Information Infrastructure for Society: Integrating Data Science and Social Science in Graduate Education and Workforce Development

The University of Maryland piloted an innovative, cross-disciplinary curriculum that integrated Data Science with Social Science. The project advanced the scientific understanding of the dynamics of human behavior by integrating the toolkits and analytical frameworks developed by social scientists with the new types of data, models and tools developed in the fields of computer science and statistics. The curriculum provided an innovative approach to training students in the creative and scientific use of the growing number of available data. It covered all phases of a research project, addressing social issues including problem formulation, data collection, manipulation, processing, and analysis.

The project piloted an innovative modular training program that was tailored to fill specific needs of both traditional and nontraditional graduate students, and provided direct pathways both to future employers and to advancement with current employers.

> Read the project abstract

> Learn more with UM’s College of Information Studies page