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Bachelor of Science in Data Science & Analytics

BSc DSA

3 YearsMain CampusIntakes: May & September
Apply OnlineAsk a Librarian

Overview

We equip you with industry-relevant skills for employment in many sectors, including banking, healthcare, transportation, finance, marketing, eGovernment, cybersecurity, architecture & urban planning, and mechanical & civil engineering.

You have the option to specialise in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Engineering, Data Visualisation, Business Intelligence, Financial Analytics, and more.

In this era of digital transformation, organisations realize the value and importance of making the right decisions at the right time, which can only be made through relying on the relevant and timely availability of data and information that are processed as part of the decision-making process.

Entry Requirements

  • 2 Principal passes (One of the passes should be MATHS or PHYSICS), OR a Diploma in an ICT-related field or Statistics, OR a Higher Education Certificate (HEC)

A) Direct Entry

  • A Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) or an equivalent qualification, AND;
  • A Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) with at least two principal passes obtained at the same sitting or its equivalent. One of the principal passes must be in either physics or mathematics or economics.
  • A Higher Education Certificate of at least second class (Upper Division) with either Mathematics or Physics as the major subjects.

B) Diploma entry

  • The applicant should hold a diploma of at least second class-lower division in any field related to Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
  • The Department of Computing and Technology reserves the right to determine course equivalence between the applicant’s Diploma programme and the UCU BSDS curriculum. The department may waive equivalent courses passed and determine the level the applicant can join the BSDS programme.

C) The Mature Age/Special Entry

  • Candidates must be Ugandan nationals of at least 22 years and have had formal education.
  • Successful candidates in both the written and the oral examination are then considered for admission.
  • International applicants’ academic documents have to be assessed by UNEB to evaluate qualifications and rating against the Ugandan system, then checked against other entry requirements before consideration.

D) Credit transfer from another University to the BSDS programme

  • Credits are assessed by the Department of Computing and Technology against the UCU system to determine possible level of entry before admission is considered.
  • Applicants shall fulfil all the requirements for direct entry to the BSDS programme, and the originating University MUST be recognised by the Ugandan National Council of Higher Education (NCHE).
  • The Department reserves the right to determine course equivalence between the applicant’s programme of origin and the UCU BSDS curriculum, waive equivalent courses, and determine the level the applicant can join.

Course Curriculum

Year 1

Semester 1

Total CU: 21
CodeCourseTypeCU
CSC1101Structured Programming (Python)C4
MTH1102Probability and StatisticsC3
ICT1102Essential Hardware and Software conceptsC4
ICT1103Fundamentals of ComputingC4
LNG1101Writing and Study SkillsC3
TBS1103Understanding the Old TestamentC3

Semester 2

Total CU: 23
CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC1201Introduction to Data ScienceC3
MTH1202Discrete MathematicsC3
CSC1203Data Structures and Algorithms (Python)C4
ICT1205Database Design and ApplicationsC4
ICT1206Local Area Computer NetworkingC3
TBS1201Understanding the New TestamentC3
PBH2108Health and WholenessC3

Recess Semester 1

Total CU: 3
CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC1302DS Field Attachment I – Workshop PracticeC3

Year 2

Semester 1

Total CU: 25
CodeCourseTypeCU
MTH2104CalculusC3
MTH2206Linear AlgebraC3
CSC2105Object Oriented ProgrammingC4
CSC2208Artificial IntelligenceE4
DSC2104Big Data Analytics (R) & TechnologiesC4
DSC2107Data Mining and WranglingC4
CSC2115Prompt EngineeringC3

Semester 2

Total CU: 27
CodeCourseTypeCU
CSC2216Machine learningC4
CSC2209Big Data Databases & Data StorageC4
CSC2214Computational Research MethodsC3
DSC2210Business IntelligenceC3
DSC2206Time Series Analysis and ForecastingC3
SYE2201Data Engineering PrinciplesC4
DSC2205Data Visualisation and StorytellingE3
CSC2210Fullstack DevelopmentE3

Recess Semester 2

Total CU: 3
CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC2302DS Field Attachment II – InternshipC3

Year 3

Semester 1 (Core)

Total CU: 12
CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC3121DS Research project IC3
DSC3114Scientific writing and publishingC3
ENT3152Data Product Entrepreneurship & StrategyC3
TST2206Understanding Ethics from a Christian PerspectiveC3

Track 1 Electives (Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning)

CodeCourseTypeCU
MTH3207Optimisation Methods in Machine LearningE3
CSC3218Computer Vision & Deep learningE3

Track 2 Electives (Big Data & Cloud Engineering)

CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC3219Cloud and Distributed ComputingE3
DSC3220Cloud Infrastructure & DeploymentE3

Track 3 Electives (Business Intelligence & Financial Analytics)

CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC3206Econometric Analysis and ForecastingE3
DSC3207Machine Learning in FinanceE3

Track 4 Electives (Computational Biology)

CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC3208Biological Modelling and SimulationE3
DSC3209BiostatisticsE3

Semester 2 (Core)

Total CU: 10
CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC3221DS Research project IIC3
CSC3221Data Governance & SecurityC4
TST3108Understanding World ViewsC3

Track 1 Electives (Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning)

CodeCourseTypeCU
CSC3224Natural Language processingE4
CSC3225AI Model Deployment & ScalabilityE4
DSC3212Cognitive ComputingE3

Track 2 Electives (Big Data & Cloud Engineering)

CodeCourseTypeCU
SYE3206Internet of Things & Edge ComputingE3
DSC3220Advanced Data Engineering and Data WarehousingE3
CSC3221API and AI Agents DevelopmentE3

Track 3 Electives (Business Intelligence & Financial Analytics)

CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC3215Financial and Risk AnalyticsE4
DSC3216Operational & Health AnalyticsE3
DSC3217Data-driven Strategic PlanningE3

Track 4 Electives (Computational Biology)

CodeCourseTypeCU
DSC3218Sequence AnalysisE3
DSC3219Introduction to BioinformaticsE3
DSC3220Computational GenomicsE3

Competencies to Obtain

Statistical thinking and data analysisData cleaning, wrangling, and exploratory analysisMachine learning foundations and model evaluationData visualisation and storytelling with dataDatabase querying (SQL) and data pipelinesEthical and responsible data/AI practice

Career Prospects

  • Data analyst / business intelligence analyst
  • Junior data scientist / machine learning engineer (entry-level)
  • Data engineer (entry-level) / analytics engineer
  • Financial analytics and risk analytics roles (entry-level)
  • Research assistant and analytics roles in industry and public sector