Program Overview

The acceleration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics is rapidly reshaping industries and societies across the globe. With this immense potential for transformation comes the need to develop robust governance frameworks that ensure data and AI systems are deployed responsibly, ethically, and legally.

Brown’s online Master’s in Data Science: Policy, Governance & Society program prepares you to be a leader and steward of your organization's data assets and analytics capabilities. An interdisciplinary curriculum strengthens your technical expertise and pairs it with an ethical mindset so you can drive innovation through data while prioritizing the greater good.

This fully online version brings a world-class education to a globally diverse student body while maintaining the same academic rigor and excellence of an Ivy League University. A flexible format delivered asynchronously gives working professionals global access to graduate education from one of the country’s leading universities.

Learning Objectives

Students in Brown’s 100% online Master’s in Data Science: Policy, Governance & Society program will graduate with technical and well-rounded, robust skills to be able to:

• Build skills in data science methods like machine learning, big data, and data visualization to work with large datasets
• Effectively communicate complex data science solutions to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Apply quantitative policy analysis techniques to fully understand policy issues
• Explore the ethical and societal impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) and its relationship to other disciplines and technologies
• Draw upon theories and methodologies from various disciplines to address AI's ethical challenges
• Critically evaluate current governance approaches for AI technologies
• Develop new insights into AI governance 

Curriculum

The online Master’s in Data Science: Policy, Governance and Society offers an academically rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum designed to strengthen your technical expertise and pairs it with an ethical mindset so you can drive innovation through data while prioritizing the greater good. You will gain the technical and non-technical skills needed to effectively build and implement responsible data policies. Courses will build upon one another and seamlessly pair strong technical data science capabilities and a deep understanding of AI ethics and governance. 

The courses will be delivered through highly-sophisticated online modules developed by Brown’s world-class faculty and a team of online learning specialists. Designed for working professionals across industries, this program is intended equally for those with a deep technical background and those without. 

Online Master’s in Data Science: Policy, Governance & Society Sequence

View full course descriptions on the Course offerings page

Program Format

All courses are delivered 100% online and will combine asynchronous and synchronous components to make the most of the online learning environment. Each week on your own schedule, you’ll engage with faculty-created asynchronous coursework such as interactive multimedia, recorded lectures and demonstrations, expert/guest lecture videos and discussion boards. Synchronous sessions will occur one time per week and will be recorded for students to access at their convenience.

Our unique curriculum combined with the power of instructional technologies will engage cross-continental learners, intellectually, personally and professionally. This program will prepare you to be a leader and steward of your organization's data assets and analytics capabilities. 

This program can be completed in as little as 16 months, across four, 14-week consecutive semesters, including summer. 

Admissions Requirements

At Brown University, we take a holistic approach to our online Master of Science in Data Science: Policy Governance & Society admissions process, as we actively seek a diverse student population from across the globe. 

This program is ideally suited for currently employed, working-professionals. We require that applicants have at least two years of full-time professional employment experience. This allows you to enter the program with ideas about where you want to take your career, along with real-world expertise you can share with your classmates. 

The GRE is not required, however, applicants need to have completed at least one semester of college-level statistics. Additionally, at least one-semester of college-level linear algebra and calculus is preferred, but not required. Prior experience in programming languages is required. Python experience is preferred; other languages (SAS, STATA, R, Julia, etc) may be accepted. Applicants who lack this experience in their academic or work background are encouraged to complete an introductory programming course prior to applying.

Application Process

Application to the online Master of Science in Data Science: Policy, Governance & Society requires the following:

• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
• Letters of recommendation (3). At least one recommendation letter should be provided from a professional supervisor/manager.

• Work Artifact: The Admissions Committee is interested in learning about your motivation for pursuing this specific interdisciplinary master's degree. In lieu of a traditional personal statement, applicants are required to submit a pre-existing work artifact or a product from their professional experience illustrating professional engagement with technical data science skills, policy related to data science, governance issues related to data science, or societal issues impacted by data science.  This submission must be accompanied by a written explanation detailing these connections between the professional artifact and the element of data science, policy, governance, and society. Work artifacts from undergraduate internships, research or coursework will not be considered.

  Examples of Work Artifact submission may include, but are not limited to: 

  • A policy paper written for a non-profit organization disclosing how volunteer’s personal information is shared, along with a written explanation of the issues around privacy of data.  
  • A data visualization of your company sales that is reported in an annual report, accompanied by a written narrative regarding the technical skills used to produce the visualization.  
• Resume/CV showing at least two years of full-time work experience.
• Application fee payment ($100). Apply by the Early Decision Deadline and we’ll waive your $100 application fee.

• TOEFL/IELTS

  • All international applicants whose native language is not English must submit an official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score. See here for exceptions.

  • The TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and the IELTS Indicator exam are accepted. Students from mainland China may submit the TOEFL ITP Plus exam.

Career Trajectory

Demand for advanced expertise in data science continues to be high in academia and in the public and private sectors. Organizations globally grapple with the immense task of handling vast volumes of data currently available to them, and the looming challenge of managing even larger datasets in the future. The United States currently faces a deficit of data science experts, a figure that will continue to surge due to escalating demand. As the use of technology and artificial intelligence continues to rise, employment in areas of data science policy and governance is expected to be one of the fastest-growing domains in technology employment and projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations.