NYU Center for Data Science

What NYU Center for Data Science does

NYU Center for Data Science (CDS) is an academic research and education center within New York University, founded in 2013 to pioneer data science as a formal academic discipline. CDS is anchored by the world's first Master of Science in Data Science program, a 36-credit curriculum integrating mathematics, computer science, and applied statistics with tracks in Big Data, Mathematics and Data, and Natural Language Processing, plus a PhD program, undergraduate major/minor/joint majors, and a Non-Degree option. The center serves approximately 650 undergraduates, 330+ MS students, and ~60 PhD students through selective admissions, and works with 30+ interdisciplinary faculty across Joint, Clinical, Fellows, Associated, Affiliated, Visiting, and Adjunct ranks.

The technology footprint spans five research groups — CILVR (computation/inference/vision/robotics), Math & Data (MaD), Minds/Brains/Machines (MBM), ML2, and STAT — alongside cross-NYU initiatives AI@NYU and the Center for Responsible AI. Active AI research areas include large language model understanding and evaluation, medical imaging (Head CT Foundation Model), NLP and text-as-data, misinformation/algorithmic auditing, agentic AI, and mathematical optimization. Research output is disseminated through weekly seminar series and open-education courses such as Yann LeCun's Deep Learning, Probability and Statistics for Data Science, and an Agentic AI Workshop.

CDS operates as a non-profit academic unit; it has no commercial product revenue. Funding flows from NYU's institutional budget, research grants (NSF, NIH), industry partnerships (the Partners Program), and fellowship support (Moore-Sloan). Tuition scholarships are awarded competitively to admitted MS students for up to two years. Go-to-market is admissions-driven (NYU GSAS portal) supplemented by event-based outreach (seminars, information sessions) and global self-serve open-education distribution. Alumni placements at Yale, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, École Polytechnique, Cambridge, OpenAI, Meta, and the FDA indicate high-credential outcomes for graduates.

Name

NYU Center for Data Science

Legal name

NYU Center for Data Science

Website

https://cds.nyu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

NYU Center for Data Science is a non-profit academic research center within NYU, founded in 2013, that operates the world's first MS in Data Science program alongside PhD, undergraduate, and non-degree tracks, serving ~650 undergraduates, 330+ MS students, and ~60 PhD students through 30+ interdisciplinary faculty.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education & Academic Research

NAICS

Computer Training (611420), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Technology & Computer Science Universities (EDAHALAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data Science & Analytics Learning Platforms (EDAFANAG), Data Science & Analytics (Data Literacy, SQL, Visualization) (EDAMACAF), Computer Science, IT & Data Science (EDAGABAB)

Keywords

• Data science education
• Graduate research programs
• Machine learning research
• Academic data programs
• Artificial intelligence studies

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition Revenue: Master's program tuition for full-time and part-time students; competitive tuition scholarships available for admitted students covering portion of costs for up to two years
2. Research Grants: Funding from government agencies (NSF, NIH) and organizations supporting faculty research across data science domains
3. Fellowship Programs: Faculty Fellows and Moore-Sloan Fellows receive funding and conduct research at CDS, contributing to research output and institutional reputation
4. Industry Partnerships: Partners Program connecting students with industry through Practical Training experiences, internships, and industry-targeted coursework

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NYU Center for Data Science (CDS) is an academic research center that operates degree programs in data science — including the world's first MS in Data Science, a PhD in Data Science, undergraduate majors/minors, and a Non-Degree Program — alongside open education courses (e.g., Yann LeCun's Deep Learning) and research groups spanning machine learning, NLP, statistics, and AI ethics. The center also connects students with industry through a Partners Program, capstone projects, and the Industry Concentration track.

Product overview

NYU Center for Data Science (CDS) is an academic institution offering a comprehensive portfolio of data science education programs and research initiatives. The core academic offerings include a Master's in Data Science (MS) — the world's first data science MS program — a PhD in Data Science, undergraduate major/minor/joint majors, and a Non-Degree Program. CDS provides open education through free courses including Yann LeCun's Deep Learning, Probability and Statistics for Data Science, Mathematical Tools for Data Science, Data Science for Everyone Video Series, and an Agentic AI Workshop. Research dissemination occurs via multiple seminar series: the flagship CDS Seminar Series, the NLP and Text-as-Data Speaker Series, the AI Misinformation and Policy (AMPol) Seminar Series, the Math and Democracy Seminar Series, and the Minds Brains and Machines Colloquium. Applied research outputs include the Head CT Foundation Model for medical imaging and a Capstone Projects Program connecting students with industry problems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CILVR: Research group focused on machine learning and computer vision
• Math & Data (MaD) Group
• Minds, Brains, and Machines (MBM)
• ML2
• STAT
• AI@NYU
• Center for Responsible AI

Products and services

• Master's in Data Science (MS)
• PhD in Data Science
• Undergraduate Data Science Programs
• Non-Degree Program
• Industry Concentration
• Capstone Projects Program
• Partners Program
• Yann LeCun's Deep Learning (Open Education Course)
• Probability and Statistics for Data Science (Open Education Course)
• Mathematical Tools for Data Science (Open Education Course)
• Data Science for Everyone Video Series
• Agentic AI Workshop

Quantifiable outcome

• Average GPA of admitted students: 3.81
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• NYU Langone Health / NYU Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiomedical Informatics (Medical School) Track within MS program has a biomedicine-based capstone project completed with a biomedicine mentor from NYU Medical School, integrating data science with medical applications.
• Industry Partners (via Partners Program)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry Concentration requires industry-targeted coursework, Practical Training experience, and internship. Companies provide experiential learning opportunities and recruiting pipeline for graduates.
• AI@NYU InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-NYU initiative coordinated with Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (CIMS) focused on AI research and collaboration across the university.
• Center for Responsible AImajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResponsible AI research initiative (airesponsibly.com) addressing ethical implications of AI and data science technology.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Insight Data Science Fellows Program: Postdoctoral-style fellowship program transitioning academic researchers into industry data science roles. Comparable to NYU CDS's talent-development mission, particularly the MS Industry Concentration and PhD placement outcomes.
• DataCamp: Commercial data science and AI skills training platform offering courses, certifications, and enterprise training. Overlaps with NYU CDS's data science curriculum and open-education mission, but delivers through a paid, scalable online platform.

Direct peers

• Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science: CMU's premier computer science school with leading AI and machine learning research groups. Comparable to NYU CDS as a top-tier academic unit for AI research and graduate education.
• Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI): Stanford's university-based AI research institute, offering graduate programs, faculty-led research groups, and policy work. Directly comparable to NYU CDS as a peer university institute focused on AI research, education, and societal impact.
• Vector Institute (University of Toronto): Toronto-based AI research institute affiliated with the University of Toronto, supporting graduate programs and industry partnerships. Comparable to NYU CDS as a peer AI research and training hub.
• MIT Schwarzman College of Computing: MIT's flagship computing college hosting interdisciplinary AI research, degree programs, and industry partnerships. Comparable to NYU CDS in mission and structure, with broader scale and resources.
• Mila (Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute): University-affiliated AI research institute founded by Yoshua Bengio, focused on deep learning research and graduate training. Comparable to NYU CDS as a leading AI research and training organization with strong open-education presence.
• University of Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS): University-level data science institute supporting interdisciplinary research and training. Comparable to NYU CDS as a peer university institute for data science education and method-driven research.
• UC Berkeley Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS): Berkeley's cross-disciplinary division for data science and computing education and research. Directly comparable to NYU CDS as a university-led data science education and research hub, including undergraduate and graduate programs.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Large-scale online education platform hosting university-partnered degrees and short courses across data science and AI. Comparable to NYU CDS's open-education and online degree offerings but as part of a much broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/nyu-center-for-data-science

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NYU Center for Data Science