ENVISIONING THE DATA SCIENCE DISCIPLINE:
THE UNDERGRADUATE PERSPECTIVE
Interim Report
Committee on Envisioning the Data Science Discipline: The Undergraduate Perspective
Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics
Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
Board on Science Education
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
A Consensus Study Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This activity was supported by Contract No. 1626983 from the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/24886
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Envisioning The Data Science Discipline: The Undergraduate Perspective: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24886.
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COMMITTEE ON ENVISIONING THE DATA SCIENCE DISCIPLINE: THE UNDERGRADUATE PERSPECTIVE
LAURA HAAS, NAE,1 University of Massachusetts Amherst, Co-Chair
ALFRED O. HERO III, University of Michigan, Co-Chair
ANI ADHIKARI, University of California, Berkeley
DAVID CULLER, NAE, University of California, Berkeley
DAVID DONOHO, NAS,2 Stanford University
E. THOMAS EWING, Virginia Tech
LOUIS J. GROSS, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
NICHOLAS HORTON, Amherst College
JULIA LANE, New York University
ANDREW MCCALLUM, University of Massachusetts Amherst
RICHARD MCCULLOUGH, Harvard University
REBECCA NUGENT, Carnegie Mellon University
LEE RAINIE, Pew Research Center
ROB RUTENBAR, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
KRISTIN TOLLE, Microsoft Research
TALITHIA WILLIAMS, Harvey Mudd College
ANDREW ZIEFFLER, University of Minnesota
Staff
JON EISENBERG, Board Director, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB), Study Co-Director
MICHELLE K. SCHWALBE, Board Director, Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics (BMSA), Study Co-Director
LINDA CASOLA, Associate Program Officer and Editor, BMSA
JANEL DEAR, Senior Program Assistant, CSTB (until May 2017)
RENEE HAWKINS, Financial Manager, CSTB
AMY STEPHENS, Program Officer, Board on Science Education
BEN WENDER, Program Officer, BMSA
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
2 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD
FARNAM JAHANIAN, Carnegie Mellon University, Chair
LUIZ ANDRE BARROSO, Google, Inc.
STEVEN M. BELLOVIN, NAE,1 Columbia University
ROBERT F. BRAMMER, Brammer Technology, LLC
DAVID CULLER, NAE, University of California, Berkeley
EDWARD FRANK, Cloud Parity, Inc.
LAURA HAAS, University of Massachusetts Amherst
MARK HOROWITZ, NAE, Stanford University
ERIC HORVITZ, NAE, Microsoft Corporation
VIJAY KUMAR, NAE, University of Pennsylvania
BETH MYNATT, Georgia Institute of Technology
CRAIG PARTRIDGE, Raytheon BBN Technologies
DANIELA RUS, NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
FRED B. SCHNEIDER, NAE, Cornell University
JOHN STANKOVIC, University of Virginia
MOSHE VARDI, NAS2/NAE, Rice University
KATHERINE YELICK, NAE, University of California, Berkeley
Staff
JON EISENBERG, Board Director
SHENAE BRADLEY, Administrative Assistant
JANEL DEAR, Senior Program Assistant (through May 2017)
EMILY GRUMBLING, Program Officer
RENEE HAWKINS, Financial and Administrative Manager
LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Associate Director
KATIRIA ORTIZ, Research Associate
VIRGINIA BACON TALATI, Program Officer
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
2 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
BOARD ON MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES AND ANALYTICS
STEPHEN M. ROBINSON, NAE,1 University of Wisconsin, Madison, Chair
JOHN R. BIRGE, NAE, University of Chicago
W. PETER CHERRY, Independent Consultant
DAVID CHU, Institute for Defense Analyses
RONALD R. COIFMAN, NAS,2 Yale University
JAMES CURRY, University of Colorado, Boulder
CHRISTINE FOX, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
MARK L. GREEN, University of California, Los Angeles
PATRICIA A. JACOBS, Naval Postgraduate School
JOSEPH A. LANGSAM, Morgan Stanley (retired)
SIMON A. LEVIN, NAS, Princeton University
ANDREW W. LO, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DAVID MAIER, Portland State University
LOIS CURFMAN MCINNES, Argonne National Laboratory
JUAN C. MEZA, University of California, Merced
FRED S. ROBERTS, Rutgers University
ELIZABETH A. THOMPSON, NAS, University of Washington
CLAIRE TOMLIN, University of California, Berkeley
LANCE WALLER, Emory University
KAREN WILLCOX, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DAVID YAO, NAE, Columbia University
Staff
MICHELLE K. SCHWALBE, Board Director
LINDA CASOLA, Associate Program Officer and Editor
BETH DOLAN, Financial Manager
RODNEY N. HOWARD, Administrative Assistant
BEN WENDER, Program Officer
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
2 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
COMMITTEE ON APPLIED AND THEORETICAL STATISTICS
ALFRED O. HERO III, University of Michigan, Chair
ALICIA CARRIQUIRY, Iowa State University
MICHAEL J. DANIELS, University of Texas, Austin
KATHERINE BENNETT ENSOR, Rice University
AMY HERRING, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
NICHOLAS HORTON, Amherst College
DAVID MADIGAN, Columbia University
JOSÉ M.F. MOURA, NAE,1 Carnegie Mellon University
NANCY REID, University of Toronto
CYNTHIA RUDIN, Duke University
AARTI SINGH, Carnegie Mellon University
Staff
BEN WENDER, Director
LINDA CASOLA, Associate Program Officer and Editor
BETH DOLAN, Financial Manager
RODNEY N. HOWARD, Administrative Assistant
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
BOARD ON SCIENCE EDUCATION
ADAM GAMORAN, William T. Grant Foundation, Chair
SUNITA V. COOKE, MiraCosta College
MELANIE COOPER, Michigan State University
RODOLFO DIRZO, NAS, Stanford University
RUSH D. HOLT, American Association for the Advancement of Science
MATTHEW KREHBIEL, Achieve, Inc.
