What is Data Science and why study it?

#ICYMI, one of the latest programme offerings at NTU School of Social Sciences (SSS) is the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Economics and Data Science.

This programme combines the expertise from SSS as well as the School of Computer Science and Engineering (SCSE) and the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS). It is a four-year programme where students will read three subject areas in Economics, Mathematics and Data Science. Read more about the BSc (Hons) in Economics and Data Science here.

What is Data Science?

It is the domain of study that deals with vast volumes of data using modern tools and techniques to find unseen patterns, derive meaningful information and make business decisions. Data Science uses complex machine learning algorithms to build predictive models (Source).

Why study Data Science?

The application of data science is rather broad, and one can find jobs across several sectors such as business, energy, public service, IT and logistics. By studying data science, you will learn data manipulation and pick up programming skills and knowledge. In addition, you will sharpen your communication and analytical skills as you are required to extract, understand, and analyze data.

According to Harvard Business Review, being a data scientist is the sexiest job of the 21st century!

For a quick rundown on what you can expect as a Data Scientist, check out this short video: