Virginia has a significant need for qualified data scientists. According to The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the state has a high concentration of employers seeking qualified data scientists. In 2020, the recruitment platform Zippia ranked Virginia as a top location for companies actively looking for data scientists.

Etched into the landscape of Richmond, the commonwealth's capitol, The VCU College of Engineering gives students access to a culturally vibrant and diverse city full of potential. We focus on developing close partnerships with public institutions and private businesses in order to give you unique learning and job opportunities.

Our proximity to Virginia policymakers and the importance of supplying industry with capable data scientists will position you to make the most of VCU’s partnerships.

Master’s program students also have access to benefits like:

• Applying classroom knowledge to real-world problems through a two-semester practicum experience serving a client. Working professionals can choose to design their project around existing duties with their employer.
• Cooperation on A.I. data science projects through access to VCU programs employing the technology.
• In-depth learning of statistical analysis theory and application through joint operation with the Department of Statistical Science and Operations Research in the College of Humanities and Sciences.
• Dedicated Career Services department that provides internship and employment opportunities.
• Industry connections through college partnerships with public and private industry.
• Interdisciplinary education to teach collaboration with engineering practitioners outside your field of study.

Study of foundational data science topics and their application is the focus of the master’s program curriculum. Reference the VCU Bulletin for a full list of data science classes. Master’s program courses are 500 level and above (for example, CMSC 502). Below are a few signature courses from the program:

• Advanced Natural Language Processing (CMSC 516): Learn about recent advances in natural language processing and apply this knowledge to the processing of unstructured text using natural language processing algorithms. You will study word-level, syntactic and semantic processing in addition to topicslike rule-based and statistical methods for creating computer programs that analyze, generate and understand human language; regular expressions and automata; context-free grammars; probabilistic classifiers; and machine learning. Apply your knowledge to real-world problems like spell-checking, Web search, automatic question answering, authorship identification and developing conversational interfaces.
• Introduction to Machine Learning (CMSC 606): You will gain a foundational understanding of machine learning and recent advances in modern machine learning approaches, like deep learning. Topics covered include: automated differentiation for machine learning, linear models based on maximum likelihood, feedforward deep models and techniques for improving effectiveness and efficiency of training models. The course also covers specialized deep architectures like convolutional networks, generative models and large language models.
• Statistical Data Analysis (STAT 534): You will become familiar with processing different data types from multiple sources; presentation of complex data; programming, statistical and machine learning algorithms (like maximum likelihood and least squares); design, implementation and analysis of simulation studies; and other topics that reflect the current needs of data scientists.

Data science can be applied to many fields, infusing your career with near limitless opportunity. The VCU College of Engineering master’s in  data science can facilitate career advancement in fields like:

• Computer science
• Finance
• Healthcare
• Marketing
• Manufacturing
• Mathematics
• Pharmaceuticals
• Statistics

With a master’s in data science from the VCU College of Engineering, you will be ready for roles like:

• Business Intelligence Analyst: Help stakeholders create actionable strategies from collected data to increase a company’s efficiency and maximize profits. Parse large amounts of data using effective database querying to produce reports and identify trends that generate actionable business insights.
• Data Scientist: Gather and interpret data to solve a specific problem or model and present data to convey key information to stakeholders.
• Machine Learning Engineer: Build large-scale software systems for processing massive data sets, using these systems to train algorithms capable of learning cognitive tasks and generating useful insights and predictions. Machine learning engineers manage the entire data science pipeline, including sourcing and preparing data, building and training models, and deploying models to production.

With the help of our Career Services team, VCU College of Engineering graduates have many opportunities to network with alumni and industry professionals. Our students work at companies like:

• Black Knight Technology Inc.
• Blue River Technology
• Brightspot
• CACI
• Capital One
• CarMax
• CoStar Group
• Cotiviti
• Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
• Genworth
• HP
• Micron Technology Inc.
• Microsoft
• MITRE Corporation
• NT Concepts
• UST