MICHAEL LACH, University of Chicago
LYNN LIBEN, The Pennsylvania State University
CATHRYN (CATHY) MANDUCA, Carleton College
JOHN MATHER, NAS,1 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
TONYA M. MATTHEWS, Michigan Science Center
BRIAN REISER¸ Northwestern University
MARSHALL “MIKE” SMITH, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
ROBERTA TANNER, Thompson School District (retired)
SUZANNE WILSON, Michigan State University
Staff
HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER, Board Director
KERRY BRENNER, Senior Program Officer
KENNE DIBNER, Program Officer
COREETHA ENTZMINGER, Program Assistant
LETICIA GARCILAZO GREEN, Senior Program Assistant
MARGARET HILTON, Senior Program Officer
MARGARET KELLY, Senior Program Assistant
MATTHEW LAMMERS, Program Coordinator
AMY STEPHENS, Program Officer
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
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Acknowledgments
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Richard De Veaux, Williams College,
W. Eric L. Grimson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
C.K. Gunsalus, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,
Iain M. Johnstone, NAS,1 Stanford University,
Brian Kotz, Montgomery College,
Peter Norvig, Google, Inc., and
Renata Rawlings-Goss, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Raghu Ramakrishnan, Microsoft Corporation. He responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
The committee would like to thank Andy Burnett, Knowinnovation, for facilitating the committee’s May workshop as well as the following staff members from the National Science Foundation for their input, assistance, and support of this study: Stephanie August, Chaitan Baru, Eva Campo, Erwin Gianchandani, Nandini Kannan, Sara Kiesler, Gabriel Perez-Giz, Earnestine Psalmonds-Easter, and Elena Zheleva.
The committee would also like to thank the following individuals for providing input to this study:
John Abowd, U.S. Census Bureau,
Deb Agarwal, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Jon Ahlquist, Florida State University,
Barbara Alvin, Eastern Washington University,
Barbara Anthony, Southwestern University,
David Austin, North Carolina State University,
Maria Aysa-Lastra, Winthrop University,
Tom Barr, American Mathematical Society,
Laura Bartley, University of Oklahoma,
Nina Bijedic, University “Džemal Bijedić”of Mostar,
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
Sally Blake, Flagler College,
Roselie Bright, U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
Quincy Brown, American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Andy Burnett, Knowinnovation,
Dave Campbell, Simon Fraser University,
Robert Campbell, Brown University,
Robert Carver, Stonehill College,
Amy Chang, American Society for Microbiology,
Lei Cheng, Olivet Nazarene University,
Hongmei Chi, Florida A&M University,
Alok Choudhary, Northwestern University,
William Coberly, University of Tulsa,
Peyton Cook, University of Tulsa,
Bill Corey, University of Virginia,
Catherine Cramer, New York Hall of Science,
James Curry, University of Colorado, Boulder,
Nicole Dalzell, Duke University,
Juliana DeCastro, Núcleo de Planejamento Estratégico de Transporte e Turismo,
Sam Donovan, University of Pittsburgh,
Renee Dopplick, Association for Computing Machinery,
Maureen Doyle, Northern Kentucky University,
Ruth Duerr, Ronin Institute,
Arturo Duran, IVA Ventures,
Stephen Edwards, ACM Administrative Centre,
Sandra Ellis, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi,
Paula Faulkner, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University,
Raya Feldman, University of California, Santa Barbara,
Dilberto Ferraren, Visayas State University,
William Finzer, Concord Consortium,
Julia Fisher, Coker College,
Roger French, Case Western Reserve University,
Kimberly Gardner, Kennesaw State University,
Sommer Gentry, U. S. Naval Academy,
Tara Ghazi, University of California, Berkeley,
Richard Gill, Brigham Young University,
Shana Gillette, U.S. Agency for International Development,
Juan Godoy, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas,
Greg Goins, North Carolina A&T State University,
Robert Gould, University of California, Los Angeles,
C. K. Gunsalus, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,
Mirsad Hadzikadic, University of North Carolina, Charlotte,
Jim Hammerman, TERC,
Michael Harris, Bunker Hill Community College,
John Hathaway, Brigham Young University-Idaho,
Kristin Hunter-Thomson, Rutgers University,
