DSCI Major Requirements

The lists below outline the year-by-year course pathway for studying in the Data Science Major program.

Year-by-Year Course Requirements

See all requirements for the Data Science Major and Minor in the UBC Calendar. If there are any discrepancies between the Calendar and the lists above, please refer to the Calendar, as it contains the most current and official requirements for course requisites and program requirements.

First Year at UBC Science:

Build a foundation and apply to the DSCI Major

In first year, you’ll need to take the courses required to apply to the Data Science major, as well as other first year courses required to complete the Data Science program and your BSc degree.

Course Code	Course title	Credits
DSCI 100*	Introduction to Data Science	3
CPSC 103*	Introduction to Systematic Program Design	3
MATH 100 (or 180 or 120 or 110)*	Differential Calculus with Applications¹	3
MATH 101 (or 121)	Integral Calculus with Applications	3
SCIE 113	First-Year Seminar in Science	3
	Additional Communications Requirement²	3
	Electives¹	12

* required for application to the Data Science Major

Welcome to Second Year and the DSCI Major:

Develop your knowledge in Data Science

In second year, you officially join the Data Science program and further develop your foundational knowledge and skills.

Course Code	Course title	Credits
DSCI 200	Navigating Data: Acquisition, Exploration and Management	3
DSCI 220	Discrete Math for Data Science	4
DSCI 221	Data Structures for Data Science	4
MATH 200	Calculus III	3
MATH 221	Matrix Algebra	3
STAT 201	Statistical Inference for Data Science	3
	Electives¹	10

Third and Fourth Year:

Specialize and customize to follow your interests

In third and fourth years, dig into areas of interest within Data Science.

Course Code	Course title	Credits
CPSC 330 or 340	(Applied) Machine Learning	3
CPSC 368	Databases in Data Science	3
STAT 301	Statistical Modelling for Data Science	3
STAT 302	Introduction to Probability	3
STAT 305	Introduction to Statistical Inference	3
STAT 443	Time Series and Forecasting	3
DSCI 310	Reproducible and Trustworthy Workflows for Data Science	3
DSCI 320	Visualization for Data Science	3
DSCI 430	Fairness, Accountability, Transparency and Ethics (FATE) in Data Science	3
	Data Science Depth Requirement of six credits from: MATH 307, CPSC302, CPSC 320, CPSC 440, CPSC 406, STAT 406, STAT 405	6
	Any Upper-level MATH/STAT/CPSC/DSCI courses, at least 6 credits must be 400-level or higher.	12
	Electives	15

Notes

¹Students are permitted to move elective credits between years. Students who take courses in MATH_V with extra credits will require fewer elective credits in later years. Elective credits together with required courses must fulfill the Faculty of Science’s:
a) Foundational Requirement;
b) Laboratory Science Requirement;
c) Science Breadth Requirement;
d) Science and Arts Requirements;
e) Upper-level Requirement;
f) General Degree Requirements.

²For a full list of acceptable courses seeCommunication Requirement.

Other resources for planning your degree

UBC Data Science Course Mapper:https://ubc-stat-it.github.io/course-mapper/?active=dsci

UBC Calendar:https://vancouver.calendar.ubc.ca/faculties-colleges-and-schools/faculty-science/bachelor-science/data-science