Computer Science – Data Science specialization

General information

The amount of data generated by, and available to, companies, governments, and individuals, is exploding. There is an urgent need for individuals who can grapple with massive amounts of data and extract key information. People with these skills (often called data scientists) are highly sought after in a variety of industries, including health care, finance, and business. The Data Science specialization within the Computer Science program  helps students develop the knowledge, skills, and tools, and sets them up for success in this desirable job market. Students develop critical problem-solving, analytical, and computational skills that enable them to turn vast quantities of data into insight.

In addition to the regular program, a co-op program is also available. Students in Data Science interested in the co-op program , should contact the Faculty of Science Co-op Coordinator as early as the fall of their second year.

Admission requirements

Admission is competitive. The specific average or standing required for admission varies from year to year. Students are selected by taking into consideration a wide range of criteria including school marks, distribution of subjects taken, and performance in subjects relevant to the academic program. Possession of the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance. Preference will be given to applicants with the best qualifications.

Current Ontario secondary school students must complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with six 4U or 4M credits including English (ENG4U), Advanced Functions (MHF4U), and one of Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U), Computer Science (ICS4U) or Physics (SPH4U). In addition, a combined minimum 70 per cent average in prerequisite computer science, math and science courses is required. It is recommended that all three MCV4U, ICS4U and SPH4U be taken. All other applicants should refer to Admissions  for the requirements for their specific category of admission.

Program details and degree requirements

Although reasonable efforts will be made to adhere to the following program map, course requirements and term offerings may change.

Year 1 (30 credit hours)

• Two electives*
• CSCI 1030U – Introduction to Computer Science
• CSCI 1060U – Programming Workshop I
• CSCI 1061U – Programming Workshop II
• CSCI 2050U – Computer Architecture I
• MATH 1020U – Calculus II
• PHY 1020U – Physics II

• One of:

• MATH 1000U – Introductory Calculus ⁺ or
• MATH 1010U – Calculus I ⁺

• One of:

• PHY 1010U – Physics I ⁺ or
• PHY 1030U – Introductory Physics ⁺

•  

  ⁺ All students who have completed Grade 12 Advanced Functions (MHF4U) and Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U) should take MATH 1010U  and PHY 1010U . Students without one of these high school courses or equivalent are directed to take MATH 1000U  and PHY 1030U .

Year 2 (30 credit hours)

• Two electives*
• CSCI 2000U – Scientific Data Analysis
• CSCI 2010U – Data Structures
• CSCI 2020U – Software Systems Development and Integration
• CSCI 2040U – Software Design and Analysis
• CSCI 2072U – Computational Science I
• CSCI 2110U – Discrete Mathematics for Computer Scientists
• MATH 2050U – Linear Algebra
• STAT 2010U – Statistics and Probability for Physical Science

Year 3 and 4 (60 credit hours)

• Seven electives*
• CSCI 3070U – Analysis and Design of Algorithms
• CSCI 4040U – Ethics, Law and the Social Impacts of Computing

• Four of:

• CSCI 3010U – Simulation and Modelling or
• CSCI 4030U – Big Data Analytics or
• CSCI 4050U – Machine Learning, Theory and Application or
• CSCI 4150U – Data Mining or
• CSCI 4210U – Information Visualization or
• CSCI 4220U – Computer Vision or
• CSCI 4610U – Artificial Intelligence

• With at least three of the above four being:

• CSCI 4030U – Big Data Analytics  or
• CSCI 4050U – Machine Learning, Theory and Application  or
• CSCI 4150U – Data Mining  or
• CSCI 4210U – Information Visualization 

• One of:

• CSCI 3010U – Simulation and Modelling  or
• CSCI 3030U – Database Systems and Concepts or
• CSCI 4610U – Artificial Intelligence 

• One of:

• CSCI 3090U – Computer Graphics and Visualization or
• CSCI 4110U – Advanced Computer Graphics or
• CSCI 4220U – Computer Vision 

• One of:

• CSCI 3230U – Web Application Development or
• CSCI 4100U – Mobile Devices or
• CSCI 4160U – Interactive Media or
• CSCI 4620U – Human-Computer Interaction

• One of:

• CSCI 3055U – Programming Languages or
• CSCI 3060U – Software Quality Assurance or
• CSCI 4020U – Compilers or
• CSCI 4060U – Massively Parallel Programming

• One of:

• CSCI 3020U – Operating Systems or
• CSCI 3150U – Computer Networks or
• CSCI 3310U – Systems Programming or
• CSCI 4310U – Advanced Operating Systems Project or
• CSCI 4410U – Computer Science Thesis Project I ** or
• Senior Computer Science elective

• One of:

• CSCI 4420U – Computer Science Thesis Project II or **
• Senior Computer science elective

Note:

No more than 42 credit hours may be taken at the first-year level. Students are required to complete at least 12 credit hours in Computer Science courses at the 4000 level.

*Electives and breadth requirements

Students must complete a total of 33 credit hours such that the following requirements are satisfied:

• 18 credit hours must be in courses offered by the Faculty of Science, with no more than 6 credit hours being in Computer Science.
• 12 credit hours must be in courses from outside the Faculty of Science, among which at least 3 credit hours must be in business electives++, and at least 3 credit hours in communications electives+++.
• 3 credit hours in general electives (offered by the Faculty of Science or outside the Faculty of Science)

**Thesis Project or Senior Computer Science electives

Students in clear academic standing who have completed 90 credit hours of their program and six third-year required courses may optionally apply to take a two-course sequence consisting of CSCI 4410U – Computer Science Thesis Project I and CSCI 4420U – Computer Science Thesis Project II.

Students not accepted to take the thesis courses must complete two additional Senior Computer Science electives instead. A Senior Computer Science Elective is defined as a 3000- or 4000-level Computer Science course. A student meeting the above requirements who does not take CSCI 4410U and CSCI 4420U may optionally apply to take CSCI 4430U – Directed Studies in Computer Science as one of the required computer science electives.

Opportunities for the Thesis Project and Directed Studies courses are limited; students must apply through Science Advising by March 30 following completion of the first three years of the program.