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Best Online Data Science Degrees (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Key takeaway: A data science degree is a three-part major – statistics, programming, and a domain you apply them to. You learn probability and inference, linear algebra, Python or R, SQL, machine learning, and how to design a study that answers a question rather than decorating one. It is broader and more computational than data analytics, more applied than statistics, and narrower than computer science. Data Scientists earned a median annual wage of $120,230 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS) and the occupation is projected to grow 33.5 percent from 2024 to 2034 (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). Hiring runs on a SQL screen, a statistics conversation, and a portfolio, so the projects you finish matter as much as the transcript. Compare accredited programs below.
In IPEDS 2024, 208 institutions reported bachelor’s-or-higher completions in data science fields, and 182 of them reported offering distance-education programs (IPEDS 2024). That is a young field by degree-program standards, which is why catalogs vary so much: some programs are a statistics major with programming added, some are a computer science track with a statistics minor attached, and some are genuinely built from scratch. Read the required course list. Browse the best accredited online colleges to compare schools, and see data science programs by state to find programs near you.
Schools Offering Data Science Programs
These accredited schools offer online programs. Request information to compare programs, formats, and start dates.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Data science graduates work under several occupational labels, and the pay and growth spread across them is wide. Median annual wages come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
Median annual wage for the highest-paying data science careers. Source: BLS OEWS. Chart: Best Online College.View the data behind this chart
Highest-paying data science careers. Source: BLS OEWS (May 2025 release)
Occupation
Median annual wage
Database Architects
$139,500
Software Developers
$135,980
Actuaries
$130,000
Data Scientists
$120,230
Computer Systems Analysts
$105,850
Statisticians
$105,650
Operations Research Analysts
$88,940
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
$78,760
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Projected job growth (2024-2034) for data science careers. Source: BLS Employment Projections. Chart: Best Online College.View the data behind this chart
Fastest-growing data science careers. Source: BLS Employment Projections (2024-2034)
Occupation
Projected job growth (2024-2034)
Data Scientists
33.5%
Actuaries
21.8%
Operations Research Analysts
21.5%
Software Developers
15.8%
Database Architects
8.7%
Computer Systems Analysts
8.7%
Statisticians
8.5%
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
6.7%
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Data ScientistsSOC 15-2051
$120,230Median annual pay
Median hourly$57.80
Mean annual$126,800
Employment (US)262,440
Pay range (25-75%)$85,660 - $158,880
StatisticiansSOC 15-2041
$105,650Median annual pay
Median hourly$50.79
Mean annual$115,700
Employment (US)29,030
Pay range (25-75%)$82,220 - $141,490
Operations Research AnalystsSOC 15-2031
$88,940Median annual pay
Median hourly$42.76
Mean annual$99,730
Employment (US)108,510
Pay range (25-75%)$68,360 - $125,990
Software DevelopersSOC 15-1252
$135,980Median annual pay
Median hourly$65.38
Mean annual$148,100
Employment (US)1,687,890
Pay range (25-75%)$105,210 - $171,980
ActuariesSOC 15-2011
$130,000Median annual pay
Median hourly$62.50
Mean annual$141,480
Employment (US)26,670
Pay range (25-75%)$97,680 - $170,650
Database ArchitectsSOC 15-1243
$139,500Median annual pay
Median hourly$67.07
Mean annual$144,440
Employment (US)67,140
Pay range (25-75%)$109,370 - $169,290
Computer Systems AnalystsSOC 15-1211
$105,850Median annual pay
Median hourly$50.89
Mean annual$114,610
Employment (US)519,530
Pay range (25-75%)$82,860 - $134,110
Market Research Analysts and Marketing SpecialistsSOC 13-1161
$78,760Median annual pay
Median hourly$37.87
Mean annual$89,490
Employment (US)899,580
Pay range (25-75%)$58,350 - $108,310
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Data Scientists is the occupation the degree names. The median annual wage was $120,230, with the 10th percentile at $67,240 and the 90th at $199,130 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Employment was 245,900 in 2024 and is projected to grow 33.5 percent through 2034, with 23,400 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034). That is the fastest projected growth of any occupation on this page by a wide margin, and the percentile spread is the part to read carefully: the same title covers a junior analyst writing dashboard queries and a senior modeler shipping production systems.
The neighboring occupations pay differently for different reasons. Software Developers had a median annual wage of $135,980 with 115,200 annual openings (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034), which is why engineering-heavy data science graduates often end up with a developer title. Database Architects earned $139,500 and Actuaries $130,000. Statisticians earned $105,650 and Computer Systems Analysts $105,850. Operations Research Analysts earned $88,940 with 21.5 percent projected growth. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists, the occupation many business-facing analytics graduates land in, earned $78,760 (all wages Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Individual outcomes vary by employer, industry, geography, and experience.
Quick Answers
What is a data science degree?
