Study Data Science
Data Science is one of the fastest growing majors at UW-Madison. Whether you are interested in a data science career, course, or workshop, opportunities abound here! Learn about undergraduate majors, graduate programs, the data science certificate, workshops, and internships and careers.
Explore Campus Resources
Data science has applications in all disciplines, and Data Science @ UW is your connection to data science institutes, centers, and programs across the UW-Madison campus. It’s also the place to find research funding and resources, coding meetups, seminars and events, data science faculty and communities of practice, student organizations, and more!
Collaborate With Us
Data science innovation at UW-Madison furthers the Wisconsin Idea by fueling discovery and economic development in all corners of the state and beyond. We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture in data science. Campus, industry, and community partners can benefit from our data science services.
Data Science Events
- June
- June 17
- June 17
- June 18
News and Announcements
CDIS and DSI Moving to Morgridge Hall This Summer
Morgridge Hall construction will conclude this summer, with classes expected to start in the fall. The new facility will house the School of Computer, Data, & Information Sciences along with the Data Science Institute, Center for High Throughput Computing, and biostatistics and medical informatics department.
Ilias Diakonikolas Wins ACM Grace Hopper Award for Breakthrough Techniques in Algorithm Design
Diakonikolas, Sheldon B. Lubar professor of Computer Sciences, received the 2024 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Grace Murray Hopper Award, one of the highest honors for young researchers in computing.
Data Science Hub Shares Progress in 2024 Impact Report
In 2024, the Data Science Hub continued to support researchers in learning data science and computing skills and applying those skills to their research. Read their 2024 Impact Report to see how they are empowering data-rich research.
Grace Wahba Awarded the International Prize in Statistics
This award recognizes Wahba's groundbreaking work on smoothing splines, which has transformed modern data analysis and machine learning. Wahba joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1967 as the first female faculty member in the department of statistics.
- More
Faces of Data Science
“Some students fear the unknown, or they are just really nervous about what classes to take. I can remember that uncertainty. At that point in your life, you think every decision you make determines your entire future. I try to explain to students that not knowing something is okay. The important thing is to keep learning.”
Jelena Diakonikolas
Assistant Professor, Computer Sciences
Jelena Diakonikolas wants to strengthen the algorithms that power machine learning models. She recently received an NSF CAREER Award to develop new algorithms that perform well under uncertain and changing circumstances.
Her CAREER award was inspired by a Data Science Institute symposium on AI for agriculture and forestry, where researchers voiced challenges with building models that are robust in ambiguous and changing data environments, echoing broader issues with how machine learning models are trained and used today. Many algorithms assume that training data and real-world data are the same, which often isn’t true. Additionally, data may change once a model is used. For instance, implementing a new policy based on collected data may change the data itself. Diakonikolas’s work will address limitations in current machine learning approaches, creating algorithms that can power models that are accurate and stable.
Growing up in Serbia, Diakonikolas excelled at math and computer sciences, but lacked exposure and opportunities for rigorous academic research. Her decision to move to the U.S. for graduate school helped her grow as a researcher and build confidence. As a teacher, she encourages her students to address uncertainty in their lives by keeping an open mind and trying new things.