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Data ScienceDegrees
Rice University campus — Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA - sally port.
Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA - sally port.. Campus photograph of Rice University. · Photo: Daderot · Public domain · source
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Rice University

Houston, TXPrivate nonprofit SACSCOCOfficial website

Rice University's Department of Computer Science offers the Master of Data Science (MDS) as a separate on-campus program in Houston and an online program; both award the same 31-35 credit-hour non-thesis degree. At the undergraduate level Rice offers a data science minor, not a major.

Data science programs at Rice University

2 eligible programs verified (2 master's); formats: on campus, fully online. Each program is listed separately — tuition, admissions and format belong to the program, not to the whole university.

Master's Degrees in Data Science

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Rice University

Master of Data Science

Master of Data Science (MDS), On-Campus

Master'sMDS
Location: Houston, TX
Delivery: On campusClasses meet in person on campus.On-campus classes · Full-time
Duration: typically three consecutive semesters (fall, spring, second fall) (full-time) · 31 credits
Tuition: Tuition not published / not verified
Next deadline: February 10, 2027 · Fall 2027
View Program
Rice University logo

Rice University

Master of Data Science

Master of Data Science (MDS) Degree, Online Program

Master'sMDS Fully online
Location: Houston, TXUniversity location, not a residency requirement
Delivery: Fully onlineAll coursework is online and the university states no required in-person attendance for this program.Fully online per the university; no in-person requirement found · Full-time or part-time
Duration: part-time within 2 - 3.5 years; full-time in 18-24 months with strong prerequisites; up to 5 years allowed (full-time vs. part-time) · 31 credits
Tuition: $1,700 per credit · All students · year not statedEst. total tuition $52,700 (31 credits × $1,700 per credit; fees excluded)
Next deadline: November 1, 2026 · Spring 2027
View Program

Accreditation

  • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)

    Institutional accreditation — accredited · since January 1, 1914 · next review 12/01/2026

    Recognized by: U.S. Department of Education

    Source: ope.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026

The university states: “Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)” Source: cs.rice.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Institutional accreditation (recorded in the U.S. Department of Education's DAPIP database) covers the whole institution. It is not a ranking and does not describe any one program.

Departments and schools

Academic units that administer the listed programs.

Offerings we reviewed but do not list

This directory lists data science bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. These offerings were checked against official pages and fall outside that scope (certificates, minors, analytics or AI degrees without data science in the title…).
  • Minor in Data ScienceMinor, not a degree; Rice has no undergraduate data science major in the catalog.Source: ga.rice.edu · verified October 11, 2026
  • Master of Artificial Intelligence (on-campus)AI degree without data science in the title.Source: cs.rice.edu · verified October 11, 2026

Institution

Official name
Rice University
Control
Private nonprofit
Source: nces.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026
Main location
6100 S Main St, Houston, TX 77005-1827
Source: nces.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026
Degrees awarded in Data Science (IPEDS CIP 30.70, first major)
52 master's (2023-24)
Source: nces.ed.gov · verified October 10, 2026

Sources

Last verified October 11, 2026. Program facts and their sources are on each program page.
  1. cs.rice.edu/academics/graduate-programs/master-data-science — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  2. cs.rice.edu/academics/graduate-programs/online-mds — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  3. ga.rice.edu/programs-study/departments-programs/engineering/data-science/data-science-minor/ — Official program page, verified October 11, 2026
  4. IPEDS 2024–25 Institutional Characteristics (HD2024), via College Navigator — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 10, 2026
  5. IPEDS 2023-24 Completions (C2024_A), CIP 30.70 Data Science — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 10, 2026
  6. DAPIP — SACSCOC 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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