Graduate Programs

Admission

Data Science

How to Apply

We require that you submit your application online. If you need to submit additional materials by mail, send them to the appropriate address below. (International applicants should submit materials to this address, not to the Office of International Services).

Data Science Graduate Office
700 N Woodlawn Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47408-3901

datasci@indiana.edu

What We Are Looking For

We want to know if your interests and abilities match the program you are applying for and if you seem likely to benefit from an education in the school. If you think it is helpful, you can supplement the required application materials with other information that sheds light on your capabilities. A resume or curruculum vitae is ideal for including citations or links to any published work, hardware artifacts, or software artifacts you have produced.

Items that are important in the evaluation process include:

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

We do not require a bachelor's degree in computer science, informatics, or a related field, but we are looking for background in key areas. You should have basic experience or working knowledge with programming languages such as Python and R before joining the program.

LETTERS OF REFERENCE

Except in special cases, references should be from academic faculty, including at least some in informatics and computing. We ask for three letters but you may submit more. Certificate students need only provide one letter of recommendation.

GRE SCORES

We require GRE scores for all MS applicants and cannot process your application until we receive them. We do not have cut-offs for GRE scores, preferring instead to use the full information available in your application to evaluate. IU's institution code for reporting your GRE score is 1324 and the department code for Data Science processing is 0403 or for Undecided is 0000.

Online MS applicants may apply for a GRE waiver. Please contact the Data Science Graduate Office at datasci@indiana.edu for eligibility requirements.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The most important information to include in your statement of purpose concerns your academic goals. Tell us which research areas you are interested in and which Indiana University faculty you would like to work with. You may also use your statement of purpose to explain any anomalies in your record.

TRANSCRIPTS

You must submit a transcript from each previous undergraduate or graduate institution other than Indiana University that you have attended. We are most interested in the grades you received in courses that are relevant to our graduate programs.

International Applicants

If you are not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, you must submit the following with your application for admission:

• Financial Documentation.  Federal regulations require every admitted international student to demonstrate that the student has current resources available to support himself/herself during their first year of study in the United States. This financial documentation is not part of your application. The Office of International Services strongly recommends that applicants submit their financial documentation using iStart after the application is submitted. By having your financial documentation uploaded into your iStart account, it will expedite the processing of immigration documents in the event you are admitted to our program and accept the offer of admission.  Once the application is submitted, the Office of International Services will send you an email with instructions on how to set-up your iStart account and how to submit your Financial Documentation.  Immigration documents will not be issued until the required financial documentation is received by the Office of International Services.  If you have any questions about how to set-up your iStart account or questions about the required financial documentation, email the Office of International Services, newtoiu@indiana.edu.
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).  All applicants who are not native speakers of English or who did not receive an undergraduate or graduate degree from a university in the United States must submit these scores. IU's institution code for reporting TOEFL scores is 1324, and the department code for Data Science processing is 0403 or for Undecided is 0000.  We normally expect a minimum TOEFL score of 100 on the internet-based test, 250 on the computer-based test, or approximately 600 on the paper-based test.  We may make exceptions when there is other evidence of English ability.  Effective August 1, 2016 - IELTS scores are no longer accepted.

Recent Applicants

If you have applied here in the last two years and are applying again, contact us for instructions at datasci@indiana.edu

Deadlines

• Fall Semester
  • Priority Deadline for Admission and Financial Aid
    • Residential student applications: January 1
    • Online and Certificate student applications: June 1

Admission Status and Notification

We evaluate applications for fall semester after the priority deadlines. We will let you know as soon as we have reached a decision, residential decisions by late February and online/certificate decisions by late June.

Occassionally students who are not admitted contact us for an explanation. Unfortunately, we receive several hundred applications per year, and we do not have the staff to explain admission decisions on a case-by-case basis.