Master’s in Data Science Programs in Kansas

When it comes to big data in Kansas, it pays to know where to look! In this guide to earning a data science degree in Kansas, you’ll find information on research and scholarships as well as meetups and jobs.

Already have a school in mind? Skip ahead to our list of all the data science programs in Kansas.

Studying Data Science in Kansas

• In Kansas, 6.4% of the workforce was in the tech sector in 2020, according to CompTIA’s Cyberstates tool. This puts it at a ranking of 31st in the nation.

Kansas City is also home to the Johnson County Education Research Triangle. Dedicated to advances in areas like engineering, technology, animal health, biodiversity, and agriculture, it’s anchored by two University of Kansas (KU) campuses and a Kansas State University (K-State) institution.

Data Science Research & Initiatives at Kansas Universities

Research activity is typically a strong point in a program’s favor—after all, you may be hoping to collaborate with lecturers who know their stuff. For example, KU is supporting its campus degrees with laser-focused efforts:

• Data scientists at the Center for Business Analytics & Research (CBAR) have forged strong ties with national businesses by tackling a large number of data-focused corporate projects.
• At the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), researchers in the Data Science and Engineering cluster are working on multidisciplinary approaches to data gathering, management, and modeling.
• Informatics specialists at the KU Biodiversity Institute are collaborating with biologists to develop and support software for biological collections research.

K-State has some goings on in the area of technology as well:

• The Department of Computer Science (CS) has an abiding interest in big data research. The result is fascinating data work at the intersection of health, agriculture, and ecology. For example, CS researchers work with K-State’s National Agricultural Biosecurity Center (NABC), the Ecological Genomics Institute, the Arthropod Genomics Center, the Bioinformatics Center, and the K-State EPICENTER. At the EPICENTER, data scientists design real-time tools for epidemic outbreaks—not only in humans, but in plants, animals, and even computers.
• For budding entrepreneurs, K-State also has an Institute for Commercialization devoted to high-growth, technology-based enterprises; an Olathe Innovation Accelerator that supports companies with technical and business expertise; and an Technology Development Institute that speeds the commercial readiness of new product technologies.

Finally, we should mention the large amount of healthcare activity at the Kansas University Medical Center (KUMC) and KU Cancer Center. We’re talking:

• Computational genomics and clinical trial & data coordination in the Department of Biostatistics.
• Biomedical informatics expertise “on tap” from the Center for Medical Informatics and Enterprise Analytics and its Division of Medical Informatics.
• Bioinformatics work at the Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (KIDDRC).
• Current projects at the KU Center for Health Informatics.
• Data science support from KU Cancer Center’s Biostatistics and Informatics Shared Resource (BISR).

Bonus Round: If you’ve fallen in love with bio-work, be sure to check out the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence. It’s designed to help researchers compete for National Institutes of Health funds in the field of cell and developmental biology. 

Online Data Science Programs in Kansas

There aren’t many online degrees in Kansas, but if you’re concerned about making the leap into virtual education, have a quick peek at our advice on what to look for in an online data science program.

Online Graduate Certificates in Data Science

K-State offers some distance learning certificates in the field of data:

• Online Graduate Certificate in Applied Statistics: Created by the Department of Statistics, this program tackles everything from biostatistics and multivariate statistical methods to experiment design.
• Online Graduate Certificate in Data Analytics: Dedicated to developing interdisciplinary skills, this program involves both a data science and applied analytics track.
• The University of Kansas offers an online Graduate Certificate in Applied Data Science. This 15-credit-hour program is a series of five courses designed to equip students with skills in statistical and computational methods for the acquisition and analysis of Big Data.

Health professionals will also want to check out KU Medical Center’s online Healthcare Informatics Certificate, which is aimed at folks who already hold a master’s degree in another field. In addition to including a home-based practicum, this program prepares students to sit for applicable nursing, M.D., or graduate-level certification exams as an expert informatician.

Online Master’s Degrees in Data Science

When it comes to online master’s degrees in Kansas, Emporia State University’s (ESU) online Master of Science in Informatics blends coursework from the School of Library and Information Management (SLIM). There are core courses on topics like database design, system analysis and design, and IT project management, and a wide range of electives. Students can choose a special nursing concentration, which tackles healthcare informatics.

Speaking of health, we should also mention that KU has an online Master of Science in Applied Statistics and Analytics aimed at aspiring experts in statistics, biostatistics, and data analytics. Although the required coursework focuses on stats and a broad range of big data applications, the degree includes electives in areas like genomics research and clinical trials. All of the faculty teach at the Department of Biostatistics.

Data Science Scholarships in Kansas

The reason you won’t find many listings in this section is because we chose to focus on university scholarships and assistantships that specifically apply to the school’s data program. However, advisors in the Graduate Studies Office will have more info on general scholarships and alternative financing options. Be sure to talk to them!

University of Kansas

• Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Graduate Teaching and Research Assistantships: EECS administers the MS in Computer Science, and over 75% of its graduate students are supported by assistantships or fellowships (either within KU or with funding from external organizations).

Data Science Events in Kansas

Data Science Meetups & Communities in Kansas

Kansas City is the epicenter for data science ecents. For even more ideas on KC meetups, please see the same section in our profile of data science in Missouri.

1. Open Source Analytics: Sponsored by IBM, OSA is a Kansas City meetup exploring the latest in open source analytics. Think topics like Hadoop and Spark, machine learning, data mining, data visualization, cognitive analytics, etc.
2. Kansas City Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning: This meeting, as its name suggests, is all things machine learning and AI. The group has over 300 members.

Data Science Conferences & Workshops in Kansas

You’ll need to factor in travel costs if you want to attend big conferences like Strata Data Conference, Predictive Analytics World, IEEE Conferences and SIGKDD, and MLconf—Kansas hasn’t quite reached “must-visit” status for data scientists. On the other hand, you’re not too far from events in Texas and Colorado, and even Oklahoma City has intriguing stuff going on.

We cover Kansas City data and tech conferences in our profile of Missouri; please see that section for a complete rundown of what’s happening in town.

Data Science Jobs in Kansas

Overland Park (and—by extension—the greater Kansas City metropolitan area) has a diverse mix of industries. Sprint is a name you may hear, but leading employers also include Black & Veatch (Engineering), Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., OptumRX (Pharmaceuticals), the Overland Park Regional Medical Center, and YRC Worldwide (Transportation and Logistics).

On the flip side are all startups and data-focused companies. Along with data science firms like Nuvento and Yotabites, which specialize in big data consulting, and QTS Realty, which manages multi-tenant data centers, you’ll see tech activity in areas such as:

• Agriculture and biosecurity (e.g. Ansera Analytics and Farmobile)
• Healthcare and medicine (e.g. Netsmart, Spinal Simplicity, Innara Health, TreVia)
• Finance (e.g. RiskGenius)
• Info services (e.g. JobShakers and LaborChart)

Wichita is the home of Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the country, and Cargill’s protein headquarters.

Data Scientist Salaries in Kansas

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, data scientists (computer and information research scientists) in Kansas make an average of $94,300 (2018 data). The top 10% of jobs earn $123,810.

Data Science Programs in Kansas

We found 4 universities in Kansas offering Masters of Data Science programs (and/or closely related programs, like MS in Analytics / Masters in Business Analytics).

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.