How Much Math Do You Need for Data Science?

Answer: A lot!
To be a real Data Scientist, you need to be 1/2-programmer and 1/2-mathematician/statistician. That means you need a very solid foundation in university mathematics, which starts with the following undergraduate, lower-division courses:
While there are TONS of free (and sometimes excellent) courses online via MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), you will want to have all of the above courses on real, transferable Academic transcripts to prove you have completed these courses, with letter grades, not just say "I took these courses from a MOOC". There are no short-cuts in building up your credentials as a mathematician for data science.

Distance Calculus - Freshman CoursesFreshman Math Courses

Distance Calculus - Sophomore CoursesSophomore Math Courses

Distance Calculus - Honors CoursesHonors Math Courses

Distance Calculus - Lower Division CoursesLower Division Math Courses

Distance Calculus - Upper Division CoursesUpper Division Math Courses

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are awesome, but they do not provide real academic course credit for their courses. If you plan to go for a B.A. or M.A. with a Data Science concentration, you will not be able to say "Oh, I took all my calculus courses from a MOOC" - you need these courses in your academic portfolio. We invite you to explore our Distance Calculus courses in more detail via the links above, or perhaps the movies below.

Academic Credits from Distance Calculus






Data Science & Distance Calculus



Data Science can best be described as a "a cross between a programmer and a mathematician/statistician".

This topic has many names, all being equivalent:
  • Data Science
  • Applied Statistics
  • Programmer+Mathematician
  • Big Data

If you wish to become a Data Scientist, you will need to develop both strong programming skills, and have a very strong mathematics background.

Distance Calculus @ Roger Williams University can help prepare you for a study of Data Science - either for a degree in Data Science or perhaps a certificate - by helping you complete the core mathematics courses necessary for starting a Data Science degree or certificate.

There are no short-cuts you can do with going into Data Science. You just can't learn Python and then pretend you are a Data Scientist because you watch a few videos on running data sets through Python! You NEED a very strong mathematics background that includes ALL of the following courses: