In the conclusion of our discussion, Josh dives into why long-form education remains essential for true conceptual learning, the foundational power of R2 across statistical tests, and the inspiration behind his new children’s book, Norman Squatch, Make a New Friend. He also shares his core philosophy, to always be curious, and why building intuitive understanding is key to staying adaptable in the fast-moving data landscape.

In this episode of the USF Data Science podcast, we welcome StatQuest creator and author Josh Starmer, along with data science students Lynn Tong and Tom Kolvacik and Professors Robert Clements and Cody Carroll. The conversation covers Starmer's recent work, including his newly published books on statistics and children's literature, while exploring his initial hesitation to write about statistics due to common misinterpretations of frequentist concepts like confidence intervals. Starmer shares his learning techniques, emphasizing the translation of complex mathematical notation into plain language to build intuition, and discusses the importance of foundational math for data scientists adapting to industry changes. The group also delves into content creation in the era of generative AI, discussing how topics can be reframed around LLM error-checking, Starmer's audience-focused approach to YouTube over algorithm chasing, and his thoughts on emerging concepts like world models and AI agents.

This podcast episode of the USF Data Science Podcast, hosted by Cody Carroll and Robert Clements, features an engaging conversation with two graduating students from Cohort 13 of the Master of Science in Data Science (MSDS) program: Leah Ashebir and Adam Gent. Join us as we discuss their diverse backgrounds, their intensive year in the program, and the impactful real-world projects they tackled during their practicums.

In the second and final part of this interview, Georgia and Trevor talk about the importance of access and equitability in the tech space when it comes to working with nonprofits and other NGOs. They also chat about finding the balance between a fast-paced program like MSDS and how to still enjoy all that San Francisco has to offer.

In the first part of this two part episode, Georgia and Trevor sit down and discuss what it means to use high-powered data science techniques to uplift and support underserved communities. Georgia also talks about her experience in the MSDS program, and Trevor talks about how his background in mathematics made a difference in challenging courses.

In this episode, Rebekah and Vitoria share how the Bootcamp EDA project pushed them beyond “just making plots” and into building a clear, credible narrative that a real stakeholder could act on. They talk through how they chose what to show, how they structured the story, and how design and interpretation choices can change what an audience takes away. If you’ve done EDA before but want to communicate insights with more impact, this one is for you.

Cody and Robert speak with Shan Wang, the Program Director for the Master of Science in Data Science program at University of San Francisco, about data science education and where it may be going during these quickly changing times.

In the final episode of Cohort 12's student series, we talk with Ian Duke and Tatshini Ganesan about their year in the MSDS program. Ian discusses his practicum at the ACLU training ML models on massive amounts of police body cam footage to flag videos for specific topics like searches or arrests. Tatshini shares about her experience working with Vibrant Data Labs to disseminate climate change-related financial data to companies and researchers who need it. They also give their insights on working in hybrid environments, navigating the work/life balance, and forming community and friendships in MSDS.

In this episode we talk to two more students from our most recent cohort, Bassim and Rishi, about their experiences in the MSDS program. Bassim shares some insights into how he has optimized his job search process with some noticeable success, and Rishi walks us through his data engineering practicum and decision to enroll in the data engineering concentration.

In this episode we talk to two of our graduating MSDS students, Amy and Rashmi, about their experiences in the MSDS program, their strategies for selecting their practicum companies, and the things that most surprised them about getting their MS degrees in Data Science at USF.