FAQ

Please note that this FAQ applies only to students who have enrolled in the certificate program in Winter Term 2026 or after.

For students who enrolled in 2023-2025, please refer to this guide for FAQ regarding program requirements applicable to those cohorts.

For students who enrolled before October 2022, please contact [email protected] for questions regarding the program.

Who is eligible to apply to the certificate program?

All U-M graduate students (Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint) are eligible to apply and be admitted to the Data Science certificate program. Rackham students will need to pay the $10 dual degree fee for the Certificate. Students enrolled in non-Rackham graduate programs will need to submit a Rackham Grad School application and pay the application fee (~$90) in order to enroll.

What does the Certificate Program Cost?

For Rackham Graduate Students, there are no additional tuition fees for completing the program, though a $10 dual degree fee is required.

For Dearborn and Flint students, there is an application fee to enroll at Rackham (~$90), and special processing may be required.

Students may also need to present their UM Dearborn/Flint billing statement to the Ann Arbor Campus Registrar’s Office showing proof of their enrollment and fees assessed may need to be adjusted to only be the tuition difference. so you should check the Registrar’s Office website for up-to-date tuition rates for Rackham vs your home campus.

Please ensure you select the correct academic term, School/College (Rackham), and Level of Study (Graduate) when you submit your search.

Are there any courses offered on Flint or Dearborn campuses?

Unfortunately, because the Certificate is a Rackham program, all courses are based in Ann Arbor. Students from Dearborn or Flint campuses will need to apply to Rackham to enroll in the Certificate, and take courses in Ann Arbor to fulfill the course requirement for the program. Ann Arbor campus has a different tuition rate than Flint and Dearborn campuses, so you should check the Registrar’s Office website for up-to-date tuition rates for Rackham vs your home campus.

Please ensure you select the correct academic term, School/College (Rackham), and Level of Study (Graduate) when you submit your search.

As I am a new student to UM, may I apply immediately or do I have to wait till my first semester grades are in?

Applicants may apply during their first term at UM. Applicants do not need to wait till their first semester grades are posted to submit an application. However, Rackham does require a student to have completed their first term with a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average before enrolling in the certificate program.

How should I choose which courses to take?

We expect that students are exposed to both Foundations and Applications, so you should take one course from each category and your third course can be from either category or from the electives list.

Within these broad categories, each student is different. Some might have already taken, or plan to take, courses in one category through their own programs. Others might be new to courses in both categories. A number of examples for those with minimal to strong data science and AI experience are provided can be found on this course selection pathways section of our website.

I have already taken several courses listed on the approved course list. Can I count these and go through the program quickly?

Yes, if you already have taken some of the courses (remember, you can only double-count one course with your core graduate program), you may be able to quickly satisfy the remaining DS Certificate requirements. Register for the program and be sure to go through the complete checklist, which includes both a coursework requirement as well as a practicum requirement to ensure you do receive your certificate upon graduation.

When the program description says “Only one course may be double-counted with another Rackham degree program,” does that mean I need to take an additional 2 courses that don’t count towards my graduation from my own program?

Yes, a total of 9 credits need to be from courses on the approved course list. A maximum of 3 credits of these 9 may be double-counted with the courses counted towards your degree.

Please note if you are in more than one degree or certificate program, or completed a SUGS program, and are double counting with another degree already, your certificate must be standalone and not double counted in any way.

Applicants who will only earn a PhD and the certificate are not subjected to double counting limits.

What does the data-science related experience/practicum involve?

This is hands-on research experience. This can be an independent research project with a U-M faculty member, a project you matched with in the Faculty-Student Research Connection, data science and AI-based research completed for your dissertation, or a capstone practicum course upon pre-approval by the MIDAS director.

Regardless, the experience must involve substantial data-handling and be equivalent to 3 credit course (~140 hrs of work). You will need a faculty advisor for the project to complete the verification form to verify you meet this graduation requirement.

The work you complete as part of the practicum should be presented at the MIDAS Summit held annually in the fall.

Regarding the experiential/practicum Data Science project, should the project be outside of my own research or can it be a part of my own research?

The project must have a significant “data science” (modeling, analytics, visualization) aspect to it with a clearly defined end-product (e.g., software, paper, report, app, service, learning module, DB, platform, infrastructure, etc. and it can part of your current research program or on another topic.

Is it possible to decide on a practicum later in the program?

Yes, most students determine their hands-on experiential requirements while they are enrolled in the program.

On the application, what should I write for the “Data Science related Practicum Experience” section, if I have no idea yet?

A preliminary plan is sufficient. Propose what you would like to do for the practicum. Specifics can be determined later while enrolled in the program and after reviewing the MIDAS opportunities.

Can the practicum (experiential requirement) be another course?

Generally speaking, no. However, if you are enrolled in a special “capstone” class that consists of semester-long, independent project work (such as BIOSTAT 699), you can email the director and petition for this to be counted as your practicum.

How do I find a data science related project to fulfill my data science certificate requirements?

You may find a project by signing up through the MDP Program, the MIDAS Faculty-Student Connection program, and/or search the MIDAS Faculty site for faculty with your preferred data science focus and inquire if they have a project. Be sure to alert the DS Program Director of the data science capstone project you are working on.

Will a lack of prior data science experiences influence whether my application is accepted?

No, prior experience is not a criterion for admission into the graduate Data Science certificate program. Motivation, hard work, and drive are the most important.

I am a masters student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Can I take all 9 credits required for the Certificate in Data Science in the engineering department?

You should look for Data Science (DS) courses outside your core program. You would normally take your CoE core courses and look to other schools (e.g., statistics, biostatistics, health sciences, etc.) for additional DS courses (1 course can be double-counted, if necessary).

Try to select data-intensive courses that are relevant to your research interest. If you want to take a DS course that is not on the approved course list, let us know; we’ll review and possibly add it to the course list.

If I decide halfway through that the workload is too much (or that the extra courses are too inconvenient), how difficult would it be for me to discontinue attempting to complete the certificate?

You do not have to complete the program. If you choose not to, please let both MIDAS and Rackham know and you will not receive the certificate when you graduate.

When I apply, will my course requirements be considered retroactively? That is, if I decide to apply next semester, will the courses I take this semester be counted towards the requirement (assuming that they are approved courses)?

Yes, we can consider courses (that meet all certificate criteria) retroactively.

If I am a student in the Biostatistics department, would I be able to take courses in the department of Statistics and have it satisfy the certificate requirements, since I am not technically in the department of Statistics?

Yes, you can take appropriate courses in any U-M School/College. In general, we encourage you to explore courses that will touch on topics not well-covered by your primary program of study. But some statistics courses may be appropriate and they would be acceptable.

I enrolled in the certificate program prior to the name change to “Artificial Intelligence and Data Science” in Fall 2026. What is the program name that will be printed on my diploma?

All students enrolled prior to Fall 2026 and graduating in Fall 2026 or later will be able to choose “Data Science” or
“Artificial Intelligence and Data Science” when completing the graduation checklist. Students enrolling in Fall 2026 or later will graduate with the certificate name “Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.”

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