Program: Data Science, PhD - National University

Description of Program

The Doctor of Philosophy in Data Science (PhD-DS) focuses on data analytics, technical communication, and business leadership skills. The data science life cycle involves gathering data and maintaining data, processing data, analyzing data, and communicating the results in a professional setting. The PhD-DS program will prepare you for research in data science by exploring each stage of the data science life cycle in depth from an applied perspective and a theoretical perspective.

Click here for potential career opportunities within the PhD-DS.

Learning Outcomes

Develop knowledge in data science based on a synthesis of current theories
Explain theories, applications, and perspectives related to data science
Evaluate theories of ethics and risk management in information systems
Formulate strategies for data and knowledge management in global organizations
Contribute to the body of theory and practice in data science

Basis for Admissions

Admission to the Doctor of Philosophy in Data Science program requires a conferred master’s or doctoral degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution.

Degree Requirements

The University may accept a maximum of 12 semester credit hours in transfer toward the doctoral degree for graduate coursework completed at an accredited college or university with a grade of “B” or better.

The PhD-DS degree program also has the following requirements:

GPA of 3.0 (letter grade of “B”) or higher
University approval of Dissertation Manuscript and Oral Defense completed
Submission of approved final dissertation manuscript to the University Registrar, including the original unbound manuscript and an electronic copy
Official transcripts on file for all transfer credit hours accepted by the University
All financial obligations must be met before the student will be issued their diploma and/or degree posted transcript.

Dissertation Completion Pathway

The NCU mission is dedicated to assisting students in achieving their academic aspirations and helping them become valuable contributors to their community and profession. To support our mission, NCU now offers a dissertation completion pathway for students who have successfully completed their doctoral coursework and achieved doctoral candidacy at a previous institution but were unable to complete their dissertation. NCU’s Dissertation Completion Pathway (DCP) offers a unique opportunity for students to complete their doctorate in one of the doctoral programs offered at NCU (excluding the PhD in MFT, DMFT, and DHA). Students successfully meeting the entrance and application requirements will complete a minimum of 23 credit hours to earn their doctorate.

Click below for more information on the Dissertation Completion Pathway .

Time to Completion

NCU allows 7 years to complete all doctoral programs of 60 credits or less.

The median time to completion for this program is 49 months.

Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most NCU students are working adults, balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic and finance advisors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.

Students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 40 months.

Dissertation Process

Faculty assists each NCU Doctoral student to reach this high goal through a systematic process leading to a high-quality completed dissertation. A PhD dissertation is a scholarly documentation of research that makes an original contribution to the field of study. This process requires care in choosing a topic, documenting its importance, planning the methodology, and conducting the research. These activities lead smoothly into the writing and oral presentation of the dissertation.

A doctoral candidate must be continuously enrolled throughout the series of dissertation courses. Dissertation courses are automatically scheduled and accepted without a break in scheduling to ensure that students remain in continuous enrollment throughout the dissertation course sequence. If additional time is required to complete any of the dissertation courses, students must re-enroll and pay the tuition for that course. Continuous enrollment will only be permitted when students demonstrate progress toward completing dissertation requirements. The Dissertation Committee determines progress.

Course Sequence

The PhD program may be completed in a minimum of 60 credits. Additional credit hours may be allowed as needed to complete the dissertation research. If granted, additional courses will be added to the student degree program in alignment with the SAP and Academic Maximum Time to Completion policies. Students who do not complete their program in accordance with these policies may be dismissed.

*Those whose writing skills need additional practice, as determined by three or more items scored as “needs improvement,” will be required to take TIM-7200 .