The IAR Specialization

It’s that time of year here at UMSI where first-years and second-years alike are on the prowl for paid work, whether that be in the form of an internship or a full-time job. I’ve had a number of employers ask, “So information… analysis and, uh, retrieval… what exactly is that?” And maybe you feel the same way.

I- and my buddies in the IAR track- like to think of our specialty as Data Science and ourselves as budding Data Scientists. Not sure what a Data Scientist is? Well it’s ONLY the sexiest job of the 21st century! Sorry HCI-ers.

So why UMSI for IAR? Well first, the type of work you apply your programming skills to is quite interesting including personalizing news content, examining social movements, and search engines. Don’t have much programming experience? Don’t worry! UMSI is really dedicated to getting everyone up to speed because it recognizes that each cohort represents a wide range of disciplines and expertise. Prior to this school-year, I had NO programming experience. I diligently reviewed the material sent during the summer to waive out of SI502 (Networked Computing) and apprehensively took my seat the first day of class in SI506 (Programming I). I had a negative experience with a programming class in my undergrad, and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to handle the course. Well, it ended up being one of my favorite courses! The teaching team really broke down programming concepts into easily digestible pieces and were very supportive (we had a Facebook group through which we could ask questions and numerous office hours).

Another great thing about the IAR specialization here at UMSI is that 6 cognate credits are built into the program. This is advantageous since a data scientist's skill-set is comprised of three main components:

Source: datasciencecentral.com

Through cognates you have the opportunity to explore coursework in an area of interest (i.e. develop substantive expertise) such as education, finance, healthcare, etc. and/or increase your statistics knowledge (through courses in the Statistics department or the College of Engineering).

Lastly, because IAR is one of the cozier specializations here at UMSI, there is a lot of peer bonding and mutual support. For example, through the Student Organization for Data Analytics (SODA) [formerly SOIAR], we support skill development in one another.