Skip to Content

Academic Advising

Data Science – Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

McCausland College of Arts and Sciences
Bulletin Year: 2026-2027

Print this page

Important: This course plan is a recommended sequence for this major. Courses designated as critical (!) may have a deadline for completion and/or affect time to graduation. Please see the program notes section for details regarding “critical courses” for this particular Program of Study.

Semester One (16-17 Credit Hours)

Critical Course Code Subject and Title Credit Hours Min. Grade1 Major GPA2 Prerequisites
! ENGL 101 Critical Reading and Composition (CC-CMW) 3 C    
  MATH 141 Calculus 13 (CC-ARP) 4 C   C or better in MATH 112/115/116 or through  placement exam
  STAT 515 or STAT 509 Statistical Methods I or Statistics for Engineers4 (PR) 3 C   C or better in MATH 112/115/122 or 141; or both C or better in STAT 110 or higher and in MATH 111; or through placement exam (STAT 515); C or higher in MATH 112, 115, 142 (STAT 509)
    Foreign Language5 or other Carolina Core Req.6 (CC-GFL) 3-4      
    UNIV 101 The Student in the University or Carolina Core Requirement6 (PR/CC) 3      

Semester Two (16 Credit Hours)

Critical Course Code Subject and Title Credit Hours Min. Grade1 Major GPA2 Prerequisites
! ENGL 102 Rhetoric and Composition (CC-CMW, CC-INF) 3 C   C or better in ENGL 101
  MATH 142 Calculus II (CC-ARP) 4 C   C or better in MATH 141
  STAT 516 Stat. Methods II (MR) 3 C   C or better in STAT 515, 509, 512 or equiv.
    Carolina Core Requirement6 (CC) 3      
    Foreign Language5 or other Carolina Core Req.6 (CC-GFL) 3      

Semester Three (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical Course Code Subject and Title Credit Hours Min. Grade1 Major GPA2 Prerequisites
  MATH 241 Vector Calculus (CR) 3 C   C or better in MATH 142
  STAT 530 or CSCE/STAT 587 Applied Multivariate Stat. & Data Mining or Big Data Analytics (MR) 3 C   See Bulletin Listing
  CSCE 106 Scientific Applications Programming (CR) 3 C   C or better in MATH 111 or higher (or by MAP score into MATH 115 or higher)
    Foreign Language5 or Carolina Core Req.6 (CR/CC) 3      
    Carolina Core Requirement6 (CC) 3-4      

Semester Four (16 Credit Hours)

Critical Course Code Subject and Title Credit Hours Min. Grade1 Major GPA2 Prerequisites
  MATH 344 or MATH 544 Applied Linear Algebra or Linear Algebra (PR) 3 C   C or better in MATH 142 (MATH 344); C or better in MATH 241 & 300 (MATH 544)
  MATH 344L Applied Linear Algebra Lab (PR) 1 C   C or better or concurrent enrollment in MATH 344 or 544
  STAT 542 Computing for Data Science (MR, CC-INT) 3 C   C or better in STAT 301, 509, 515, or equiv.
  ISCI 215 or ITEC 101 or PHIL 325 Ethics in the Era of Big Data or Thriving in the Tech Age or Engineering Ethics or any CC-VSR7 (CC-VSR) 3 C    
    Optional Minor8 or Elective9 (PR) 3 C (minor)    
    History10 (CR) 3      

Semester Five (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical Course Code Subject and Title Credit Hours Min. Grade1 Major GPA2 Prerequisites
  MATH 374 or MATH 574 Discrete Structures or Discrete Mathematics I (PR) 3 C   C or better in both MATH 142 & either CSCE 106 or 146 (MATH 374); C or better in MATH 300 (MATH 574)
  CSCE 567 Visualization Tools (MR) 3 C   CSCE 145, 106 or 207
    Optional Minor8 or Elective9 (PR) 3 C (minor)    
    Carolina Core Requirement6 (CC) 3-4      
    Social Science (CR) 3      

Semester Six (15 Credit Hours)

Critical Course Code Subject and Title Credit Hours Min. Grade1 Major GPA2 Prerequisites
  MATH/STAT 511 or MATH 528 or MATH 529 or MATH 572 Probability or Math. Found. of DS & Machine Learning or Intro. to Deep Neural Networks or Math. Foundation of Network Sci. (MR) 3 C   See Bulletin Listing
  STAT 531/CSCE 588 Advanced Machine Learning with Implementation (MR) 3 C   C or better in CSCE 106 & in STAT 530 or STAT/CSCE 587 & in MATH 241, 328, 344 or 544
    Optional Minor8 or Elective9 (PR) 3 C (minor)    
    Carolina Core Requirement6 or Elective9 (CC/PR) 3      
    Carolina Core Requirement6 or Elective9 (CC/PR) 3      

Semester Seven (12 Credit Hours)

