1. Participate in a Brown University credit experience (i.e. independent study): Complete a one-semester independent study for credit that focuses on research in data science or applies data-science techniques to a problem in the student’s concentration (e.g. as part of the student’s honors thesis, though this is not required).​

2. Participate in a non-credit experience such as completing a summer internship, TA-ing for a data-related course², or working with a local organization on a data-related project. A 10-12 page reflective paper is required for this option. If a student chooses to TA, TA'ing for any of the courses on the certificate's elective list fulfills this requirement.

3. Be a Data Science Fellow. Students may complete DATA 1150 and the concurrent Data Science Fellows project to fulfill both the elective and experiential components of the certificate. 

• Students are responsible for identifying an appropriate experiential learning  component.
• Students must submit their proposal for their experiential component by the end of their sixth semester.
• Students should normally complete the experiential learning component during the summer following their junior year or during their senior year. The experiential learning component must be approved in advance by the student’s certificate advisor. Students will be asked to prepare a detailed proposal that explains how the experiential component draws on data science and how it relates to their concentration.
• Students who choose to pursue a no-credit option for the experiential learning component requirement must write and submit a 10-12 page paper during their senior year that reflects on the nature of the work done, its relationship to the learning goals of the data fluency certificate program, and its relevance for the student’s concentration. The final reflection should address the following aspects:
  •  Describe how the experiential component you undertook is situated in a larger process of producing or disseminating knowledge, how it has drawn on your certificate coursework, and how it relates to your concentration.
  •  How would you define the primary objectives of the project that you were involved with? Did some of these objectives compete with each other, and if so how? Describe the data-science aspects of your project and the potential impact your work has on individuals or society at large.
• The report should be submitted online as an uploaded file under the heading "Non-credit Capstone Option" in the Data Fluency Certificate declaration on ASK.

Students must declare a certificate no earlier than the beginning of the fifth semester, and no later than the last day of classes of the antepenultimate (typically the sixth) semester. There are no exceptions to the declaration window and the College is no longer accepting petitions for late declarations.

• No, students may not earn more than one certificate.

No, if you are completing two or more concentrations (or a concurrent degree), you may not complete a certificate.

Students must be enrolled in or have completed at least two courses toward the certificate at the time they declare in ASK.

The excluded concentrations for the Data Fluency certificate are Applied Mathematics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics (including joint concentrations in these areas).

According to the certificate guidelines, a student’s concentration and certificate cannot have substantial overlap.

Unfortunately, there are no exceptions to the declaration window and the College is no longer accepting petitions for late declarations.

No more than one requirement may count toward your concentration and the certificate.

1. For example, CSCI 0111 could count for both a concentration and a certificate requirement.  
2. For example, CSCI 0111 and ECON 1000 cannot both be used for the concentration and the certificate
3. For example, CSCI 0111 and a thesis credit cannot both be used for the concentration and the certificate.

Yes.

The current list of accepted electives are listed in the Bulletin and it includes courses from anthropology, applied math, biology, cognitive linguistics, computer science, data science, economics, education, environmental science, math, music, public health, and sociology.  Students may also propose another course (with a significant data component) to their certificate advisor for approval.

Yes, students may complete DATA 1150 and the concurrent Data Science Fellows project to fulfill both the elective and experiential components of the certificate. 

1. Participate in a Brown university credit experience (ie independent study).
2. Participate in a non-credit experience (ie summer internship, TAship, work with a local organization on a data related project). If you complete a non-credit experience, you will be required to write a 10-12 page reflective paper on the experience (more information below).
3. Be a Data Science Fellow.

Students must submit a proposal for their experiential component experience by the end of the sixth semester.

When you are proposing an experiential component, you can do so in ASK. There will be space for you to write how you are planning to fulfill the requirement. If you need to submit a reflection paper at the end of your certificate, you can also upload that in ASK.

Brown's Center for Career Exploration is an excellent resource for finding an internship. The Swearer Center's Community-Engaged Data and Evaluation Collaborative (CEDEC) also may have opportunities and the DSI sends out relevant opportunities to the email list of certificate students. 

Yes, students may complete DATA 1150 and the concurrent Data Science Fellows project to fulfill both the elective and experiential components of the certificate.  

TA’ing for DATA 0080, DATA 0200, or any course listed as an elective on the bulletin will satisfy the experiential component. If you choose to TA you will need to complete the reflective paper assignment.  

Students who are interested in using their independent study / honors thesis in their concentration as their experiential learning component should send the details of their research to their certificate advisor for approval.

Please note that if you use your independent study or thesis for the experiential learning component, you cannot double-count any other requirements from your concentration to the certificate.

If you are receiving credit for the experiential component (i.e., an honors thesis or independent study), you do not have to write a paper.

If you are not receiving credit for the experiential component (i.e., TA’ing or an internship), then you do have to complete the reflection assignment. This assignment is a 10-12 page reflective paper where you get to talk about your experiences, think about the impact the courses had on that experience, and think about how you might use these skills and experiences after you leave Brown.

For May completers, the reflective essay is due in ASK by the end of the day on the last day of April. For December completers, the reflective essay is due in ASK by the end of the day on the last day of November.