Greater data science at baccalaureate institutions

TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the importance of integrating statistics into data science education at baccalaureate institutions, advocating for statisticians to embrace data science as a distinct and vital domain.

Contribution

It highlights the need for undergraduate statistics programs to adapt and incorporate data science principles, ensuring statisticians remain relevant in the evolving field.

Findings

Growth of undergraduate statistics programs is rapid.

Statisticians should actively engage with data science developments.

Undergraduate education must evolve to include data science concepts.

Abstract

Donoho's JCGS (in press) paper is a spirited call to action for statisticians, who he points out are losing ground in the field of data science by refusing to accept that data science is its own domain. (Or, at least, a domain that is becoming distinctly defined.) He calls on writings by John Tukey, Bill Cleveland, and Leo Breiman, among others, to remind us that statisticians have been dealing with data science for years, and encourages acceptance of the direction of the field while also ensuring that statistics is tightly integrated. As faculty at baccalaureate institutions (where the growth of undergraduate statistics programs has been dramatic), we are keen to ensure statistics has a place in data science and data science education. In his paper, Donoho is primarily focused on graduate education. At our undergraduate institutions, we are considering many of the same questions.