Data Science: Geoinformatics

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Bachelor of Science in Data Science: Geoinformatics Concentration

Top 5 Reasons to Study

Gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to address location-specific challenges across meteorology, climatology, geospatial science, geology, environmental monitoring, urban planning, and any field that relies on spatial information and analysis.

Learn to capture and represent spatial phenomena as data (including satellite imagery, aerial photography, GPS coordinates, elevation models, climate sensors, and geographic features) to understand the physical world.

Learn to extract actionable insights from spatial data using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing analysis, and spatial statistics to predict weather, monitor change, assess natural resources, and understand human geography.

Build intelligent geospatial systems that enhance location-based decision-making through predictive climate models, environmental monitoring, spatial analytics, and visualization systems that use AI to understand complex geographic relationships.

Gain the ability to support smart urban development and address location-specific problems that affect communities worldwide by making use of data as a resource that drives AI and informs analytical solutions.

Core
Skills

Analyze and visualize spatial data using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Acquire various methods for collecting and processing geographic data, including remote sensing technologies like satellites and autonomous aircraft.
Perform statistical analysis with geospatial data to gain meaningful insights and address real world challenges in science, industry, and environmental studies.

Sample
Jobs

GIS Data Scientist
Economic Developer
Earth System Modeler
Environmental Scientist
Geospatial Analyst

Successful Career Outcomes

$103,500 Median Annual Salary

35% 10 Year Growth Expected

Top
Employment
Industries

Meteorology and Climatology: Predicting weather patterns and analyzing climate trends
Urban Planning: Supporting urban development and location-specific challenges
Environmental Monitoring: Assessing natural resources and monitoring environmental change
Geospatial Science: Analyzing satellite imagery and GIS data
Disaster Management: Monitoring natural disasters and optimizing resource management

Brag
Points

Study with the best: data science majors at MSU have a median ACT score of 29
Our students have access to Ptolemy, a 64 GPU NVDIA system dedicated to academic use
38% of our Data Science students participate in the Shackouls Honors College

Experiential Learning Opportunities

Capstone Project: You'll participate in a two-semester capstone experience where you'll be matched with a geoscience faculty mentor while pursuing a meaningful project.

Geosystems Research Institute (GRI): A major MSU research unit where you can get involved in projects using remote sensing, GIS, and satellite imagery to solve environmental and agricultural problems.

Department of Geosciences: You can explore undergraduate research opportunities in meteorology and climatology, often involving the analysis of severe weather data and climate models.

Data Science Academic Institute: As an undergraduate researcher, you can work on faculty projects in diverse subject areas, often involving geotagged data.

You'll take five hands-on labs that use real data. This builds career-relevant experiential learning directly into your coursework.