2024 Best Data Science Bachelor's Degree Schools

Data Sciencebachelor's programs are on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of popularity. In fact, the major degree program ranks #271 out of the 363 majors we look at each year. While this may limit the number of schools that offer the degree program, there are still top-quality ones to be found.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 21 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Data Science Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 165 bachelor's degrees in data science to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Data Science School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Your choice of data science for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality data science program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on data science students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of data science students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt data science students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized data science related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for data science students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Data Science Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Data Science in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in data science.

10 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Data Science

1

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA

Worcester Polytechnic Institute is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in data science. WPI is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Worcester.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute

2

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in data science. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

3

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in data science has to check out University of Wisconsin - Madison. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from University of Wisconsin - Madison

4

Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY

Columbia University in the City of New York is a great option for students interested in a bachelor's degree in data science. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from Columbia University in the City of New York

5

William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA

8 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public school with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from William & Mary

6

Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX

Located in the suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from Southern Methodist University

7

Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA

7 Annual Graduates

Mt. Holyoke is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of South Hadley.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from Mount Holyoke College

8

University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA

4 Annual Graduates

Iowa is a fairly large public university located in the city of Iowa City.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from University of Iowa

9

University of Oregon
Eugene, OR

UO is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Eugene.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from University of Oregon

10

Centre College
Danville, KY

7 Annual Graduates

Located in the distant town of Danville, Centre College of Kentucky is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in data science from Centre College

Data Science by Region

View the Best Data Science Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Data Science Related Rankings by Major

One of 51 majors within the Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies area of study, Data Science has other similar majors worth exploring.

Data Science Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Data Science, General	165

Most Popular Majors Related to Data Science

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	24,095
Interdisciplinary Studies	7,810
International Studies	6,197
Nutrition Science	3,815
Cognitive Science	2,650
Biological & Physical Science	2,632
Human Biology	1,907
Behavioral Science	1,814
Sustainability Science	1,215
Mathematics & Computer Science	993

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.