University of Southern California -Viterbi School of Engineering
Master of Science in Data Science and Law
Los Angeles, USA
MSc
DURATION
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: The MS in Data Science and Law at USC combines data science, machine learning, privacy and law. It's offered jointly by USC Gould and the School of Advanced Computing (Viterbi) in Los Angeles. The 32-unit programme has no thesis (Directed Research possible after semester one). It doesn't let you sit for a US bar exam; units can't apply to the JD. International students qualify for the OPT STEM extension.
Career Outcomes: Graduates can work as data scientists in law firms, privacy and compliance counsel, legal technologists or policy advisors using machine learning, NLP, legal analytics, data privacy and access-to-justice
The MS in Data Science and Law provides students with breadth of knowledge at the intersection of technology and law. Students learn the basics of data science and the law and develop practical skills using data science and machine learning methodologies to address legal issues and problems. The program is offered jointly by the USC Gould School of Law and the USC School of Advanced Computing within the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. The program requires completion of 32 units of coursework. A thesis option is not available; Directed Research (research without thesis) may be requested after completing the first semester. NOTE: This program does not qualify students to sit for a U.S. bar exam or become licensed attorneys. The program does not provide advanced standing credit nor an admissions advantage to USC's JD program, and course units from this program cannot be applied toward the JD degree. International students: this program is eligible for the OPT STEM extension.
Why choose this program?
Provides students with breadth of knowledge at the intersection of technology and law and positions graduates for careers that combine data science and legal expertise. The curriculum emphasizes data science and machine learning methodologies applied to legal issues, data privacy and ethics, and law-adjacent systems.
- Becoming a data scientist in law firms to streamline legal processes, support organization analytics, and support data research for specific legal cases
- Develop approaches for efficient exploitation of large amounts of legal documents in different areas to serve specific aspects of the law and streamline well-defined aspects of legal processes and law-adjacent work
- Develop innovative data systems to broaden access to justice by streamlining popular legal services
- Provide counsel for organizations in matters involving data and privacy protection
- Provide counsel on legal aspects of new data systems and data architectures for organizations
- Provide counsel on public policy and regulations concerning data ethics and privacy
Note: This is a new program; no employment data is available yet (as stated on the program page).
The program requires completion of 32 units of coursework. A thesis option is not available. Directed Research (research without thesis) may be requested after completing the first semester. Links on the page point to the USC Catalogue and the USC Schedule of Classes for course listings and details.