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Business Data Science Major Requirements

Home / Current Students / Business Data Science Major Requirements

B.S. in Business Data Science

(DSC-BS-002 – code pending)

The new Business Data Science major is launching in Fall 2026!
This major is a collaborative, interdisciplinary degree program between the Halıcıoğlu School for Data Science and Computing’s Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI) and the Rady School of Management.

This major prepares students for high-impact careers in data-driven business environments. Students will develop technical competencies while gaining practical insights into how those tools are used in real-world business settings. Students will be prepared for data-driven decision-making roles by integrating rigorous training in data science with foundational and applied knowledge of business functions – equipping graduates with technical, analytical, and strategic skills needed to solve complex business problems and lead in data-centric industries.

The Business Data Science major is a selective major. Space within the major is limited and not guaranteed.

Students admitted to UC San Diego as transfer students who are not directly admitted into a Data Science major at the point of admission are not permitted to apply to the major. The deadline to apply is September 1, 2026 and there are screening courses required: (MATH-018 or MATH-031AH), (MATH-020C or MATH-031BH), and DSC-010. Students looking to switch into the major or add this major are recommended to meet with their current major advisor, College advisor, and a DSC advisor. Click here for more information.

The Business Data Science major can be combined with any major or minor, except with the following:

  • Artificial Intelligence major (CSE-BS-004)
  • Computer Engineering major (CSE-BS-001)
  • Computer Science major (CSE-BS-002)
  • Computer Science major with a specialization in Bioinformatics (CSE-BS-003)
  • Data Science major (DSC-BS-001)
  • Business minor (RSM-MN-002)
  • Computer Science minor (CSE-MN-001)
  • Data Science minor (DSC-MN-001)

To assist with your planning, review tentative schedules for MGT courses and DSC courses.

  • Important Policies:
    • All courses must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of C- or better. Students must finish the major with an overall major GPA of 2.0 or higher.
    • Students may overlap 8 upper-division units between their major and minor, per minor. There is no restriction for overlapping lower-division units.
    • If you have a double major, each major must have a minimum of 10 unique upper-division courses.

Declaring the Major

  • UC San Diego undergraduate students originally admitted as first-time, first-year students who would like to change from another major or undeclared to the Business Data Science major can apply via the Selective Major Application. Applications must be submitted on or before the deadline September 1, 2026. Fall 2026 applicants will only be able to select the Data Science major (DSC-BS-001) on the application.Students admitted to UC San Diego as transfer students, who are not directly admitted into Data Science majors at the point of admission to UC San Diego, are not eligible to apply for a Data Science selective major. There are no exceptions.Continuing students selected for this selective major will be contacted in early Fall 2026 and given the opportunity to choose between the Data Science major (DSC-BS-001) and the new Business Data Science major (DSC-BS-002 – code pending) in the Fall.Students may find more information and apply by the September 1 deadline for the major on the Selective Major Guidance webpage.The Business Data Science major can be combined with any major or minor, except with the following:
    • Artificial Intelligence major (CSE-BS-004)
    • Computer Engineering major (CSE-BS-001)
    • Computer Science major (CSE-BS-002)
    • Computer Science major with a specialization in Bioinformatics (CSE-BS-003)
    • Data Science major (DSC-BS-001)
    • Business minor (RSM-MN-002)
    • Computer Science minor (CSE-MN-001)
    • Data Science minor (DSC-MN-001)

     

  • Important Notes for Fall 2026 Selective Major Applicants (continuing UC San Diego students only):
    • If you apply through the selective major process for Data Science, you should plan your Fall 2026 courses as if you will be selected into the major.
    • Double Majors – Due to challenges related to the transition to the new Triton Student System (TSS), double major petitions will not be accepted until the end of the Fall 2026 quarter.

    If you are currently a Data Science (DSC-BS-001) major:

    You will have the opportunity to change into the Business Data Science major (DSC-BS-002) through the major change request process in the Triton Student System starting in the Fall 2026 quarter.  If you are currently declared a Data Science major (DSC-BS-001) do not submit the selective major application.

Eligibility Requirements

In addition to the eligibility criteria outlined on the Selective Major Guidance page, Business Data Science requires successful completion of the following 3 screening courses: (MATH 18 or MATH 31AH), (MATH 20C or MATH 31BH), and DSC 10.

Courses must be completed for a letter grade at the time of the Selective Major Application to be eligible. Students may not have any outstanding grades for screening courses or any reason (e.g., Incompletes, pending Academic Integrity case, etc.). Grades from transfer credit for screening courses will be used to determine eligibility.

