Data Science for Society and Business (Online)

Study Data Science for Society and Business ( DSSB ) from home

and receive a regular Master’s degree from a top-ranked private German University.

The aim of this 2-year Data Science for Society and Business (DSSB) (online) MSc program is two-fold. On the one hand, it aims to use rapidly growing digital data resources and new computational tools and methods to describe, model, predict, and potentially solve pressing business, ecological, economic, organizational, political, or other social problems and significant trends like innovation diffusion, migration flows, susceptibility to infections, sustainable growth, political mobilization, and the likes. On the other hand, the program addresses the rising demand for social data science expertise and critical skills in new industries (i.e., social media, start-ups), in established sectors (i.e., production, civil and private services), typical job specifications (i.e., consulting, market research, marketing), public administration (i.e., health, security), and academia (all sciences).

Degree and ECTS points: Master of Science, 120 ECTS

Benefit from exclusive advantages:

Very selective program with a small cohort size, allowing individualized online studies
Synchronous attendance of selected lectures providing direct student-instructor interface
Preferred internship placement at IT companies of the larger Constructor network

#1

International university in Europe (THE 2023)

#1

private university in Germany (THE 2023)

93%

Job success within a year (Alumni survey)

100+

Student clubs, 1 campus

Online Teaching

Constructor University online study programs focus on the holistic learning success of students and offer a variety of synchronous and asynchronous formats that align with problem- and project-based learning.

The online master program in DSSB applies proven and effective teaching and learning modalities that engage distance learners and support a vibrant learning community. This means that students participate in online courses with predominantly asynchronous lectures and learning activities that are complemented by synchronous tutorials and hands-on sessions.

Students are guided and supported by faculty as well as experienced tutors and lecturers to transfer acquired knowledge into practice. The hands-on elements include dedicated collaboration with other students using tools and concepts that enable distributed work from different places and different time-zones.

Students enrolled in online study programs will find their course materials such as videos, case studies, scholarly articles, websites, podcasts, online games etc. on a Learning Management Software (LMS) platform provided by Constructor University.

Study Program Chair

Hilke Brockmann

Professor of Sociology

Ready for your future?

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Study program's aims and structure

Educational Aims

Data science is currently one of the hottest fields in the job market, and combines concepts and techniques from various fields, in particular computer science and statistics. This module combines the mathematical and statistical foundations with the major algorithmic concepts of data science. The module introduces the fundamental principles of linear algebra for data analysis and gives special attention to dimension reduction techniques and other data projection algorithms. It covers the fundamental probability concepts needed for assessing and evaluating modeling results and predictions, and proceeds to discuss complexity issues for data science projects.

The second part of the module overviews supervised and unsupervised learning techniques. This module aims at providing the fundamental knowledge in mathematics and statistics necessary for understanding the practical application of data science algorithms and evaluating their performance. It also provides an overview of the fundamental concepts along with the main questions and approaches in data science. Students will learn how to address societal and business-related issues based on practically relevant questions, digital data, and their learned programming and analytical skills from synchronized methods modules.

At the end of the 2-year online program, students will have acquired a strong body of expertise, both in content and in computational skills, to solve challenging problems in digital societies thoughtfully and responsibly.

The Curriculum at a Glance

The DSSB (online) MSc program is composed of foundational lectures, specialized modules, tutorials, and asynchronous activities. These lead to a master thesis that can be conducted in close collaboration with research, institutional, or industry partners. The program takes four semesters (two years). The following table provides an overview of the program’s modular structure.

The program is partitioned into three areas (core, methods and foundation) and the master thesis. All credit points (CP) are based on ECTS. Students need to obtain a total of 120 CP to graduate. The default module size is 7.5 CP, with smaller 2.5 CP modules being possible as justified exceptions, e.g., if the learning goals are more suitable for 2.5 CP and the overall student workload is balanced.

Schematic study plan

DSSB_MSc_handbook_online_2024.pdf

MSc Data Science for Society and Business (online) Study program handbook Fall 2024

Program

Digital innovations are rapidly conquering all areas of social and economic life. Today, modern societies can hardly function without social media, search engines, communication and e-commerce platforms, and individualized online offers. In less than a decade, these multi-purpose technologies have become the core components of an economy and other social sectors.

External shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed digitalization toward another leap. Home-Office solutions, digital learning, online conferencing, telemedicine, cybersecurity and other digital services have become an essential part of our private, professional, and public life in no time. Meanwhile, we are permanently adding to the surging data stockpile gathered and harvested by the IT services.

Research institutions, private firms, public administration, political parties, NGOs and other—including criminal—actors are already using and will continue to use “big” data to better understand, predict, and effectively intervene in issues of crucial interest to contemporary and future societies.

Data may become the “new oil of the 21st century,” as predicted by British mathematician Clive Humby in 2006. The second part of his famous quote is already true: Data “is valuable, but if unrefined, it cannot really be used.”

Target Group

The DSSB (online) graduate program is a highly selective program for students of all age groups with a strong background in the social sciences, such as anthropology, business, economics, demography, management science, media science, political science, psychology, social history, or sociology, who want to become a data scientist and are interested in business and social science research questions.

However, we are also open to ambitious learners from humanities such as history or linguistics, natural sciences such as cognitive or health sciences, or other areas with a quantitative orientation. Students must be interested in working in interdisciplinary, international, and innovative research fields. The program prepares for a professional and academic career.

Admission Requirements

Admission to Constructor University is selective and based on a candidate’s university achievements, recommendations, and self-presentation. Students admitted to Constructor University demonstrate exceptional academic achievements, intellectual creativity, and the desire and motivation to make a difference in the world.

The following documents need to be submitted with the application:

Letter of motivation
Curriculum vitae (CV)
Official or certified copies of university transcripts
Bachelor’s degree certificate or equivalent
Language proficiency test results (minimum score of 90 (TOEFL), 6.5 (IELTS) or 110 (Duolingo)).
Copy of Passport
Letter of recommendation (optional)

How to apply

Academic policies

Key facts

Place:

Online program

€ 5,000

Tuition per academic year

Fall Intake 2025:

Classes start the first week of September

School Focus: School of Business, Social & Decision Sciences

This study program is part of the School of Business, Social & Decision Sciences.

The School of Business, Social and Decision Sciences focuses on interdisciplinary research and education in business sciences, economics and finance, logistics, psychology, political sciences, and sociology.