Environmental Data Science (MS)

University of Southern California

Date Posted: Jan. 12, 2021
Submitted by: Farris Sukkar
Sustainability Topic: Curriculum
Content Type: Academic Programs
Program Type: Master's Degree

Description

The application of data science to complex environmental problems has become increasingly important in evaluating large-scale environmental challenges. Data science technologies complement interdisciplinary analyses of complex environmental issues ranging over many topics such as climate change, water and air pollution, policy analysis, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem management, biodiversity and many others. The curriculum is designed to prepare individuals to develop and use sophisticated analytical and computer-based methods to assess and protect the Earth’s natural resources. The USC Masters of Science in Environmental Data Science would provide students with the knowledge and skills to:

Work at the intersection of interdisciplinary fields of environmental science and data science

Leverage data to form and frame relevant questions in environmental management and sustainability, identify patterns, and make actionable insights to understand and protect Earth’s natural resources

Understand the use of emerging technologies in data science and their application to environmental problems

Efficiently integrate data science approaches and systems to analyze real-world environmental data

The curriculum is designed to be accessible to students with any background, including students with an environmental sciences background and no computer science knowledge as well as students with a computer science knowledge and no environmental studies background. Students will acquire the necessary skills to analyze environmental data in a variety of contexts.