Collaborative Research: HDR DSC: Increasing Accessibility through Building Alternative Data Science Pathways

随着计算机变得越来越快，越来越便宜，每天都会产生大量的数据。数据科学家接受的训练是分析这些信息，并将结果应用于科学研究、工程挑战、商业决策和其他改善社会的努力。2019年至2020年间，对数据科学家的需求增长了28%，美国劳工统计局估计，到2026年，将创造1150万个数据科学工作岗位。该项目将通过向STEM（科学、技术、工程、数学）的更多不同学生提供数据科学教育，帮助满足这一需求。该项目还将开发灵活的课程材料，可用于将专业数据科学课程添加到其他机构的本科课程中，从斯佩尔曼学院开始，并寻求将其扩展到亚特兰大大学中心及其他地方。斯佩尔曼学院、亚特兰大大学数据科学中心倡议和密歇根州立大学（MSU）共同努力，通过建立合作伙伴关系，专注于创造促进STEM（科学、技术、工程、数学）学科数据科学教育的途径，寻求解决可访问性问题。首先，拟议的合作伙伴关系寻求建立一个3+2的学士+硕士项目（理学学士，理学硕士）。这个3+2项目将允许学生在Spelman完成STEM领域（如数学、物理、生物）的学士学位，并在MSU完成数据科学的硕士学位，同时也为有兴趣获得博士学位的学生提供坚实的基础和清晰的轨迹。其次，该合作伙伴关系旨在为Spelman开发数据科学辅修课程，目标是STEM领域的学生。在开设这个辅修课程的过程中，我们将利用密歇根州立大学已经完成的工作来创建一个数据科学项目，并利用斯佩尔曼学院教师的专业知识来开发课程，以满足来自不同专业和背景的本科生的需求。我们寻求创建的新的教育材料是基于一个创新的一个月一个学分的课程，最初是为了培养密歇根州立大学学生的生物信息学技能而设计的。利用这些想法并将其映射到Spelman STEM学生的需求上，我们寻求创造一条通往数据科学的可访问途径，以满足学生在他们的教育旅程中的需求。这些教育努力将为那些在密歇根州立大学和斯佩尔曼大学寻求在其STEM研究领域发挥现代数据科学方法力量的STEM专业学生创造途径。该课程将成为全国范围内创建无障碍数据科学教育计划的典范。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As computers become faster and less expensive, huge amounts of data are being produced every day. Data scientists are trained to analyze this information and apply the results to scientific research, engineering challenges, business decisions, and other efforts to improve society. The demand for data scientists increased by 28 percent between 2019 and 2020, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 11.5 million data science jobs will be created by 2026. This project will help meet this need by making data science education available to more diverse populations of students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). This project will also develop flexible curriculum materials that can be used to add specialized data science coursework to undergraduate programs at other institutions, beginning with Spelman College and seeking to grow this to the Atlanta University Center and beyond. In a combined synergistic effort, Spelman College, the Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative and Michigan State University (MSU) seek to address issues of accessibility through a joint partnership focused on creating pathways to foster data science education across STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines. First, the proposed partnership seeks to build a 3+2 BS+MS program (BS-Bachelors of Science, MS-Masters of Science). This 3+2 program will allow students to complete their BS in a STEM field (e.g., Mathematics, Physics, Biology) at Spelman and complete a MS in Data Science at MSU, while also providing a strong foundation and clear trajectory for students interested in obtaining a PhD. Second, this partnership seeks to develop a minor in Data Science at Spelman, targeting students across STEM fields. In creating this minor, we will leverage work already done at MSU to create a data science program and the expertise of faculty at Spelman to develop curricula that serves the needs of undergraduates from diverse majors and backgrounds. The new educational material we seek to create is based on an innovative one month one credit curriculum that was initially designed to develop skills in bio-informatics for students at MSU. Harnessing these ideas and mapping them onto the needs of Spelman STEM students, we seek to create an accessible pathway into data science that meets students where they are in their educational journey. These educational efforts will create pathways for STEM majors who seek to bring to bear the power of modern data science methods in their STEM field of study, both at MSU and Spelman. The curriculum will serve as a model for creating accessible data science educational initiatives nationwide.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.