DS 440WData Science Capstone

3 credits · Data Sciences · Penn State

The Data Sciences capstone develops the research orientation and creative problem solving necessary for successful careers. The capstone develops these skills in the context of a semester long project, the solution to which requires integration of knowledge, skills and analytic techniques taught in the core curriculum. The Data Sciences capstone will also give student a real world experience in which they will need to work in teams and will be coached on ways to translate analytic outcomes into meaningful and actionable information for decision makers. The course is intended for seniors who have successfully completed the core courses. The capstone projects will integrate knowledge gained in technical subjects such as machine learning, data mining, data integration and visualization. The project will also require students to analyze the privacy and security aspects of the problem as well as apply concepts of decision analysis. Students will also hone their presentation and technical writing skills, generating effective reports that not only explain their analytic processes, assumptions underlying the processes and outcomes, but also communicate the limitations of their approach and potential alternate strategies.