Undergrad student
Look, the universities sometimes mention their preference on their program page. However, it does not mean it is the eligibility. You only need an undergrad degree, proper grades, and required test scores and you are set to apply for a data science program. It’s not like a university asks for a science background, you have to meet it. It’s like work experience. If you have it, your application will be preferred, but if you don’t have it you can still apply.
It is true that some STEM-designated courses ask their applicants to show particular things. One of these is math. So basically, it is somewhat true and somewhat false that math is required for data science. In general, you need to be familiar with mathematics if you are applying to a data science course. It’s because the course includes many scientific and mathematical principles. If you are not familiar with it, it won’t be possible to proceed.
So to answer it in simple terms, math is required for data science but it's not eligibility. Now it all comes down to what kind of math you need? As you are asking about data science I assume you have already studied science and math in your undergrad or high school. So I would suggest focusing on algebra, calculators and statistics. For data science courses, you will need these three areas of mathematics. But the good news is that with statistics only, you can manage.
Along with a data science course, students learn to work on many things. If you have a stronghold on statistics, you are already in advantage. Statistics is also one of the core areas of data science. You can get a lot of jobs and career options just in statistics and data science.
Also, one point that's very important to know. For programming and data engineering, mathematics becomes necessary. It's not news that these two thighs will ask for math understanding otherwise it’s just a lot of work. Therefore, in case you are applying for a particular course in data science, you have to consider math as a mandatory thing. However eleven in these cases, you don’t need an actual degree in mathematics.
Look for a data science general data science course if you are not well familiar with math. There are a lot of specializations in data science, there must be some that fit your profile. It’s only a matter of time. If you need a specific suggestion, let me know. I know enough on this topic to help you out.
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