About DataSC
Build, learn, and ship with a data-driven community.
DataSC is USC's home for hands-on data science learning, built to be welcoming, practical, and career-relevant. We bring together students of every major and experience level through a structured curriculum, real-world projects, industry speakers, and support for internships and careers. If you want to build skills, meet people who care about data, and work on problems that matter, you'll feel right at home here.
Curriculum
The curriculum builds from data science foundations and Python/Pandas skills into data cleaning, visualization, statistics, and core machine learning workflows. The semester culminates in a capstone project that combines EDA, modeling, and communication.
Semester Flow
Week 1
Intro to data science, ML pipeline, and Pandas basics.
Week 2
Python data structures, NumPy basics, Pandas Series/DataFrames, and data I/O.
Week 3
Data cleaning: missing values, types, normalization, duplicates/outliers, merges/reshapes.
Week 4
Visualization principles with Matplotlib/Seaborn.
Week 5
Exploratory data analysis, descriptive stats, correlation, and feature engineering basics.
Week 6
Intro to statistics: probability, sampling, hypothesis tests, confidence intervals.
Week 7
Intro to ML, scikit-learn, linear regression, train-test split, and CV.
Week 8
Classification with logistic regression and k-NN, plus evaluation metrics.
Week 9
Unsupervised learning: K-Means, PCA, and applications.
Week 10
Capstone project: end-to-end analysis, modeling, and storytelling.
Projects
What we've been up to
Spring 2026
Stanford RNA 3D Folding Part 2 Competition
A Kaggle competition focused on predicting RNA 3D structures.
Project Lead
Dominic Woetzel
Mapping LA Healthcare Access Gaps
A spatial analytics project identifying gaps in LA healthcare access.
Project Lead
Olena Khetan
NBA Performance Prediction
A sports analytics project forecasting NBA player performance.
Project Lead
Colin Quan Leung & Nolen Johnson
Meet the Eboard
Leading the way to empower students in data science.
Claire He
Co-President
Quantitative Biology & Business Administration
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Nathan Nguyen
Co-President
Health and Human Sciences & Mathematics
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Selina Hui
Vice President
Computational Neuroscience
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Matthew Hall
Head of Curriculum
Applied Mathematics & Data Science
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Ojas Nimase
Director of Curriculum
Mathematics & Computer Science
LinkedInJaden Lin
Director of Finance
Industrial and Systems Engineering
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Natalie Lam Johnson
VP of Operations
Artificial Intelligence for Business
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Lauren Lu
Head of Marketing
Cognitive Science
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Michelle Zhu
Web Dev Lead
Computer Science
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Colin Quan Leung
Project Lead
Applied Data Science
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Nolen Johnson
Project Lead
Applied Data Science
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Dominic Woetzel
Project Lead
Computer Science
LinkedInFAQ
Answers to the most common questions about joining and participating in DataSC.
Who can join DataSC?
Anyone at USC is welcome, regardless of major or experience level.
Do I need prior data science experience?
No. We teach fundamentals and provide pathways for beginners and advanced members.
What do members do each semester?
You can follow the curriculum, join project teams, attend workshops, or help lead initiatives.
How do project teams work?
Teams are formed by interest and skill balance, and work on scoped, real-world problems.
When do applications open?
We typically open applications at the start of each semester. Follow our updates for specificdates.
How can I stay updated?
Follow our social channels and check the weekly curriculum updates page.
Get Involved
Join DataSC to build skills, collaborate on projects, and connect with peers and industry mentors.