Designing an Interdisciplinary Data Science Minor

Washington & Jefferson College, John Ladd & Rebecca Rapp

https://jrladd.com/slides/sigcse2025.html

Our starting point

Computing & Information Studies Major w/ Data Science Emphasis

  • CIS Minor
  • Computational Science Concentration

Why a data science minor?

  • DS Emphasis only available to existing CIS majors
  • many non-CIS majors were already voluntarily taking data science courses, encouraged by major advisors, most frequently:
    • business & economics
    • biology
    • environmental science
  • W&J’s two course of study requirement

A data science minor is a natural fit for a liberal arts college

  • Pairs well with most/all majors
  • Already an interdisciplinary, applied field
  • Can focus on teaching data science as a liberal art

Structuring the Program

Three required core courses

  • CIS 112 Database Concepts
  • CIS 241 Intro to Data Science
  • Statistics course (MTH 125, MTH 205, or MTH/BIO 245)

CIS 112 Database Concepts

  • covers data collection, organization
  • discusses user needs and user-centered DB design
  • data management concepts w/ SQL
  • also a core course for the CIS major