MS in Applied Data Science Career Seminar FAQs

Industry and talent acquisition partners frequently emphasize the importance of hiring well-rounded students and new graduates who have excellent technical and non-technical skills.

When you graduate with an “applied” degree, there is an expectation of effective communication and leadership abilities. Honing those skills takes self-awareness and practice. Throughout the Career Seminar, your instructor will help guide your individual career exploration, offer tools to maximize opportunities, and provide a safe space for personal development.

This seminar will help you navigate your career in data science and land a job that fits your needs and desires. It will lead you through a deeper discovery into who you are, clarifying what you want to do with your career, and navigating the market to find the right organization and job match.

The Career Seminar will address topics relevant to where you are in the MS-ADS program. The four-quarter seminar is progressive in nature, and general themes will vary by quarter, as follows:

Part 1: Autumn

• Gain familiarity with the data science job market and explore potential career paths.
• Recognize communication skills needed to succeed in data science.
• Develop networking tactics to engage effectively with data science professionals.
• Improve application materials and build a job search strategy to successfully compete in the data science job market.
  

Part 2: Winter

• Explore and consider data science potential within various organizations.
• Identify personal strengths and how to communicate them with prospective employers.
• Strengthen networking skills with an array of personality types.
• Polish interpersonal and technical interviewing skills.

Part 3: Spring

• Identify outlets to maximize your summer internship, work, or volunteer experiences.
• Detect growth opportunities in technical and non-technical areas.
• Apply LinkedIn best practices for expanding data science and talent connections.
• Obtain relevant job referrals for your preferred industry or organization.

Part 4: Summer or Autumn

• Identify next steps to secure a data science career.
• Expand communication tools necessary to thrive in a data science career.
• Gain confidence with your networking skills as you grow your data science network and
  career connections.
  
• Successfully negotiate job offers.

The Career Seminar is a four-quarter consecutive sequence:

• Part 1: Autumn quarter
• Part 2: Winter quarter
• Part 3: Spring quarter
• Part 4: Summer and Autumn quarters
  • While offered in both Summer and Autumn quarters, only one is required, and we recommend taking the fourth course in the quarter you plan to graduate.

Students who are dedicated to career readiness will stand out amongst their peers with the confidence and skills gained and practiced through the Career Seminar. Further, your instructor will help you craft language that highlights the practical nature of the course and may be used as interview talking points and included on your resume and LinkedIn profile.

The Career Seminar is a noncredit course included in your tuition, with no additional fees required.

You must register each quarter through my.uchicago.edu when registration opens.

Coursework is mostly asynchronous and self-guided, and there will be two or three required synchronous sessions each quarter. The synchronous sessions are virtual, scheduled outside of regular class hours, and offered multiple times. Dates for synchronous sessions and assignment deadlines will be listed in each quarter’s syllabus.

Students should budget 8-12 hours each quarter on this course.

The seminar is designed to complement your technical coursework, and, as a degree requirement, assignments should be prioritized accordingly.

Yes, each seminar course will be graded by quarter on a pass or fail basis, with a grade of “P” indicating “Pass” and “F” indicating “Fail”. Students MUST pass all four quarters to earn their MS in Applied Data Science degree.

Students who fail any quarter of the Career Seminar may be placed on Academic Probation for not meeting the program’s Good Academic Standing expectations. As a condition for returning to good standing in the program, students who fail a quarter will be required to enroll in an independent study course the following quarter to ensure that four seminar courses are passed before graduating. Graduation will be delayed for students who earn a failing grade in their final quarter until a pass grade is earned. International students studying on an F-1 visa will not be able to start full-time OPT until all four seminars are successfully completed.

Yes, each quarter of the Career Seminar will appear on your official transcript.

Coursework will finish in week seven of the respective quarter, and you will be permitted to complete all assignments by week 10 of that quarter. You will be expected to communicate with the course instructor if you anticipate not completing the assignments by the end of week 10.

All students must register for and pass the entirety of the Career Seminar to graduate unless you meet the waiver requirements.

Students who meet at least one of the following criteria will not be required to register for any of the Career Seminar courses:

• Three or more years of professional work experience; years are calculated as the time between completion of bachelor’s degree and the date of MS-ADS admission application approval.
• Eligible to only enroll in no more than 200 units per quarter and employed full-time.

Students are welcome to request to opt-in to the entire series of the Career Seminar courses (four quarters). If you choose to participate, you must complete and pass all four quarters as a graduation requirement. Partial participation is not permitted.

Yes, absolutely, and we highly encourage you to seek out those opportunities. MS-ADS offers both in-person and online employer information sessions and career development programming throughout the year, and we host an in-person Data Science & Analytics Career Fair every February. For individual meetings, you may schedule appointments with career advisors through GRAD Gargoyle.