What are the two specializations and how do you compare them?

The two areas of specialization are data engineering (DE) and analytics technologies (AT). The data engineering specialization delves deeper into data warehousing, the creation of distributed web systems, and building generative AI applications such as NLP, LLM, LangChain, and LLM agents, which are the main differences between the two specializations.  

Common core

  • DATA 220 – Mathematical Methods for Data Analytics
  • DATA 228 – Big Data Technologies and Applications
  • DATA 230 – Business Intelligence and Data Visualization
  • DATA 245 – Machine Learning Technologies 
  • DATA 255 – Deep Learning Technologies

Analytics Technologies

  • DATA 225 – Database Systems for Analytics
  • DATA 240 – Data Mining and Analytics
  • DATA 265 – Large Language Model Applications

Data Engineering

  • DATA 226 – Data Warehouse and Pipeline
  • DATA 236 – Distributed Systems for Data Engineering
  • DATA 266 – Generative Model Applications

What is Data Engineering?

According to the Silicon Valley survey, data engineering is one of the fastest-growing tech-oriented occupations recently. It was highlighted in the 2020 LinkedIn U.S. Emerging Jobs Report as one of the 15 most outstanding emerging jobs of the past five years. Data engineers play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between traditional data analytics and science positions and software and application developers.

Data engineers are crucial in managing and organizing data, creating systems to efficiently gather, store, and process large volumes of information. This field offers a dynamic career path, ideal for those who enjoy technology, continuous learning, and want to make a significant impact using data as oil across various industries.

View our course offerings in the curriculum. 

Source: https://www.interviewquery.com/p/job-market-update-january-2023

What is the department policy on admission conditions?

Pursuant to S16-16, “Conditional acceptance to a program is, in effect, acceptance under probation in the major. Typically, a specified set of courses or requirements must be passed prior to attaining good standing in the program. There may be time limits or unit limits established to satisfy the conditions, which, if not met, may lead to disqualification from the major degree program without an intervening term on explicit probation.

Therefore, all conditionally admitted MS in Data Analytics students are on administrative academic probation until meeting the requirements described in their conditional admission offer. Students who either pass the waiver test(s) or the remedial course(s) (CR/NC only) by the end of the first semester that they are admitted into the MS in Data Analytics program will become fully classified. The waiver test(s) is/are offered before the second week of each semester, and they can be taken only once by each student.

Students who do not pass the waiver test(s) are required to enroll in the remedial course(s) for the upcoming semester. Furthermore, students who do not pass the remedial course(s) on their first attempt, will be notified in writing that they are required to repeat the course(s) the following semester and that failure to pass the course(s) after a second attempt may lead to academic administrative disqualification.

Conditionally admitted students will have one academic year (i.e., the first fall and spring semesters following program admission) to clear these requirements unless there are documented extenuating circumstances, or the student has received a verified extension by the Department Chair. While conditionally classified, students are only allowed to enroll in the remedial course(s) and those courses pre-approved by Graduate Advisor.

What is Program of Study?

Program of Study (POS) is a plan of courses to take in sequence in order to satisfy the course requirements of the MSDA degree.  After consulting with the program advisor, a full-time student should try their best to adhere to the following POS in order to complete the course requirements in time for graduation:

  • Semester 1: DATA 220, 226, 230, 200*, 201*, 202*
  • Semester 2: DATA 228, 245, 236
  • Semester 3: DATA 255, 266, 298A
  • Semester 4: DATA 298B

* For conditionally admitted students only. Please refer to FAQ: What are the DATA 200, 201, 202 Waiver Tests?

 

If I am denied by another program, can I transfer my application to the MSDA?

An applicant who is denied by one program due to limited space may have the opportunity to transfer his/her application to either regular or session of the MSDA program if the session has not reached its admission target. The MSDA program will notify such applicants about the opportunity to transfer their applications.  No additional cost will be charged to an applicant to transfer their denied application to the MSDA program. There is no guarantee that a transfer-applicant will be admitted to the MSDA program.

What are the differences between Regular Session and Special Session?

The MS in Data Analytics program is offered through two different sessions: Regular Session and Special Session.

Regular Session is state-supported and state-subsidized. The cap on the number of Regular Session students who are accepted to the program each semester is related to the amount of money received from the state. In addition to the state tuition fees (based on the number of enrolled units), non-California resident surcharge fees (currently $396 per unit) might be applicable. Regular Session students pay campus mandatory fees and are eligible to take advantage of San José State University student services, such as Santa Clara County transit services, student body organizations, student health care, and recreational facilities. Enrollment in Regular Session affords California residents other financial support options such as the CSU employee or CalVet fee waiver.

Special Session is completely funded from student tuition, and it does not receive any financial support from the State of California. Special Session tuition is assessed as a per unit fee. Students can opt to pay the same student fees as Regular Session students if they wish to access student services, such as Santa Clara County transit services, student body organizations, health care, and recreational facilities.

Regular Session and Special Session students must meet the same graduation requirements (e.g., same required courses, same number of elective units, same total number of units to graduate), and they will receive the exact same diploma when they graduate. The classes of both MSDA sessions are taught by the same instructor pool at the same location.

If you need assistance in deciding between the two sessions, please contact ms-data-analytics@sjsu.edu.

What should be my computer configuration for taking classes?

Due to the unique nature of the MSDA curriculum, each student should be able to access a laptop computer with the minimum configuration of

CPU: Core i7 (preferred) or Core i5
RAM: 16G Bytes
Storage: SSD 256G Bytes (highly recommended)
Screen size: 15” or above

This computer will enable you to download the necessary environments, tools, applications, and course materials to engage in classroom exercises, in-class quizzes, midterm and final exams, as well as class and master projects.