A data science degree teaches you to get an answer out of data end to end: pull and clean the records, choose a method that fits the question, fit and validate a model, and communicate the result with its uncertainty. The core is statistics and probability, programming in Python or R, SQL and data management, and machine learning, usually with a capstone on real data.
Is data science the same as data analytics?
No. Data analytics is oriented toward describing what happened and reporting it: SQL, dashboards, business metrics, and explanatory analysis. Data science adds heavier statistics, programming, and predictive modeling, and expects you to build the pipeline rather than query one. The two overlap at the entry level, and job titles are not consistent about it. See data science vs data analytics for the side-by-side.
Do I need a master’s to work as a data scientist?
Not always. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education for Data Scientists, and many people enter from analyst roles. In practice a large share of postings still ask for a master’s, particularly for research-facing or modeling-heavy work. A master’s is most useful when you are switching in from another field and need the statistics and the projects at once.
How much math does the degree require?
More than most students expect. Calculus through multivariable, linear algebra, and a genuine probability and mathematical statistics sequence are the usual base, because they are what regression, dimensionality reduction, and most machine learning are made of. If the catalog lists no linear algebra, you are looking at an analytics program with a data science title.
Is there a programmatic accreditor for data science?
ABET’s Computing Accreditation Commission accredits a small number of data science bachelor’s programs, but most accredited programs in the field are not ABET-accredited and employers do not screen on it. Institutional accreditation is the check that matters. Verify it through the U.S. Department of Education database.
What you’ll study
Data science curricula generally stack four layers, and programs differ most in how heavy the second one is.
The first layer is mathematics and probability. Calculus, linear algebra, probability, and mathematical statistics. Linear algebra is the one to check for, because matrix decomposition sits under regression, principal component analysis, embeddings, and most of what a neural network does. A program that skips it is teaching tools rather than methods. Mathematics and statistics programs go deeper here and stop earlier on the engineering side.
The second layer is computing. Programming in Python or R, data structures, SQL and relational data modeling, version control, and often a distributed-computing course covering Spark or a cloud data warehouse. This is where “data science” programs diverge sharply: some require two or three real programming courses, others require one survey course and expect notebooks to carry the rest. Read the prerequisites on the machine learning course to see which one you are looking at.
The third layer is statistical learning and modeling. Regression, classification, resampling and cross-validation, regularization, trees and ensembles, clustering, and an introduction to neural networks. Better programs add experimental design and causal inference, which is what separates a graduate who can say “this campaign caused the lift” from one who can only say the two moved together. Machine learning and artificial intelligence majors push further into model architecture and less into study design.
The fourth layer is application and communication: data visualization, ethics and privacy, a domain sequence in health, finance, biology, or business, and a capstone. The capstone is the part that gets you interviews. Treat it as portfolio work from the first week.
Online delivery handles this material well because the work is already done at a keyboard, though compute environments and group projects need checking. See how online data science degrees work.
Careers for data science graduates
Data science jobs cluster into three shapes, and the titles do not reliably tell you which one a posting means.
Analytics-facing data science is closest to reporting: metrics definition, experimentation, dashboards, and analysis that a business team acts on. Titles here overlap heavily with analyst roles, and Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists at $78,760 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS) is the occupation many of those jobs are coded into.
Modeling and machine learning work builds systems: feature pipelines, training, evaluation, and deployment. This is where data science shades into software engineering, and Software Developers, at a median annual wage of $135,980 with 115,200 annual openings (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034), is the neighboring occupation. Employers screen for code quality here, not only for modeling.
Research and specialist quantitative work covers Statisticians at $105,650, Operations Research Analysts at $88,940, and Actuaries at $130,000 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS). Actuarial work runs on its own exam sequence rather than on the degree, which is worth knowing before you assume a data science major is the shortest route into it.
Accreditation – confirm recognized institutional accreditation through the U.S. Department of Education database. ABET accredits a small number of data science bachelor’s programs; its absence is not a red flag.
Math depth – require linear algebra and a calculus-based probability and statistics sequence in the catalog, not “quantitative reasoning.”
Programming load – count the required programming courses. One is a warning sign; two or three with a data structures component is a real computing core.
Degree level – decide between a bachelor’s and a master’s based on whether you already hold a quantitative degree.
Capstone and data access – ask what data the capstone uses, whether projects are individual or team, and whether you can publish the work in a portfolio.
Compute environment – ask whether the school provides cloud notebooks and GPU access or expects you to supply them, and compare accelerated formats against standard pace using how the online format works.
Cost drivers – compare total required credits and per-credit versus flat-rate pricing, not the advertised headline; see how to evaluate affordability.
Data science or a related field? Choose data science for the full pipeline from raw data to a validated model. Choose data analytics if reporting, SQL, and business metrics are the job. Choose statistics for inference and study design at greater depth, mathematics if you want the theory underneath, machine learning or artificial intelligence for model building as the specialty, and computer science if you want to build software generally rather than analyze data specifically.
