UC Berkeley School of Information launches Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS) degree

Dear Alumni and Friends of the I School,

I am thrilled to share the news that the School of Information is launching a Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS) degree with the first cohort of students starting in January 2014. This will be the country’s first fully online Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS) program.

The I School faculty developed this new degree in response to the rapidly growing need for well-trained professionals who can organize, analyze, and interpret the deluge of often messy and unorganized data now available from the web, sensor networks, mobile devices, and elsewhere — often referred to as “big data.”

The MIDS is a rigorous 27-unit graduate degree aimed at the working professional. It will combine live, face-to-face classes with interactive, online course work that can be accessed from anywhere. While the coursework will be entirely online, all students will also participate in a one-week immersion in Berkeley that allows them to meet one another and the faculty as well as to interact with leading data science professionals from the San Francisco Bay Area.

The program will provide hands-on experience with the diverse tools and methods for exploring and finding patterns in complicated, real-world data, and for communicating the findings with decision makers. Just like all other degree programs at the School of Information, I School faculty will teach in the program alongside experienced professionals.

If you would like to learn more about the Master of Information and Data Science program, please visit us online to request more information or call 855.678.MIDS.

Sincerely,

Anno Saxenian
Dean, UC Berkeley School of Information