science, Probability and Statistics for Data Science, Machine Learning, Big Data, and Inference and Representation. From there, you’ll choose electives such as Deep Learning, Mathematics of Data Science, or Natural Language Understanding with Distributed Representations to fulfill the course requirements.
To finalize your monumental achievement, you’ll need to complete a Comprehensive Exam, a Depth Qualifying Exam, and a dissertation.
NYU allows up to 10 years for degree completion, but typically Ph.D. students (in most disciplines) take between four and seven years to complete (if you make a full-time commitment to the program).
Online Data Science Degree Programs in New York
You can easily find online data science degree programs throughout the U.S. So, other than preference, you don’t need to limit yourself to New York schools for online data science education. As of now, online undergraduate degree programs in New York aren’t available.
Alternatively, the State University of New York at Albany has included a Bachelor’s Degree in Informatics in its online offerings. While the 120 credit degree program doesn’t precisely fulfill all of the data science core competencies, with a data analytics concentration you will learn data science essentials such as Introduction to Data Analytics and machine learning.
At this stage in data science’s evolution, employers are seeking STEM degrees as a minimum qualification.
So, even if the degree doesn’t have “data science” in the title, as long as you can clearly demonstrate your data science competency, you do not need to have a data science degree.
Online Data Science Masters Programs in New York
Online Master’s Degrees in Data Science are everywhere (in the U.S.). The university you select comes down to personal threshold factors, e.g., cost, length of the program, admission criteria, etc.
The Ivy League schools tend to charge a per unit premium (although they do have ample scholarships for select groups of students). But, you’ll also have a degree from a recognizable university “brand.”
But, lesser known colleges, like Utica College, are viable and more affordable options that will provide a comprehensive data science curriculum for an online Master’s Degree in Data Science. Common among data science programs are concentrations or tracks, and Utica College offers five different areas of focus: Social Science Analytics, Business Analytics, Cybersecurity, Financial Crime, and General (you build your own concentration).
Your core courses will meet all data science cornerstones: Introduction to Data Science, Statistical Methods, Data Mining, Machine Learning, and Data Visualization. As a result, you’ll be well prepared to enter a data science position upon degree completion.
Online Data Science Graduate Certificates in New York
At first, the Ivy League schools were slightly behind the curve when online education (also known as distance learning) began to gain momentum in the early 2,000’s. Now, you can find degree programs and graduate certifications offered through the likes of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell.
As a matter of fact, Cornell has an online Data Analytics Graduate Certificate that can be completed through its eCornell platform. For $3,600, you’ll learn fundamental aspects of Using Predictive Data Analysis, Implementing Scientific Decision Making, and Understanding and Visualizing data. It’s a short, three-month program that will establish a few of the data science core competencies.
Online Data Science Ph.D. Programs in New York
Even though we live in an area where just about anything can be done through online transactions, Ph.D. programs in any STEM field aren’t as readily available as masters programs.
Ph.D.s are a different breed when compared to masters degrees (at least, this is true in terms of how U.S. institutions construct their Ph.D. programs). At this time, there are no online Ph.D. in Data Science options within the Empire State. We will definitely update this page as more institutions add Ph.D.s to their online programs list.
2021 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for data scientists reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed January 2023.
