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Data Science Related Specialties
Choose a data science specialty
Are you more of a marketing analyst-type data scientist, or is applied statistics more your style? Data science draws on several related fields, each with its own focus. Each profile below introduces a field or credential level and links to program listings in that area.
Specialty fields
- Accounting Analytics: Data analysis applied to accounting questions such as financial reporting, auditing and fraud detection.
- Applied Statistics: Statistical methods used to design studies, analyze data and draw conclusions in real-world settings.
- Business Analytics: Using data to inform business decisions in areas such as marketing, operations and finance.
- Business Analytics Online Degrees: The same specialty, with a focus on programs offered online.
- Business Intelligence: Collecting, organizing and reporting business data, often through dashboards, so decision makers can track performance.
- Computer Engineering: The design of computer hardware, networks and the low-level software that controls them.
- Computer Science: Programming, algorithms and software systems, which underlie how data science tools are built.
- Cybersecurity: Protecting data, networks and systems from unauthorized access and attack.
- Geospatial Science: Collecting and analyzing location-based data, including mapping and geographic information systems (GIS).
- Health Informatics: Managing and analyzing health care data, such as electronic health records, to support care and operations.
- Information Systems: How organizations plan, build and manage the information systems and data that support their work. This profile covers online programs.
Degree levels and formats
These profiles are organized by credential level rather than by field.
- Graduate Certificates in Data Science: Graduate-level certificate programs with focused data science coursework, for readers who want specific skills without a full degree.
- MBA in Analytics / Data Science: Business-school programs that pair general management coursework with analytics or data science content.
- PhD in Analytics / Data Science: Doctoral programs centered on original research in analytics or data science.
How to narrow down your choice
No single specialty is right for everyone. These questions can help you decide which profiles to open first.
- What kind of data do you want to work with? Financial records point to accounting analytics, health records to health informatics, and location data to geospatial science.
- Do you want to analyze data, build the systems that hold it, or protect it? Business analytics, business intelligence and applied statistics center on analyzing data. Computer science, computer engineering and information systems center on building and managing the technology. Cybersecurity centers on protecting it.
- Do you want a master’s degree or a different credential? The degree levels and formats listed above serve different goals, so it helps to compare them with the master’s profiles that interest you.
If you are still deciding between focus areas within data science itself, such as machine learning or data engineering, our guide to focus areas in data science covers them.