UNC School of Data Science and Society

What UNC School of Data Science and Society does

The UNC School of Data Science and Society (operating as the School of Data and Information Sciences, or SDIS) is an academic unit within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, established in 2022 with 41 employees and headquartered in Manning Hall on the Chapel Hill campus. SDIS offers a unified academic portfolio spanning undergraduate degrees and minors in data science and information science, residential and online master's programs in data science, health informatics, information science, and library science, and doctoral programs in data science, health informatics, and information and library science. The Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP) operates as a sub-brand within SDIS, offering specialized Ph.D. tracks and the NIH-funded CHIP RAPID summer program. The school's core technology is the integration of data, technology, and human behavior research across disciplines, leveraging UNC-Chapel Hill's Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) for high-performance computing and partnering with the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute for applied AI research.

The school's revenue derives from tuition and fees across its academic programs, university allocations from the UNC system, federal and institutional research grants (including NIH awards and a $3.6M grant tied to AI and evidence-based practices research), and philanthropic donations channeled through give.unc.edu. Pricing is set institutionally under UNC system fee structures, varying by residency status and program level, and is not publicly disclosed at the school level. GTM is community-led: academic recruitment through Ph.D. and M.S. information sessions, employer and community engagement through research partnerships, and digital outreach via LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, GitHub, and email. Its primary customers are segmented across undergraduate students, master's students, doctoral students, academic researchers, and community/industry partners. As a public university entity, SDIS is owned and governed by the State of North Carolina through the UNC Board of Governors, with no external investors or private equity ownership.

Name

UNC School of Data Science and Society

Legal name

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Website

https://datascience.unc.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UNC School of Data Science and Society (SDIS) is the data, information science, and health informatics academic unit of UNC-Chapel Hill, offering undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs (including online) and serving students, researchers, and community partners in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Computer Science, IT & Data Science (EDAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing) (EDAEAGAF), Gradebook, Transcripts, Credits & Academic Records Management (EDAFAEAG), Online/Hybrid Lifelong Learning Platforms & Open Enrollment Programs (EDAAAEAL)

Keywords

• Higher education programs
• Data science degrees
• Health informatics education
• Library information science
• Doctoral research programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chapel Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Programs: Revenue generated from undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs through tuition and fees.
2. Research Grants and Funding: Federal and institutional research funding including NIH awards and collaborative seed funds supporting faculty research initiatives.
3. Philanthropic Donations: Gift fund through give.unc.edu supporting SDIS programs, student scholarships, and research initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SDIS delivers academic programs (undergraduate majors and minors, master's degrees, and doctoral programs) in data science, information and library science, and health informatics through residential on-campus and online formats. The school unites expertise across disciplines that study data, technology, and human behavior, transforming data into knowledge and exploring how information shapes society.

Product overview

SDIS offers a unified academic portfolio spanning undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs across three thematic areas: data science, information and library science, and health informatics. The Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP) serves as a flagship sub-brand within the health informatics vertical, offering specialized Ph.D. tracks and summer enrichment programs. Programs are available in residential and online formats, with doctoral programs providing research-focused preparation and master's programs offering professional education pathways.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP): Health informatics program housed at SDIS offering Ph.D. programs and summer programs like CHIP RAPID.

Products and services

• Undergraduate Programs Undergraduate degrees in data science and information science, along with multiple minors, providing foundational education in handling and analyzing data for prospective undergraduate students.
• Master's Programs Residential and online master's programs in data science, health informatics, information science, and library science, offering advanced professional education for graduate students.
• M.S. in Data Science Master's degree program in data science providing graduate-level education in data science methodologies, offered in both residential and online formats.
• Doctoral Programs Ph.D. programs in data science, health informatics, and information and library science, preparing scholars for research and academic careers.
• Ph.D. in Data Science Doctoral program specifically focused on data science, providing advanced research training in data analysis, machine learning, and data-driven methodologies.
• Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP) Research and education initiative housed at SDIS focused on health informatics, offering Ph.D. programs and summer programs like CHIP RAPID for preparing future health informatics leaders.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.6M grant secured for AI and evidence-based practices research
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026NIH awarded Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP), housed at SDIS, a five-year $500,000 award to support the Readiness And Preparation for Inclusion in Data Science (CHIP RAPID) summer program and future health informatics leaders.
• University of TübingencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborative seed fund partnership between University of Tübingen and UNC-Chapel Hill supporting research partnerships between faculty members. Four SDIS faculty members (Anita Crescenzi, Ashok Krishnamurthy, Youzuo Lin, and Huaxiu Yao) launched research partnerships in 2025 focusing on cutting-edge data applications in medicine and climate science.
• Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025RENCI at UNC-Chapel Hill is undergoing leadership transition as Ashok Krishnamurthy steps down as director. Krishnamurthy continues as professor in SDIS and remains actively engaged with RENCI as scholar and principal investigator, creating ongoing research integration between SDIS and RENCI.
• Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025SDIS Assistant Professor Anita Crescenzi serves as co-investigator on $3.6M project 'Integrating AI and Evidence-Based Practices to Enhance Postsecondary Special Educators' Preparation for Supporting Autistic Students,' led by FPG researchers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Indiana University — Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering: IU Luddy combines informatics, data science, and information science at the graduate level, mirroring SDIS's interdisciplinary academic portfolio in a public university setting.
• University of Michigan — School of Information: UMSI is a top-ranked information and data science school offering undergraduate through Ph.D. programs with a similar applied research and industry-partnership orientation.
• University of Washington — School of Information: UW iSchool is a top-ranked information school with strong data science and health informatics offerings, serving a comparable graduate and doctoral market on the West Coast.
• MIT — Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS): MIT IDSS combines data science with social science and statistics under one academic home, directly mirroring SDIS's integration of data, information, and societal impact.
• Carnegie Mellon University — School of Computer Science / Heinz College: CMU's data science and information systems programs are a leading peer in top-ranked graduate data and information science education, with strong industry placement and a similar blend of research-led graduate training.
• UC Berkeley — School of Information / Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society: Berkeley's iSchool and CDSS jointly cover information science and data science at the graduate and doctoral level, providing the closest West Coast peer in scope and ranking tier.
• Columbia University — Data Science Institute: Columbia's Data Science Institute is a top-tier interdisciplinary data science graduate unit with similar industry and research partnership models, frequently co-listed in rankings with elite data science programs.
• Stanford University — Data Science & Computer Science programs: Stanford offers top-ranked data science and computer science graduate programs with deep interdisciplinary research, serving as a primary comparator for elite US data science education.
• NYU — Center for Data Science: NYU CDS offers top-ranked MS and Ph.D. data science programs with strong industry placement in NYC — a directly comparable graduate-focused data science academic unit.
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — School of Information Sciences: iSchool at UIUC is a top-ranked library and information science school with active data science research, directly comparable to SDIS's LIS + data science integration.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UNCSDis
• GitHubgithub.com/uncsdis
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@UNCSDIS
• Facebookfacebook.com/UNCSDis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uncsdss
• Instagraminstagram.com/uncsdis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UNC School of Data Science and Society