Harvard University · Department of Biostatistics

Master of Science - Health Data Science

Awarded degree: Master of Science in Health Data Science

Master'sSMData science degree

Overview

An 80-credit, full-time, on-campus SM in Health Data Science in the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, taking two years (four semesters) with a fall start. Required courses cover statistical inference, data science, big data computing, statistical learning and production data science.

Official program name: Master of Science - Health Data Science
Awarded degree: Master of Science in Health Data Science
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Degree level: Master's
Program classification: Dedicated data science degreeThe awarded degree or official program title is data science itself.Focus: Health / biomedical data science
School: Harvard University — Department of Biostatistics
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Location: Cambridge, MA
Required credits: 80 credits
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Duration: 2 years; 4 semesters (full-time)
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Start terms: Fall
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Teaching language: English (not separately stated)

Why this program is listed

Awarded degree is a Master of Science in Health Data Science.

Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026

We list data science bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees — dedicated, joint, and (separately labelled) related degrees with an officially named data science concentration. Eligibility rules

Format and attendance

Delivery, required in-person attendance, class schedule and study intensity are shown separately, each only as the university states it. “Fully online” appears only when official wording supports it.

Academic delivery: On campusClasses meet in person on campus.
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Class schedule: Not verified
Study intensity: Full-time
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Curriculum

Required courses BST 222, BST 260, BST 261, BST 262, BST 263, BST 264, plus five credits in computer science and 35 elective credits.
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Other

Program length changed from 60 credits (3 semesters) to 80 credits (4 semesters).
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Admissions

Required, optional, waived and not-required items are shown exactly as the university states them. Anything not listed is not verified — not “not required”.

Prior degree: RequiredUndergraduate degree in mathematical sciences or allied fields or computer science
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Mathematics prerequisites: RequiredCalculus through multivariable integration and one semester of linear algebra or matrix methods
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Programming prerequisites: RequiredScripting/programming and a statistical computing language such as R or Python
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Work experience: RecommendedResearch or work experience beneficial but not required
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Statement / essay: RequiredStatement of Purpose and Objectives
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Recommendation letters: RequiredLetters of Recommendation
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Résumé / CV: RequiredResume/CV
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Tests

GRE General Test: RequiredStandardized test scores listed as GRE, MCAT, GMAT, DAT, or LSAT
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
TOEFL iBT: RequiredTOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo if applicable
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026

We do not publish acceptance rates or estimate admission chances.

Start dates and deadlines

Dates are shown with the term the university printed. A past date is marked passed and is never carried into a new cycle.

Application deadline
December 1 · for Fall
The university does not print a year with this date.
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Year not printed

Tuition and fees

Each amount keeps its student category, academic year and basis. Per-credit, per-term and whole-program figures are not comparable with each other, and tuition is not the full cost of attendance.

Category	Amount	Basis and year
All students — Master of Science 80-credit, 2 years full-timeFrom the university-wide rate table covering online students at this level	$58,272	per academic year · 2026-2027Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Other published fees

Student Health Insurance Plan: $4,954 per academic year
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026
Student Health Fee: $1,944 per academic year
Source: hsph.harvard.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Funding

Funding policy and awards exactly as the university publishes them. Available assistantships do not establish guaranteed funding; loans must be repaid and are not scholarships. Understanding funding

Funding classification: Funding not verified

We have not verified an official funding policy for this program. That does not mean funding is unavailable.

Scholarships, fellowships or assistantships for this program: not verified. We publish this only when the institution states it on an official page.

Accreditation and enrollment restrictions

Two separate questions: is the university institutionally accredited, and does it publish restrictions on who can enroll (for online programs, usually by state of residence)?

Institutional accreditation

New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) — accreditedSource: ope.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026

Programmatic accreditation

No programmatic accreditation verified for this program. Institutional accreditation does not imply it.

Published enrollment restrictions (state authorization)

None recorded for this program.

International applicants

Not verified for this program.

Sources and verification

Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below. Last verified October 11, 2026.

hsph.harvard.edu/program/sm-health-data-science/ — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
hsph.harvard.edu/tuition-and-financial-aid/tuition-fees-and-annual-cost-of-attendance/ — Official tuition and fees page, verified October 11, 2026
DAPIP — NECHE institutional accreditation record (data files downloaded 2026-10-10) — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 10, 2026

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Data Science Degrees is independent and not affiliated with Harvard University. Information is collected from official pages and can change; confirm requirements, costs and deadlines with the university.