Data Science Program

FAQs: Minor in Data Science

 

Attention:  The DS minor program has reached its enrollment capacity for the 2022-2023 academic year. We are NOT able to take additional students at this moment. The program will re-open in Fall 2023. 


  • Whom should I contact for advising questions?

Computer Science Department, College of Science advising center, or DS minor program coordinator (see Data Science Hub webpage)

  • How can I declare the DS minor?

Contract form is available on DS minor website. Fill up the contract and submit to DS minor program coordinator via ds@cpp.edu.  We encourage students to plan out early so we could better plan for the demand to our courses. Also, students may take courses listed in the minor program prior to declaring the minor.  In particular, due to limited seats available in CS courses, right now we can only take up to 20 active non-CS students and 50 CS students in the minor program. Thus, applications from non-CS students will be taken in first come first served order. Once your contract is approved, your email will be added to our information list, and you will begin receiving advising information and other announcements; 

  • Is there a deadline to declare the minor?

Contract must be approved and processed by Registrar's office no later than the deadline to clear graduation deficiencies for the semester you have applied to graduate. Since it may take several weeks to months for Registrar's office to process minor application, we encourage students to declare the minor as early as possible. Also, you must submit your DS minor contract prior to starting capstone project.

  • Do I need to take any additional (hidden) prerequisite courses in order to complete the minor program?

First, please check out the program information at Minor in Data Science program website.
You must complete the three foundation courses. Generally speaking, CPP students are able to take these three foundation courses without the need to take any additional prerequisites. However, some students may need additional mathematical maturity in order to meet the prerequisites of these three foundation courses. Do a self-check first, contact DS minor coordinator if any concern.
For all upper-division CS courses listed in DS program (other than CS4200) CS2410 qualifies as the prerequisite. In case CPP catalog does not show the most updated prerequisite information, please contact program coordinator for permission numbers.
For electives, no additional prerequisites needed if you take CS electives listed in DS minor program. However, if you’d take electives from other departments, you may need to meet additional prerequisite requirements. Currently we only recommend students to take their own major’s courses (if listed in the DS minor program) as their minor elective (for example, students of statistics major may take STA 4320 as DS minor elective. Students of other major if wish to take STA 4320 as minor elective, may have to take additional prerequisite courses.)

  • I already completed one or more of the courses for the minor on a Pass/Not Pass basis. Can I count this towards the Data Science minor?

No, you must receive have a grade of C- or better in each course to meet the minor requirement.

  • Can I transfer course credits taken from another university (including community college) or another department at CPP to meet the minor requirements?

 For foundation courses, yes if the course is at least 3 semester units. Need to get approval from minor program coordinator (see minor program contract) and subject to CPP course substitute academic petition (note: for MAT or STA courses, the petition form must be approved by MATH department). College of Science advising center (https://www.cpp.edu/sci/advising-center/index.shtml) may help you initiate the petition process. 

For core courses (CS2410, CS4650 and CS4210), the answer is NO in general.

For elective courses, possible. Must be approved by minor coordinator when declaring the minor program (see program contract) and subject to CPP course substitute academic petition.

For Capstone project, the answer is NO unless directed by minor coordinator. 

  • Can I use a certificate in Python to meet the foundation Python course requirement?

No. You must take a course in Python programming. If you take a Python course other than CS1260 or CS2520 (e.g. a Python course in community college) please check with minor coordinator. An academic petition may be required for the approval of course substitution.

  • Can I double count a course towards both my major and the data science minor?

Yes.

  • What kind of priority (if any) will Data Science minors receive for enrollment in classes for the minor?

Right now only CS2410 is minor specific, i.e. given priority to DS minor students, and CS4610 (Capstone project) will have a special section for minor students. For other CS courses, depending on the demand, we may coordinate registrations as needed.

  • What happens if I declare the minor but don’t finish the requirements by the end of my final semester?

You will not be awarded the DS minor and you must drop the minor (see next question) to clear your graduation requirement.

  • How can I drop the Data Science minor?

Notify DS minor co-director and fill up a CPP Request to drop minor form.

  • Who should I ask if I have more questions about the minor?

Data science program directors serve as minor program coordinators, see contact information on Data Science Hub webpage. 

  • Is there a minimum requirement or a minimum GPA in order to declare as a data science minor?

You must be in CPP academic good standing status.

  • Will all the courses be offered every semester?

Right now required CS courses will be offered at least once in an academic year. We may increase the frequency of offering depending on the demand as well as budget situation.

  • Can the data science courses listed in the curriculum be taken by students not in the DS minor program?

Yes.   

  • How can I start capstone project? How do I find a project advisor?

You may find a project advisor by yourself (see next question). If you need assistance in finding capstone project advisor and/or topic, please register the CS4610 section dedicated to DS minor students. Each Fall or Spring semester we will offer a special section of CS 4610 dedicated to DS minor students. Contact minor coordinator for which section to register, then request a permission number from the instructor. When requesting a permission number to register, please specify that you are a DS minor student and need the CS4610 course to start your capstone project. In CS4610 the instructor will guide you on data science research and projects, as well as match you with a project advisor.

  • Can I find my capstone project advisor by myself?

Yes, you can. You can find any CS professor or professor of your own discipline to supervise your capstone project. Make sure  your advisor aware of the 2-semester commitment and the project requirements (see next question). In this case, please notify the minor coordinator your advisor's information and project information (if available), then directly register into CS4610 or the 4610 course of your own discipline offered by your advisor.

  • What are the specific requirements of CS4610/CS4620, or the capstone project?

Every DS minor student is required to complete a 2-semester long capstone project before graduation. In general the topics of capstone projects can be in different applications/disciplines, and for qualified projects there should be reasonable amount of work in data collection, preprocessing, analysis or decision making based on data (applying machine learning or AI algorithm in general).

By the end of CS4610, you will need to submit a project proposal (about 1 page). When you finish the project, i.e. at the end of CS4620, you will need to submit a project report and/or make an oral presentation. Suggested documentation deliverables are: 1) a written report and/or the presentation slides and 2) an url link to the source code and demo (optional if applicable).