Undergraduate Major in Data Science & Social Systems

Data science is revolutionizing science, industry, and government. Work across nearly all domains is becoming more data-driven, affecting both the jobs available and skills required.

Stanford Impact Labs (SIL) helped create a new interdisciplinary undergraduate major in data science and social systems to address this reality. After SIL successfully incubated and launched the Data Science for Social Systems (DSSS) major in 2022, the program was formally handed off from SIL to Stanford's Program in Data Science in 2024.

The major is dedicated to equipping the next generation of leaders to work at the intersection of statistics, computation, and the social sciences on important social problems such as poverty and inequality, polarization, criminal justice, and urban development.

The Program in Data Science and SIL share a commitment to interdisciplinary work, collaboration with external partners, and the ambition of using cutting-edge tools to make progress on society’s hardest problems. 

Interdisciplinary thinking is essential for the data-driven analysis of complex social problems, and the DSSS program is designed to prepare students with both superb technical training and in-depth knowledge of the social sciences. As part of the major, students will complete core course work in computer science, statistics, and the social sciences; a practicum in which they apply data science skills to a well-defined problem; and a specialization in a particular domain.

The major, which engages faculty from across the university to support students in learning to apply technical skills to social problem-solving, offers ideal preparation for leadership roles in industry, government, or the nonprofit sector.