External Partners
Emory University’s Department of Data and Decision Sciences welcomes partnerships that connect academic expertise with real-world purpose. Whether through corporate collaborations, community initiatives, advisory engagement, or experiential projects, our partners help students apply data-driven insights to solve meaningful challenges and create positive impact across sectors.
Want to connect with our community of undergraduates, graduate students, and Alumni?
Submit a posting for your internship, job, fellowship, or other opportunity.
Sandra Ruhlman Smith
Assistant Director of Partnerships
Aileen Charles
Undergraduate Research Program Coordinator
Questions about our curricular programming and our Slack community
Curricular Programming
Our internship program connects organizations and companies with students studying Data Science, Applied Mathematics & Statistics, and Public Policy Analysis. Within these majors, students pursue concentrations that allow them to develop a wide range of specialized skills across the sciences, humanities, arts, and more, providing them with a multifaceted skillset. By recruiting 𝔻Sci students as interns, organizations gain the opportunity to work with committed young scholars who have strong analytical, quantitative, and technical training. These students bring diverse, well-developed skill sets that prepare them to contribute meaningfully to ongoing projects and address data-driven challenges.
Partnering with our department and students offers organizations:
- Project support from interdisciplinary student analysts
- Opportunities to mentor future professionals
- Engagement with a pipeline of talent for future hiring
- Participation in a university–industry partnership that advances innovation
We welcome partners interested in offering substantive, data-related internship opportunities that align with their organizational needs.
Partners looking to get internship opportunities out to our students should contact Aileen Charles (aileen.charles@emory.edu)
During the spring semester (January–May), student teams tackle meaningful problems posed by our partners in our Capstone course program. Under the supervision of a faculty member, a selective cohort of advanced data science students apply their skills in a practical, real-world setting, providing data-driven solutions to our partners. Capstone courses offer partners a fresh set of eyes and innovative approaches to organizational challenges, as well as direct engagement with 𝔻Scifaculty and students preparing to enter the workforce.
The Capstone differs from internships in that it is a structured course through which a faculty-supported project is delivered by a student team. Internships, by contrast, are individual student placements within an organization supervised by the organization’s personnel, representing a more traditional student–organization work experience.
Partners looking to collaborate with us on a Capstone project should ontact Aileen Charles (aileen.charles@emory.edu)
The 𝔻Sci graduate practicum provides organizations the opportunity to partner with a team of master’s students who take on real analytical challenges and deliver purposeful, high-impact results. Students, under faculty supervision, manage every stage of a data science engagement, from analysis and modeling to visualization and clear communication. Partners receive fresh insight and practical deliverables that can support decision-making and advance ongoing work. With minimal time commitment from sponsors, the Practicum offers a great way to explore new data questions, benefit from innovative ideas, and support the next generation of data science professionals. Through the practicum, students strengthen their communication skills, learn to collaborate effectively with peers and clients, and build the professional competencies needed to succeed in industry roles after graduation. Graduate practicum projects occur every Spring (January-May) and Summer (June-August).
Partners looking to collaborate with us on a Graduate practicum project should contact Ria Buford (ria.buford@emory.edu)
Extracurricular Programming
DataFest™
DataFest™ is the American Statistical Association’s high-intensity data analysis competition where undergraduate students work in teams for three days to tackle a complex, real-world datatset. Students clean data, build models, create visualizations, and pitch insights to a panel of academic and industry judges. For external partners, DataFest™ functions as a live showcase of how students reason under pressure, how they collaborate, problem-solve, communicate, and experiment with analytics in an authentic, fast-paced setting.
Sponsorship provides direct visibility to our talent pipeline, opportunities to nominate judges, and multiple touchpoints for brand presence across event materials, student t-shirts, and presentations. Partners interested in sponsoring DataFest™ should contact Sandra Ruhlman-Smith.
Workforce Readiness
The Department of Data and Decision Sciences’ series of Workforce Readiness Workshops are designed to help students build the professional and technical skills that complement their classroom training. The sessions focus on emerging career readiness competencies relevant to data-driven roles, reflecting the department’s broader goal of preparing students for real-world data science environments through hands-on learning, exposure to industry expectations, and structured professional development. This program serves as a bridge between academic learning and workplace practice, offering students guided opportunities to strengthen communication, collaboration, and applied problem solving.
Partners interested in guiding the professional development of the next generation of data scientists should contact Sandra Ruhlman-Smith.
Recruitment Sessions
Each year, 𝔻Sci hosts recruitment sessions that connect students with organizations hiring in analytics, consulting, finance, technology, and data science roles. These events vary by year and are scheduled based on partner availability and student career interests. In past cycles, the department has welcomed organizations such as Aon Consulting, Huntington Bank, Old Castle CRH, and Daikin Comfort, offering external partners, recruiters, and hiring managers direct access to DSci students and alumni.
For partners, recruitment sessions provide a straightforward and high-impact opportunity to meet Emory’s data science students, share upcoming internships or job openings, and build brand familiarity among emerging talent. Partners interested in setting up a recruitment session should contact Sandra Ruhlman-Smith.
Talent Pipeline
𝔻Sci programs are designed to equip students with a strong foundation in data analysis, quantitative reasoning, and interdisciplinary problem-solving. Students gain proficiency in Python and R, statistical modeling, and visualization through the integration of coding in the core courses. Additionally, students gain familiarity with tools and platforms such as Git/GitHub, Jupyter Notebooks, RStudio, and spreadsheet tools like excel.
Our advanced students, particularly those on the Data Science track, in research roles, or engaged in our experiential learning programs, attain additional skills in machine learning, natural language processing, causal inference, and advanced statistical modeling. Depending on the experiences they choose to pursue, our students may also work with deep learning frameworks, expanded computing tools, data engineering workflows, or specialized techniques in optimization and geo-spatial analysis. Together, our students bring a versatile mix of foundational and advanced competencies that allow them to contribute meaningfully to data-driven projects across sectors.
In 2024, 575 undergraduate students were enrolled in Emory 𝔻Sci major and minor programs! All four of our degree programs equip students with quantitative skills and data analysis techniques while they explore disciplines in the natural sciences, social sciences, business, or humanities. Within the Data Science major, there are 20 interdisciplinary tracks students can select from (such as political science, psychology, neuroscience and behavioral biology, history, and more). We also offer three joint majors with Math (Applied Mathematics and Statistics), Business (BBA + DATASCI) and Political Science (Public Policy Analysis).
Learn more about our 𝔻Sci Major and Minor ProgramsOur alumni community includes over 700 grads and grows by about 200 graduates every year. 𝔻Sci Alumni have gone on to graduate programs in a variety of disciplines and entered careers in business, non-profits, politics, healthcare, academia, and more! Our thriving community of young professionals is accessible through our slack, LinkedIn, and Alumni Council Newsletter.
Partners looking to get career opportunities to our alumni should contact Aileen Charles (aileen.charles@emory.edu)
External Advisory Board
The Data and Decision Sciences External Advisory Board brings together senior leaders, innovators, alumni, and community voices to guide and strengthen the department's cutting edge academic space. Members contribute industry insights, philanthropic support, and strategic perspectives to help the department stay at the forefront of an evolving data-driven landscape. Through advising on curriculum and programming, advocating within their spheres of influence, and expanding opportunities for students, the Board plays a vital role in shaping 𝔻Sci's impact. The leadership of members enriches the department's mission and ensures our graduates are prepared with the tools they will need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Partners interested in learning more about our external advisory board should contact Sandra Ruhlman-Smith (sandra.ruhlman.smith@emory.edu)