Data Analytics and Society
Eleanor Townsley, Nexus director
Katie Walker, coordinator
108 Daniel L. Jones Building
413-538-3010
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/academics/find-your-program/data-analytics-and-society
Overview and Contact Information
Data analytics and society offers an explicit focus on social and historical context, emphasizing critical literacies for data analysis and ethical decision-making. This Nexus focuses on acquiring concrete skills and data and visual literacies in hands-on research application. Students will link courses in data analysis across disciplines to engage with fundamental data literacies for citizenship, in particular visual, communicative and interpretive capabilities in social context. The Nexus in Data Analytics and Society can enhance a range of different majors by adding a concentration in social research and will help students represent their applied analytical skills in problem solving and data analysis.
See Also
Faculty
This area of study is administered by the following Nexus track chairs:
Eleanor Townsley, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Sociology; Director of Nexus
Dylan Shepardson, Robert L. Rooke Associate Professor of Mathematics
Requirements for the Nexus
A minimum of 18 credits:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Four 4-credit courses, of which: | 16 | |
one must be in statistics at the 200 level or higher, from the list of courses approved for this Nexus | ||
one must be in computer science at the 200 level or higher, from the list of courses approved for this Nexus | ||
one must be in an application area (e.g., biology, economics, English, psychology, sociology) at the 200 level or higher, from the list of courses approved for this Nexus | ||
one is an elective course that demonstrates an interest in data science and that may be taken at the 100 level and must be taken before the internship | ||
| A substantive internship | ||
| COLL-211 | Reflecting Back: Connecting Internship and Research to Your Liberal Arts Education | 2 |
| A presentation at LEAP Symposium | ||
Additional Specifications
- In one of the four courses for this Nexus, students must work intimately with data to explore, visualize, contextualize, and present conclusions.
- Students who entered the College before fall 2020 may choose to complete the precursor Nexus in Data Science.
-
Nexus students will develop a brief proposal outlining their specific area of focus including a course outline. Students will schedule an advising meeting with a track chair to get approval and complete a Plan of Study form to be returned to the Nexus Program office.
- The sequence of a Nexus is part of what makes it unique:
-
In preparation for the summer internship or research, students complete courses chosen in consultation with the track chair. If seeking funding through LYNK UAF, students will additionally complete orientation and advising, and online training.
- COLL-211 is taken after the internship or research project and culminates in a presentation at LEAP Symposium.
-
Courses Counting toward the Nexus
Courses other than those listed below may count toward the Nexus. Students should consult the Nexus track chair for consideration of courses not on the list.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomy | ||
| ASTR-226 | Cosmology | 4 |
| ASTR-228 | Astrophysics I: Stars and Galaxies | 4 |
| Biological Sciences | ||
| BIOL-223 | Ecology | 4 |
| BIOL-234 | Biostatistics | 4 |
| Computer Science | ||
| COMSC-100 | Computing and the Digital World | 4 |
| COMSC-106 | Fundamentals of Applied Computing | 4 |
| COMSC-133DV | Data Visualization: Design and Perception | 4 |
| COMSC-205 | Data Structures | 4 |
| COMSC-235 | Applications of Machine Learning | 4 |
| COMSC-311 | Theory of Computation | 4 |
| COMSC-312 | Algorithms | 4 |
| COMSC-334 | Artificial Intelligence | 4 |
| COMSC-335 | Machine Learning | 4 |
| COMSC-341NL | Topics: 'Natural Language Processing' | 4 |
| COMSC-343 | Programming Language Design and Implementation | 4 |
| Economics | ||
| ECON-220 | Introduction to Econometrics | 4 |
| ECON-320 | Econometrics | 4 |
| Environmental Studies | ||
| ENVST-200 | Environmental Science | 4 |
| Geography | ||
| GEOG-205 | Mapping and Spatial Analysis | 4 |
| GEOG-210 | GIS for the Social Sciences and Humanities | 4 |
| Mathematics | ||
| MATH-211 | Linear Algebra | 4 |
| MATH-301 | Real Analysis | 4 |
| MATH-339PT | Topics in Applied Mathematics: 'Optimization' | 4 |
| MATH-342 | Probability | 4 |
| Politics | ||
| POLIT-200 | Research Methods | 4 |
| POLIT-387EC | Advanced Topics in Politics: 'U.S. Elections' | 4 |
| Psychology | ||
| PSYCH-201 | Statistics | 4 |
| PSYCH-204 | Research Methods in Psychology | 4 |
| PSYCH-219GR | Topics in Social Psychology: 'Behavior Research in Intergroup Psychology' | 4 |
| PSYCH-310QR | Laboratory in Social Psychology: 'Qualitative Research in Psychology' | 4 |
| PSYCH-330RD | Lab in Developmental Psychology: 'Laboratory in Romantic Development: Observational Coding Methodology' | 4 |
| Sociology | ||
| SOCI-225 | Social Science Research and Data Analysis | 4 |
| SOCI-316AG | Special Topics in Sociology: 'Society of Algorithms' | 4 |
| SOCI-316ST | Special Topics in Sociology: 'Storytelling Sociology: Data for the People' | 4 |
| Statistics | ||
| STAT-242 | Intermediate Statistics | 4 |
| STAT-331 | Design of Experiments | 4 |
| STAT-340 | Applied Regression Methods | 4 |
| STAT-343 | Mathematical Statistics | 4 |
| STAT-344TM | Seminar in Statistics and Scientific Research: 'Time Series Analysis' | 4 |
