Dive Brief:
- Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company is funding a $2 million, four-year data science higher education program aimed at women.
- The program is scheduled to begin this fall at Mount Holyoke College and Smith College — two women’s colleges in Massachusetts, according to a press release.
- The money will pay for five faculty positions and the development of a data science curriculum, including natural language processing, machine learning, behavioral economics, applied statistics, and computer science specialties.
Dive Insight:
As companies look for the most effective ways to train and educate their future employees, partnering with existing college programs may prove to be more efficient than trying to launch standalone programs that reach prospective employees after graduation. The insurance company also funded a data science development program that began in August, involving Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as well as Mount Holyoke and Smith. That program aims to hire 5% to 10% of graduates in math, computer science, and statistics, then provide them training equivalent to a graduate program. Data science graduates work in the fields of medicine, environmental science, actuarial professions, and statistics.