Is Massachusetts the right state for you to study data science? To help answer your questions, we’ve created a guide to schools, online degrees, scholarships, meetups, and more.

Already made your decision? Skip ahead to our list of all the data science programs in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts has capital invested in data science. Under the auspices of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and its Innovation Institute, the state has been investing money to big data, e-commerce, advanced manufacturing, and R&D centers.

This makes sense, because Massachusetts is home to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard. In U.S. News & World Report rankings for Best Global Universities in Computer Science and Best Graduate Computer Science Programs, you’ll often find MIT in a top spot, with Harvard farther down the list. These are joined by a number of high-ranked public and private research universities.

Just to take a few examples of what’s happening on campus:

And we’ve only touched the surface. There’s Northeastern’s Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which is the first school to offer a PhD in data science program in the country; and smaller schools like Bentley and Babson, which focus on business applications.

Choices for online data science programs in Massachusetts are school-dependent. Depending on the school, offerings range from data science to business intelligence to statistical analytics.

And they don’t just vary at the program focus level. There are also programs for those of varying abilities. Master’s for those who have earned their bachelor’s degrees. Doctorates for those with an interest in academia. Certificates for those who want to take a few courses to bolster their knowledge in a technical area. Prerequisites will also vary by program – some are designed for those with an undergraduate background in data or statistics, while others are geared to career changers.

Northeastern, Boston University, UMass Amherst, and UMass Boston all offer graduate certificates in data analytics and/or business analytics. Typically, these programs cover standard areas like data mining, visualization, and strategic decision-making.
A more unusual approach is Northeastern’s Hybrid Graduate Certificate in Urban Informatics. This is an emerging field in data science, and the university is jumping all over it. For example, academics at Northeastern’s School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs Research Labs have been exploring the intersection of government data and behav­ioral and social dynamics.

Online master’s degree offerings are dominated by large private research universities:

But that’s not to ignore the efforts of smaller schools. For example, Bay Path has assembled an online MS in Applied Data Science and Brandeis has an online MS in Strategic Analytics.

Whatever the degree name, read up on the course descriptions and the faculty profiles; some master’s degrees may be more for business types than data lovers.

Data science and data analytics bootcamps in Massachusetts may be an avenue to jump-start your transition into the field. Bootcamps are short courses of study meant to quickly introduce students to practice compared to a master’s degree. Bootcamps in Massachusetts may be dedicated to data science, the study of how information is derived from raw data; data analytics, the process of drawing specific conclusions from data; or both data science and data analytics. See our guide to learn more about data science bootcamps or data analytics bootcamps in Massachusetts.

Financial aid for Massachusetts data science programs is available, even in certain cases from MIT and Harvard. We’ve listed scholarships and fellowships that would cover degrees in our school listings, but this is only the beginning. Your graduate studies office will have lots of info on general scholarships, outside sources and alternative financing options.

The Greater Boston area has many things: universities, bars, students and data science meetups. There are groups centered on specific tools (e.g. Apache Spark), foci (e.g. Machine Learning, AI, Cognitive Computing, etc.), and fields (e.g. Bio-Entrepreneurs). As well as those just mentioned, here are five more to explore:

Thanks to its position on the coast, major data science conferences (e.g. Strata Data Conference, Predictive Analytics World, IEEE Conferences, SIGKDD, The Machine Learning Conference, etc.) and focused forums often stop in Boston. If you’re pursuing a master’s degree or PhD in the Bay State, you may also be interested in:

Because of all the state encouragement and university research we’ve mentioned, Massachusetts is fertile ground for data science jobs.Those jobs are being generated by a number of employers, large and small. Some employers include:

In addition, Massachusetts is world-renowned for its medical institutions. If you’re intrigued by the intersection of data science and biotechnology/healthcare, you’re in the right place. According to Research America,Massachusetts ranked No. 2 in states that receive the most NIH funding and No. 2 in funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, as of fiscal year 2018.

According to O*NET OnLine, in 2020 data scientists in Massachusetts made an average of $108,790 per year.

Last updated: October 2021

If you’re looking for information on career paths that involve STEM, see our guides below:

Data Science and Analytics Careers:

Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Information Careers:

Marketing and User Research Careers:

Compare Careers and STEM Fields:

We found 14 universities in Massachusetts offering Masters of Data Science programs (and/or closely related programs, like MS in Analytics / Masters in Business Analytics). The university’s website will have the most up to date information on specific programs.

If you represent a university and would like to contact us about editing any of our listings, or adding new programs, please send an email to info@mastersindatascience.org.

This page includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.