With the arrival of its first undergraduate class, the School of Data Science completes its academic portfolio and deepens its commitment to educating future leaders for the public good.
Another momentous day at the School of Data Science occurred on Aug. 26, 2024, when the inaugural class of data science undergraduate majors arrived at the School’s brand new home for orientation.
The three-year program had been approved less than a year earlier by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
Dean Phil Bourne delivered introductory remarks, highlighting the critical role the 75 second-year UVA data science majors would play in the life and development of the first data science school in the nation.
“We don't want to be the first at being it. We want to be the first at it and be the best. No pressure on you, but that's only going to happen when you perform here, when you perform in your careers going forward,” he said.
With the arrival of the bachelor’s program, the School of Data Science now boasted a full complement of degree programs: an online and residential master’s program; a doctoral program; and an undergraduate major and minor.
The first undergraduate class, which will graduate in 2027, was followed the next year by an even larger cohort of 125 students, with students from across the country and globe.
Just weeks after the first data science majors began their journeys came the announcement that Scott and Beth Stephenson, longtime UVA supporters whose $3 million gift in 2021 led to the establishment of the Stephenson Dean at the School, were donating $10 million to help undergraduates pursuing a bachelor’s degree in data science. Their gift was matched by the University’s Bicentennial Scholars Fund.
Among other benefits, the program would provide 100% support for each Stephenson Scholar’s demonstrated financial need.
“I cannot think of a better way forward, nor better advocates of data science, than the Stephensons. The financial support and mentoring of the Stephenson Scholars will bring forth qualities of leadership in quantitative skills as applied to the needs of society,” Bourne said in a statement when the scholarship was announced.
In a 2024 interview, Scott Stephenson, who has served on the advisory board since 2015 when the School was still the Data Science Institute, explained why he was so excited about the possibilities of the undergraduate program, not only for UVA but for the commonwealth as a whole.
“Imagine if there is a high degree of retention of these bright graduates in the commonwealth of Virginia over an extended period of time, what they will do in terms of new business formation and contributing to the acceleration of preexisting businesses,” he said.
Among the first group of Stephenson Scholars when it was launched in the 2025-26 school year was Huda Mohmand of Woodbridge, Virginia, who is originally from Afghanistan.
“I hope the support as one of the first Stephenson Scholars shapes my journey in data science by allowing me to meet my goals towards improving the world, specifically my own country, Afghanistan, more easily and efficiently,” Mohmand said.
At the inaugural orientation, near the end of his remarks, Bourne emphasized the noble charge that he hoped data science graduates from all backgrounds, regardless of their career goals, would take with them from UVA.
“You're going to become leaders in analytic skills. And this is an institution that's renowned for leadership, and I have no doubts with the faculty you have here that you will become leaders in academic skills. But I want you to think about how you use those skills really to promote data science for the public good and the societal benefit,” he said.
