Boston University’s Center for Computing & Data Sciences. BU launched Data Science as an undergraduate major in 2021. SAM BETSKO/DFP STAFF
Riya Parikh, freshman in the Computing and Data Science Program, waited until the last minute to make her college decision.
It was April 30, 2022 — one day before she had to submit her official commitment — and she was between Boston University and Northeastern University.
She compared the two programs and found that course-wise they were rather similar, she said. While she noted part of her decision came down to family legacy and financial aid offers, there was another key deciding factor that made her choose BU.
“I also was kind of adamant on graduating in four years instead of five and with the pathway I would have planned at Northeastern, I don’t think it would have been possible,” Parikh said.
So BU it was — and Parikh became part of the first freshman class to apply to and enter the new undergraduate major, launched a year ago at BU.
BU announced the undergraduate data science program in June 2021, with students able to transfer to the major last Fall. Some students who switched to the data science major then, however, have doubts about meeting degree qualifications to be able to graduate on time.
Parikh said she feels like she’s in a “good place” and will stay on track to complete her degree within four years.
Amelia Sturbois, junior in CDS, initially came to BU as a statistics major, then later switched to computer science. She officially transferred into the data science major after meeting with her advisor recently, but now said she’s not as certain about completing her degree on time.
“I told (a CDS advisor) I will not be transferring unless I am certain I can graduate in four years just because I’m not willing to pay to stay longer than I have to,” Sturbois said. “It’s definitely a point of anxiety.”
Colleen Kenney, the senior undergraduate academic advisor of the faculty of CDS, said in an email to The Daily Free Press that CDS will support students’ efforts to graduate on time.
“As we work with this upcoming graduating class, if a student is unable to graduate, we will work with that student to assess what resources they may need to ensure they do graduate,” Kenney wrote.
The Data Science program is in its infancy, which makes registering for courses challenging, Tessa Wu, a junior in CDS, said. When she was beginning to consider transferring into CDS, she spoke with an academic advisor, who made her feel a “little disappointed” about the organization of the program, she said.
Wu was told that the advisor didn’t have clear answers to her questions regarding the program at large.
While Sturbois was able to use some Computer Science courses to bypass intro courses in the DS major, she said she and many of her classmates didn’t feel prepared in the upper-level material when she entered her first DS class this semester.
“It’s a 300-level course, and it’s my first DS course I’ve ever taken because I’m trying to stay on track,” Sturbois said. “I think a lot of people were really insecure or worried (about) taking an upper level class where they didn’t know anything about the topic, but yet that’s the position that graduating in time has pushed …….