MS in Data Science, USFCA

06/24/2025

✨ In her final blog post, MSDS student Leah Ashebir looks back on a transformative year with insight, gratitude, and pride. From tackling challenging coursework to launching community initiatives like Chinatown Hacks, Cohort 13’s journey has been defined by growth, collaboration, and purpose.

Read Leah’s full reflection on Medium:
👉 https://medium.com/usf-msds/msds-reflection-cohort-13-community-journey-4f79f5d6aa17

Typically when I write, I start off with setting an outline and giving myself a clear roadmap to discuss a topic. But today, as I sit and…

06/23/2025

In the latest USF Magazine feature, Ian Duke (Cohort 12) shares how he launched Equalysis, a data science firm helping civil rights lawyers uncover patterns of racial profiling through AI.

📍His practicum at the ACLU NorCal office laid the groundwork. Today, Equalysis supports agencies like the ACLU, Covington & Burling, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.

🔗 Read the full story: usfca.edu/magazine/may-2025/features/usf-entrepreneurs-make-their-mark

06/22/2025

⚖️ Real strategies for keeping grades high and life in check during the most intense weeks of the program.

06/21/2025

💡 Don’t miss these must-do tips for incoming cohort!

06/20/2025

📅 Check out the prep rituals that set our students up for success in Boot Camp!

06/19/2025

🔍 Get the inside scoop on the “if only I’d known…” moments—one game-changing insight from each student before day one even starts.

06/18/2025

🚀 Boot Camp is where the MSDS adventure begins—a fast-paced sprint that hones the skills every future data scientist needs.
Meet Carly, Georgia, Promise, Arturo, Trevor, Walker, and alumni Ireri & Bassim as they share their backgrounds.
💡 Starting tomorrow, they’ll answer one bite-sized question a day on prepping, thriving, and balancing life during Boot Camp. Don’t miss it!

06/06/2025

We successfully hosted the DSCO 2025 Practicum Showcase!
Over the past nine months, our MS in Data Science students have worked directly with industry, research, nonprofit, and government partners to tackle real-world data challenges, delivering actionable insights, innovative methodologies, and real impact across sectors.
At the Showcase, students presented their work through interactive posters and presentations, sparking great conversations with faculty, alumni, prospective students, and data science leaders exploring the latest trends and applications in the field.
Curious to see what they’ve been working on? Browse the 2025 projects here:
http://usfca.edu/.../prog.../graduate/data-science/practicum
💡 Have a data challenge you'd like to explore?
Now is the perfect time to get involved in the next practicum cycle. Partner with us and collaborate with our students and faculty on projects that drive meaningful results.
📩 Contact Victor Palacios to learn more, or submit a project proposal here: https://usfca.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3Ouk0BeUjgl7lFY

05/28/2025

New Blog Alert! 💡
What’s it really like to learn data science at USF?
MSDS student Leah Ashebir shares how hands-on projects—like building predictive models in a collaborative, real-world setting—are helping her cohort apply what they’ve learned and grow into data professionals.
From messy real-world data to teamwork wins, Leah’s story highlights how experience shapes learning. Don’t miss it!

📖 Read now: https://medium.com/usf-msds/learning-through-experience-msds-projects-d32d5978d6bc

Over the past year, our cohort has been learning an array of mathematical and technical skills to build solutions from the bottom-up…

05/22/2025

💚💛 Big congratulations to our MSDS students who made waves at the USF Innovation Summit 2025!

Out of 50 submissions, only 6 teams were selected to pitch live, and 25 posters were chosen for display — and our students shined in both categories!

🏆 Chelyah Miller, Kalkidan "Promise" Yigezu, Aditi Puttur, Emma Juan Salazar, and Victoria Blante earned 2nd place from the judges and 1st place in the audience-voted FinePrint Presentation for their impactful project!

Poster Highlights:
AI Hire – KD Bartholomew
EduGenie – Samanvitha Bayaneni, Yewon Park, Xiangling (Monika) Liu, Eunice Tu, and Thi Nguyen

This high-energy event brought together students, faculty, alumni, industry leaders, and USF leadership to celebrate innovation, entrepreneurship, and bold new ideas. From live pitches to interactive poster sessions, it was an incredible opportunity to connect and support the next generation of changemakers.

We’re proud of our students’ creativity, collaboration, and courage to push boundaries!

05/15/2025

🎉 Congratulations to our MSDS students! 🎉

Earlier this month, our students proudly represented the MS in Data Science program at the 2025 Creative Activity and Research Day (CARD) Symposium, showcasing cutting-edge research and creative solutions to real-world problems. We’re so proud of their contributions and innovation across both poster and oral presentation sessions!

Poster Sessions
🔹 Tokenization is All You Need – Ada Zhang, Nihal Karim, Hamza Louzan, Victor Wei
🔹 FlowZero: Monitoring River Dryness in the Western U.S. with Satellite Imagery – Aman Singh, Catalina Bartholomew
🔹 Long-Term Prediction of Glaucomatous Visual Field Loss Using FPCA and MFPCA – Amit Chaubey, Emma Juan Salazar
🔹 Reconstructing Methane Emissions – Shruti Kulkarni, Venkatachalam Subramanian
🔹 Collision Course: Analyzing Traffic Incidents in San Francisco – Moises Limon, Adam Gent

🎤 Oral Presentations
Badgermole: Leveraging AI-Driven Technologies to Enhance Utility and Accessibility for the Visually Impaired – Jennifer Tran, Wei Chun Tan, Benedict Neo, Lorn Hin Adrian Lam
Exploration of Disparate Impact via Geospatial Analysis and Communication Graphing – Hadley Dixon, Georgia Von Minden
Auditory Brainstem Response-based Prediction of Inner Hair Cell Synaptic Distributions in a Mouse Model for Hearing Loss – Leah Ashebir

👏 Huge thanks to all participants for inspiring us with your research, collaboration, and creativity!

🗓️ Save the date: CARD 2026 will be held on Friday, May 8, 2026. We can’t wait to see what the next year of innovation brings!