Time to Degree Considerations

  • Students who entered UC San Diego as first-years: Students must be on track to complete DSC-030 and DSC-040A prior to their third academic year at UC San Diego to be on a 4-year graduation track.Students who entered UC San Diego as transfers: Students admitted to UC San Diego as transfer students, who are not directly admitted into Data Science majors at the point of admission to UC San Diego, are not eligible to apply for a Data Science selective major. There are no exceptions.

Major Requirements

  • *Click here for a printable Course Planning Checklist.Students can find when MGT courses are offered by visiting our Tentative Course Schedule. To determine when DSC courses are offered, view their course offerings list.All courses for the Business Data Science major MUST be taken for a letter grade.*Core courses cannot also be used as electives (i.e. MATH 183, MGT 100, etc. cannot be used as an elective)MATH & LOWER-DIVISION CORE COURSES  (11 classes, 44 units)MATH (5 classes, 20 units)
    COURSE # COURSE TITLE  PRE-REQUISITES
    MATH-018 Linear Algebra Math Placement Exam qualifying score, or AP Calculus AB score of 3 (or equivalent AB subscore on BC exam), or MATH-04C, or MATH-010A, or MATH-020A. Students who have not completed listed prerequisites may enroll with consent of instructor.
    MATH-020A Calculus 1 Math Placement Exam qualifying score, or AP Precalculus score of 5, or AP Calculus AB score of 3 (or equivalent AB subscore on BC exam), or MATH-004C or MATH-010A
    MATH-020B Calculus 2 AP Calculus AB score of 4 or 5, or AP Calculus BC score of 3, or MATH-020A or MATH-10B or MATH-10C  
    MATH-020C Calculus 3 AP Calculus BC score of 4 or 5, or MATH-020B
    MATH-183 Statistical Methods MATH 20C or MATH 31BH, or consent of instructor

     

     LOWER DIVISION (4 classes, 16 units)

    COURSE # COURSE TITLE  PRE-REQUISITES
    DSC-010 Python Programming and Data Structures None
    DSC-020 Programming and Basic Data Structures DSC-010/R
    DSC-040A Theoretical Foundations of Data Science DSC-010/R

    AND

    MATH 20C or MATH 31BH 

    AND

    MATH-018 or MATH-020F or MATH-031AH
    DSC-080 Data Science Practice DSC-030/R AND DSC-040A/R

     

    SUBJECT DOMAIN (2 classes, 8 units)

    COURSE # COURSE TITLE  PRE-REQUISITES
    DSC-031 Introduction to R Programming DSC-020/R
    MGT-045 Principles of Accounting None

     UPPER-DIVISION COURSES (13 classes, 52 units)

    UPPER-DIVISION CORE COURSES (9 classes, 36 units)

    COURSE # COURSE TITLE  PRE-REQUISITES
    DSC-100 Introduction to Data Management DSC-040A/R AND DSC-080A/R
    DSC-140A Machine Learning DSC-080/R 

    AND

    ECE-109 or ECON-120A or MAE-108 or MATH-180A or MATH-183 or MATH-186
    DSC-148

    OR 

    MATH-189

    		 Data Mining 

    OR

    Exploratory Data Analysis and Inference

    		 DSC-148:

    DSC-040B or CSE-012 

    AND 

    DSC-080 or CSE-015L or CSE-029 

    AND 

    MATH-180A or MATH-180B or MATH-181A or MATH-183 or MATH-186 or CSE-103 or ECE-109 or ECON-120A or MAE-108 

    MATH-189:

    MATH-018 or MATH-020F or MATH-031AH, and MATH-020C 

    AND 

    BENG-134 or CSE-103 or ECE-109 or ECON-120A or MAE-108 or MATH-180A or MATH-183 or MATH-186 or SE-125

    DSC-181/MGT-191

    (crosslisted)

    		 Business Data Science Project DSC-100 and DSC-040A and DSC-140A 

    AND

    MGT-045/R and at least 3 of the core MGT courses (MGT-100, MGT-127R, MGT-180/R, MGT-160/R, MGT-168)

    MGT-100 Customer Analytics ECON-120A or BENG-100 or COGS-014B or ECE-109 or MAE-108 or MATH011 or MATH 180A or MATH 183 or MATH 186 or MGT 3 or PSYC 60 or SIO 187. ECON 120A recommended
    MGT-127/127R AI and Technology Strategy None
    MGT-160 Experiments in Firms Math AND Statistics

