What are Data and Decision Sciences?

The 𝔻Sci Value Proposition

𝔻Sci’s program is designed to ensure our students will not just be savvy with technology, but will also be prepared to be a decision leader in the application of  technology. 

The 𝔻Sci Mission Statement

𝔻Sci is committed to teaching Emory students the skills critical to using Data and AI to answer questions and solve problems in their applied field, whatever their disciplinary interest or level of technical sophistication.  𝔻Sci is  committed to helping students define and pursue career paths through experiential learning and day-one readiness training for careers in tomorrow’s AI-driven, data-focused workforce.   

Why?

The world is changing: Just as the Industrial Revolution completely changed the world, so too is the radical data and AI revolution we’re undergoing today. With the massive growth of computing power, the world’s ability to turn information into data and to apply extraordinarily complex algorithms to draw insights from that data is reaching previously unimaginable heights.

The consequences of these changes are everywhere. We are revisiting existing questions and challenges with entirely new technology, and we are answering new questions and solving new problems that we never imagined we could. 

As a result, the workforce of tomorrow will look entirely different from the workforce of today. Facility with data and AI are increasingly necessary skills across all sectors and jobs: for-profit corporations, non-profits, governments, or academia.  

Education is changing: In response to this disruption, many are turning to statistics, data science, and computer science. These are the fields that teach students the technical skills necessary to collect, analyze, and produce insights and products from data.

These skills allow us to use data and AI to answer questions and solve problems. But, where do the questions come from? How do we know if we are using data and AI intelligently and ethically? How do we communicate with impact once we produce something of value? 

The Department of Data and Decision Sciences (𝔻Sci), sees these technical skills as the beginning, not the end, of our students’ education. Questions and problems come from contextual fields of knowledge, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, business, law, health, and more. Using this technology intelligently requires research design and critical thinking skills. Communicating with impact, especially when we discuss technical content that must be delivered to a non-technical audience, requires focused presentation and written skills.

By providing individualized guidance and a dedicated professional network, we ensure that our students are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and hands-on experience that are directly applicable in the professional world. Our comprehensive curriculum is tailored for individuals from all educational backgrounds who are eager to become modern critical thinkers, ready to either start or advance their role as data-driven decision-makers.

• The Department of Quantitative Theory & Methods (QTM) was established in December 2011 as the Institute for Quantitative Theory & Methods
• QTM 100: Introduction to Statistical Inference, a college-wide statistics course, was first offered in Fall 2012
• Our first and most popular major,  Quantitative Sciences (QSS), officially launched in 2014. We currently  have 20 interdisciplinary tracks.
• We now offer four different majors and one minor that emphasize using data science techniques and successfully communicating the results in a variety of contexts.
• Our first graduating class commenced in 2016, and our first Public Policy & Analysis major graduated in the class of 2018.
• Since QTM's inception, the number of students participating in our majors has grown by 50% annually. We now have approximately 320 students enrolled (as of October 2019). 
• In Fall of 2019, we piloted our undergraduate QTM Prep program, which rewards students for taking steps to prepare themselves for post-graduation careers, whether that takes them to graduate or business school, to a corporate or government office, or something else entirely.
• In 2023, we launched our QTM Master of Science program, and our first cohort graduates in the Summer of 2024!
• In July, 2025, The Department of Quantitative Theory & Method (QTM) is renamed as the Department of Data and Decision Sciences (𝔻Sci). Also, Quantitative Sciences major/minor are renamed to Data Science major/minor, and the Business Administration and Quantitative Sciences major is renamed to the Business Administration and Data Science major.