The certificate is intended for students who are interested in addressing the challenge of transforming the massive data arising in applications such as business analytics, cyber defense/forensics, energy, finance, genomics, health care, intelligence, law enforcement, or transportation, into meaningful information. The program is intended for graduate students in areas where applications of big data may arise.

Graduates with a master’s degree in data analytics engineering are part of a new class of engineers that deploy an interdisciplinary approach of statistical science, computer science, systems analytics, and another field of study such as business, operations research, geoscience, or bioscience. These specialized engineers build the structures that work to contain and organize gigantic fields of data so that it can be used to predict consumer behaviors, social trends such as extremism, disease threats, and factors influencing and influenced by climate change. Mason’s graduates benefit from our extensive history in sociological research, information technology, and global studies, which lends this program its unique strength. The employment outlook for this field is new and growing rapidly.