School of Data Science

The School of Data Science is the University of Virginia's school specializing in data science. It offers bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees. It was established in 2019. The school's physical building opened in April 2024.^[4]

School of Data Science

Motto	A School without Walls
Type	public school of data science
Established	September 19, 2019[1]
Dean	Philip Bourne[2][3]
Location	Charlottesville , Virginia , United States
Campus	Suburban
Affiliations	University of Virginia
Website	datascience.virginia.edu

History

School of Data Science building

Prior to the formation of the school, University of Virginia professor Don Brown established the Data Science Institute in 2013.^[5] In early 2019, University of Virginia president Jim Ryan publicly discussed plans for establishing a school of data science.^[6] Later that year, the university's board of visitors approved those plans,^[7] followed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia approving the school.^[8]

The school offered data science master's degrees from 2014,^[5] doctorates from 2022^[9] and bachelor degrees from 2024.^[10][11]

Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin officiated the opening ceremony of the School of Data Science building in April 2024.^[12][13]

Hopkins Architects is the design architect and VMDO is the architect of record.^[14][15][16] The building is 61,000 square feet and four stories.^[14] The architects collaborated with researchers in the school to create a building which emphasized the ethics of artificial intelligence, open science, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and translational research.^[14] The building conforms to the style of the university as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is designed to match the university's existing Jeffersonian architecture and to evoke Jefferson's story of the university and The Lawn as an academical village.^[14][17] The building has a green certification through LEED.^[18]

The data science building is the first construction in a development of Charlottesville's corridor at the intersection of Emmet Street and Ivy Road.^[19] Planned future interconnected construction includes a hotel and conference center, a performing arts center, and a space for the University's Karsh Institute of Democracy.^[19]

Funding

Donors to the School of Data Science include the Quantitative Foundation with a gift of $120 million in January 2019,^{[20][21][22][23][24]} Capital One which gave $2 million in April 2021,^[25] and university alumnus Oscar Woods who gave $100k in October 2023.^[26]