Cornell University Registrar

Program Description

The Data Science in Astronomy Minor is designed for students interested in the intersection and applications of data and computer science with topics related to astronomy.

Open to all Cornell undergraduates not enrolled in an Astronomy major. Minimum grades:

• B- in 1000–2000 level courses
• C- in 3000-level and above
• Up to 4 credits of ASTRO 4940 Independent Study in Astronomy may be applied with approval of the Astronomy Director of Undergraduate Studies

To apply for an Astronomy Minor make an appointment to visit the Director of Undergraduate Studies (astrodus@cornell.edu).

Minor Requirements

• 15 total credits
• 1 Astronomy course at or above 3000 level
• 2 Astronomy data analysis courses
• 2 Data Science courses
  • 1 Probability and Statistics
  • 1 Data Structures/Machine Learning

The Data Science in Astrology minor provides a cross-disciplinary framework linking selected Astronomy courses with appropriate courses in Computer Science, ECE, Information Science, Statistics and Data Science, and ORIE including:

Astronomy 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select one of the following:		3
ASTRO 3301	Exoplanets and Planetary Systems	3
ASTRO 3302	The Life of Stars: From Birth to Death	3
ASTRO 3303	Galaxies Across Cosmic Time	3

Astronomy Data Oriented

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Select two of the following:		6
ASTRO 3310	Planetary Image Processing with MATLAB
ASTRO 3334	Data Analysis and Research Techniques in Astronomy
ASTRO 3340	Symbolic and Numerical Computing
ASTRO 4410	Multiwavelength Astronomical Techniques
ASTRO 4523	Modeling, Mining and Machine Learning in Astronomy

Computer Science, ECE, Information Science, Statistics and Data Science, and Operations Research and Information Science (ORIE) ¹

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Probability & Statistics
Select one of the following:		3
BTRY 3010	Statistics I
ECE 3100	Introduction to Probability and Inference for Random Signals and Systems
ENGRD 2700	Eng Probability and Statistics: Modeling and Data Science
MATH 4710	Basic Probability
MATH 4720	Statistics
ORIE 3500	Eng Probability and Statistics: Modeling and Data Science II
STSCI 3080	Probability Models and Inference
STSCI 4520	Statistical Computing
STSCI 4780	Bayesian Data Analysis: Principles and Practice	4
Data Structures & Algorithms
Select one of the following:		3
CS 2110	Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures
CS 3110	Data Structures and Functional Programming
ENGRD 2720	Data Science for Engineers
INFO 2950	Introduction to Data Science
ORIE 3120	Practical Tools for Operations Research, Machine Learning and Data Science
ORIE 4740	Statistical Data Mining I
ORIE 4742	Info Theory, Probabilistic Modeling, and Deep Learning with Scientific and Financial Apps

¹

1 course in probability and statistics, and 1 course in data structures and algorithms, modeling, and/or machine learning subject to availability of courses and consultation with the Astronomy Director of Undergraduate Studies.