Ambra Hyskaj, National Association of Public Health Albania,
Charles Isbell, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Mark Jack, Florida A&M University,
Bob Jecklin, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse,
Xia Jing, Ohio University,
Jeremiah Johnson, University of New Hampshire,
John Johnstone, University of Alabama, Birmingham,
Ryan Jones, Middle Tennessee State University,
Sungkyu Jung, University of Pittsburgh,
Michael Kangas, Doane University,
Roxanne Kapikian, GlaxoSmithKline,
Danny Kaplan, Macalester College,
Casey Kennington, Boise State University,
Deepak Khatry, MedImmune,
Brian Kotz, Montgomery College,
Vldimir Krylov, Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University,
Kristin Kuter, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana,
Jay Labov, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,
Paula Lackie, Carleton College,
Sharon Lane-Getaz, St. Olaf College,
Duncan Temple Lang, University of California, Davis,
Jeff Leek, Johns Hopkins University,
Matthew Liberatore, University of Toledo,
Haralambos Marmanis, Marmanis Group,
Pat Marsteller, Emory University,
Abhinav Maurya, Carnegie Mellon University,
Victoria McGovern, Burroughs Wellcome Fund,
Daniel Angel Ferreira Mena, DAF-Engineering,
Chris Mentzel, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation,
Antoni Miklewski, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Ashlea Milburn, University of Arkansas,
Alex Montilla, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Sheri Morgan, Mental Health Association of Franklin and Fulton Counties,
Richard Morris, MGI-RamCo,
Mary Kehoe Moynihan, Cape Cod Community College,
Bhramar Mukherjee, University of Michigan,
Sherman Mumford, University of North Carolina, Charlotte,
Ivo Neitzel, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia de Birigui,
Richard Nelesen, University of California, San Diego,
Joseph Nelson, George Washington University,
Claudia Neuhauser, University of Minnesota,
Deborah Nolan, University of California, Berkeley,
Kofi Nyamekye, Integrated Activity-Based Simulation Research, Inc.,
Monika Oli, University of Florida,
Fred Oswald, Rice University,
Dennis Pearl, Pennsylvania State University,
Joan Peckham, University of Rhode Island,
Vikas Pejaver, University of Washington,
Gabriel Perez-Giz, National Science Foundation,
Patrick Perry, New York University,
Steve Pierson, American Statistical Association,
Hridesh Rajan, Iowa State University,
Louise Raphael, Howard University,
Renata Rawlings-Goss, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Peggy Rejto, Normandale Community College,
Loren Rhodes, Juniata College,
Patrick Riley, Google, Inc.,
Martina Rosenberg, University of New Mexico,
Kim Roth, Juniata College,
Bill Roweton, Chadron State College,
Andee Rubin, TERC,
Maya Sapiurka, Society for Neuroscience,
Karl Schmitt, Valparaiso University,
Kala Seal, Loyola Marymount University,
Arun Sharma, Wagner College,
Lauren Showalter, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine,
Christine Smith, University of New Mexico,
S. Srinivasan, Texas Southern University,
Anil Srivastava, Open Health Systems Laboratory,
Natalya St. Clair, Concord Consortium,
Victoria Stodden, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,
Martin Storksdieck, Oregon State University,
George Strawn, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine,
Ralph Stuart, Keene State College,
Kalum Udagepola, Scientific Research Development Institute of Technology Australia,
Mel van Drunen, HAS University of Applied Sciences,
William Yslas Velez, University of Arizona,
Ron Wasserstein, American Statistical Association,
Cheryl Welsch, State University of New York, Sullivan,
Mary Whelan, Arizona State University,
Nekesha Williams, Louisiana State University,
Emerald Wilson, Prince George’s Community College,
Brian Wingenroth, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, University of Maryland,
William Winter, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry,
Mary Wright, Brown University, and
Paul Zachos, Association for the Cooperative Advancement of Science and Education.
Contents
Envisioning Data Science from an Undergraduate Perspective
2 ACQUIRING DATA SCIENCE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
3 DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE FUTURE
Innovative Curriculum Development
4 BROAD PARTICIPATION IN DATA SCIENCE
Recruitment and Retention Strategies
Summary of Preliminary Committee Findings and Open Questions
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