Critical Course Code Subject and Title Credit Hours Min. Grade1 Major GPA2 Prerequisites
    Data Science Major Elective11 (MR) 3 C    
  ENGL 363 or ENGL 462 or ENGL 463 Introduction to Professional Writing or Technical Writing or Business Writing12 (CR) 3 C   C or better in ENGL 101 & 102
    Optional Minor8 or Elective9 (PR) 3 C (minor)    
    Optional Minor8 or Elective9 (PR) 3 C (minor)    

Semester Eight (13 Credit Hours)

Critical Course Code Subject and Title Credit Hours Min. Grade1 Major GPA2 Prerequisites
    Data Science Major Elective11 (MR) 3 C    
    Optional Minor8 or Elective9 (PR) 3 C (minor)    
    Elective9 (PR) 3      
    Elective9 (PR) 3      
    Elective9 (PR) 1      

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours Minimum Major Requirements Hours College & Program Requirements Hours Carolina Core Hours Minimum Institutional GPA
120 24 50-62 34-46 2.000
  1. Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 2.000 cumulative GPA.
  2. Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses. Courses indicated in this column are included in the major GPA for this program of study.
  3. Students who place into MATH 115 should take that in their first semester and take MATH 141 in the second semester. Students who place into MATH 111 should take that in their first semester, MATH 115 in their second semester, and MATH 141 in the summer or in their third semester. 
  4. Students who do not satisfy the prerequisites for STAT 515 should take STAT 201, 205, or 206 as an elective in the first semester (if they meet the prerequisites for one of them and don’t already have credit for any of them) and STAT 515 in the second semester. Students who do not satisfy the prerequisites for any of STAT 201, 205, 206, or 515 should take STAT 110 as an elective in their first semester and STAT 515 in the second.  
  5. Students in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the 122 course through course credit or the corresponding foreign language placement score.
  6. The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students.
  7. Ethics in Data Science: If ISCI 215 or ITEC 101 or PHIL 325 were not taken to fulfill the Carolina Core VSR requirement with a grade of C or better, then one of the following must be taken in place of an elective: CSCE 390, 581; CYBR 392; ISCI 215, 315, 415; ITEC 101; PHIL 323, 325, 326.
  8. This major does not require a cognate or minor. An optional minor may be added to a student’s program of study. A minor is intended to develop a coherent basic preparation in a second area of study. Courses applied toward general education requirements cannot be counted toward the minor. No course may satisfy both major and minor requirements. All minor courses must be passed with a grade of C or higher. At least half of the courses in the minor must be completed in residence at the University. A list of minor programs of study can be found at Programs A-Z. An optional additional major may also be added to a student’s program of study. Additional majors must include all major courses as well as any prescribed courses noted (*) in the bulletin.  Prescribed courses noted in the bulletin may be shared with Carolina Core, College requirements, and Program requirements in the primary program. 
  9. No courses of a remedial, developmental, skill-acquiring, or vocational nature may apply as credit toward degrees in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences.
  10. The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences requires one U.S. History and one non-U.S. History course, both of which must be chosen from the approved Carolina Core GHS courses. Whichever is not fulfilled through the Carolina Core GHS requirement must be fulfilled through this college requirement.
  11.  Select two courses from the following list or from any of STAT 530, CSCE/STAT 587, MATH/STAT 511, MATH 528, MATH 529 or MATH 572 that were not taken as Major Courses: CSCE 556, 569, 580, CSCE/STAT 582, CSCE 585; MATH 524; STAT 512, 517, 519, 535, 540, 541, STAT/BIOL 588. 
  12. A student who has passed MGMT 250 with a grade of C or higher may use another 3-hour Fine Arts/Humanities Course to satisfy this requirement.

Program Notes

  • Courses identified as “critical” must be completed in the student’s first 60 semester hours of work in order for these courses to be credited toward graduation.
  • All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. This course may fulfill any requirement in the program of study. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin
  • To be retained in the program, a student must obtain a grade of C or higher in at most two attempts in all mathematics, computer science, and statistics courses required for graduation.
  • The last 30 credit hours toward your degree must be earned in residence at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

Code Definitions

University Requirements: Bachelor’s degree-seeking students must meet Carolina Core (general education) requirements.

Code Definition
CC Carolina Core
CC-AIU Carolina Core – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding
CC-ARP Carolina Core – Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving
CC-CMS Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component
CC-CMW Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written Component
CC-GFL Carolina Core – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language
CC-GHS Carolina Core – Historical Thinking
CC-GSS Carolina Core – Social Sciences
CC-INF Carolina Core – Information Literacy
CC-INT Carolina Core – Integrative Course
CC-SCI Carolina Core – Scientific Literacy
CC-VSR Carolina Core – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
CR College Requirement
MR Major Requirement
PR Program Requirement

Disclaimer: Major maps are only a suggested or recommended sequence of courses required in a program of study. Please contact your academic advisor for assistance in the application of specific coursework to a program of study and course selection and planning for upcoming semesters.


Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

©