    MATH: MATH-010A or MATH-018 or MATH-020A or MATH-031AH

    AND

    STATISTICS: BENG-100 or BIEB-100 or COGS-014B or ECE-109 or ECON-120A or MAE-108 or MATH-011 or MATH-180A or MATH-181A or MATH-183 or MATH-186 or MGT-003 or PSYC-060 or SIO-187
     MGT-168 Managerial Decision Making  None
     MGT-180/180R Business Finance ECON-100A or ECON-120A or MAE-108 or MATH-180A or MATH-183 or MATH-186 or ECE-109

     

    UPPER-DIVISION ELECTIVES (4 classes, 16 units)

    DSC ELECTIVES: CHOOSE 2 (8 units)

    • Any courses between DSC-100 and DSC-170 (Be sure to check prerequisites prior to enrolling)
    • DSC-190 (Department and instructor approval required)

    MGT ELECTIVES: CHOOSE 2 (8 units)

    COURSE # COURSE TITLE  PRE-REQUISITES
    MGT-104 Strategic Customer Insight MGT 100 or MGT 103
    MGT-108R Applied Marketing Research None
    MGT-112 Global Business Strategy MGT 100 or MGT 103

    AND 

    MGT-180 or MGT-181 or MGT-187
    MGT-120 Behavioral Science and Incentive Design BENG-100 or COGS-014B or ECE-109 or ECON-120A or MAE-108 or MATH-011 or MATH-180A or MATH-183 or MATH-186 or MGT-003 or PSYC-060 or SIO-187
    MGT-137 Financial Statement Analysis MGT-045 or ECON/MGT-004 

    AND  

    MGT-005
    MGT-153 Information Technology in Business Analytics Math AND Statistics

    MATH:

    MATH-010A or MATH-018 or MATH-020A or MATH-031AH

    AND

    STATISTICS: 

    BENG-100 or BIEB-100 or COGS-014B or ECE-109 or ECON-120A or MAE-108 or MATH-011 or MATH-180A or MATH-181A or MATH-183 or MATH-186 or MGT-003 or PSYC-060 or SIO-187
    MGT-155 Advanced Business Analytics MGT-151A or MGT-151R or MGT-153
     MGT-159T Topics in Analytics MGT-151A or MGT-151R or MGT-153
    MGT-162/162R Negotiations None
    MGT-164 Business and Organizational Leadership None
    MGT-171/171R Operations Management None
    MGT-172/172R  Business Project Management  None
    MGT-175 Supply Chain Management None
    MGT-186 Real Estate Finance MGT-180/R or MGT-181
    MGT-188 Collecting and Analyzing Financial Data MGT-180/R or MGT-181

     

    *Core courses cannot also be used as electives (i.e. MATH 183, MGT 100, etc. cannot be used as an elective)

Frequently Asked Questions

I would like to transfer to UC San Diego as a Business Data Science major. How do I start the process?

All potential transfer students must indicate on the UC San Diego admissions application if they wish to major in Data Science or Business Data Science. However, if they are not selected for this major upon admission to UC San Diego, due to time-to-degree limitations, they will not be eligible to apply to it through the selective major process.

Prospective transfer students must complete the minimum major preparation course work to be considered for admission into the major. Visit Assist.org to find the complete listing of major preparation and transferable courses at your college. Required: 

  • MATH-018. Linear Algebra 
  • MATH-020A. Calculus I for Science and Engineering 
  • MATH-020B. Calculus II for Science and Engineering 
  • MATH-020C. Calculus and Analytic Geometry for Science and Engineering 
  • MGT-045 Principles of Accounting or MGT 4 Financial Accounting (for Business Data Science majors only – does not apply  to Data Science majors)

For more information, please see: https://admissions.ucsd.edu/transfer/transfer-major-preparation.html 

When will the required MGT courses for the Business Data Science major be offered? What about DSC courses?

Students can find when MGT courses are offered by visiting our Tentative Course Schedule. To determine when DSC courses are offered, view their course offerings link.

When will DSC 181/MGT 191 be offered?

This course will be offered sometime between 2027 and 2028.

I have a question about a DSC course. Who do I contact?

Please send a VAC message to the Department of Data Science (Student SSO login required) .

I have a question about an MGT course. Who do I contact?

Please send a VAC message to the Rady School of Management (Student SSO login required).
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