Computational Linguistics Concentration in the MS in Data Analytics Engineering
Catalog Year: 2026-2027
Banner Code: EC-MS-DAEN-CMPL
The MS in Data Analytics Engineering is a multidisciplinary degree program in the College of Engineering and Computing, and is designed to provide students with an understanding of the technologies and methodologies necessary for data-driven decision-making. Students study topics such as data mining, information technology, statistical modeling, predictive analytics, optimization, risk analysis, and data visualization. It is aimed at students who wish to become data scientists and analysts in finance, marketing, operations, business/government intelligence and other information intensive groups generating and consuming large amounts of data.
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on program requirements and courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes. Requirements may be different for earlier catalog years. See the University Catalog archives.
Admissions
Applicants must have completed a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited program with an earned GPA of 3.00 or better in their 60 highest-level credits. Applicants are expected to have completed a degree in engineering, business, computer science, statistics, mathematics, or information technology, with demonstrated foundational competence in calculus, statistics, and computer programming. Applicants without that formal academic preparation but with clear evidence of strong and extensive work experience in data or analytics, may also be considered on a case by case basis. DAEN 500 Data Analytics Fundamentals may be required for domestic students without a basic foundation in Data Analytics.
There may be additional admission requirements based on a chosen concentration.
Application Requirements and Deadlines are available from https://cec.gmu.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions/application-requirements-and-deadlines.
Policies
Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their academic advisor during their first semester and design an approved plan of study. Students should seek out their advisor when questions arise and when their plan of study needs to be revised. Any changes to the plan of study are to be approved by the DAEN advisor.
Degree Requirements
Total credits: 30
Core Courses
The following core coursework covers the basic elements of data analytics at the graduate level.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AIT 580 | Foundations of Data Processing | 3 |
| CS 504 | Principles of Data Management and Mining 1 | 3 |
| or CS 584 | Theory and Applications of Data Mining | |
| DAEN 690 | Data Analytics Project | 3 |
| OR 531 | Introduction to Analytics and Modeling | 3 |
| or OR 541 | Operations Research: Deterministic Optimization | |
| STAT 515 | Applied Statistics and Visualization for Analytics 2 | 3 |
| or STAT 554 | Applied Statistics I | |
| Total Credits | 15 | |
- 1
-
CS 504 (for all concentrations except Data Mining) or CS 584 (for the Data Mining concentration only)
- 2
-
STAT 515 (for all concentrations except Statistics for Analytics) or STAT 554 (for the Statistics for Analytics concentration only)
Concentrations
Students can elect a concentration that corresponds to a specialized technical area. Students not interested in a concentration can work with an advisor to select 15 credits of electives from among courses allowed in all the concentrations.
Concentration in Computational Linguistics (CMPL)
This concentration focuses on applying big data approaches to natural language data problems. Students will be introduced to a wide range of natural language systems and phenomena and be prepared to design robust data analytic methods that scale to accommodate the diversity of language systems and questions of language use.
Required Concentration Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Linguistics Foundation Courses: | 6 | |
| Syntax B | ||
| Morphology | ||
| Computational Linguistics Core: | 6 | |
| Computational Linguistics I | ||
| Computational Linguistics II | ||
| Select one from the following: | 3 | |
| Sociolinguistics | ||
| Typology | ||
|
DAEN 698
|
Data Analytics Research Project | |
| Total Credits | 15 | |