Practical Data Science 🛠️

EECS 398, Spring 2025 at the University of Michigan

Welcome! If you’re interested in taking EECS 398: Practical Data Science in the Spring 2025 Half Term, you’ve come to the right place.

Content

See the Winter 2025 course website for details. The Spring offering will closely follow the Winter offering, with modifications made to better suit the smaller class size and faster pace.

Format

  • Lectures (TuTh 2-5PM): Introduce core content in an interactive format. Recorded, and attendance will not be taken, but is highly encouraged. Will take breaks in between.
  • Discussions (W 2-4PM): Focused on developing a theoretical understanding of the material by practicing old exam questions. Attendance will also not be taken.
  • Assignments: 11 homeworks (lowest 2 dropped) plus one Final Project. 8 slip days.
  • Exams: 1 Midter Exam and one Final Exam, both in-person and on-paper, dates TBD. Midterm Exam may have a “Technical Interview” component.

FAQs

What are the course’s prerequisites?

The course is open to students from all majors.

The enforced prerequisites are discrete math (EECS 203), programming (EECS 280), calculus I, calculus II, and linear algebra. A probability and statistics course is an advisory prerequisite. Options include DATASCI 101, STATS 206, STATS 250, STATS 280, STATS 412, IOE 265, or ECON 451.

That said, we have allowed interested students to override into the course without meeting the prerequisites. In particular, many students are missing the linear algebra prerequisite. We’ve developed a linear algebra review guide specifically for this course; students missing the prerequisite background are expected to self-study this material (and come to us for help!).

Will the course support remote students?

We will offer support on Ed, and 1-2 remote office hours per week, but we will not allow remote exams. Both the midterm and final exam must be taken in-person and on-paper.

Will Practical Data Science be offered in Fall 2025 or in the future?

Practical Data Science will not be offered in Fall 2025, and we are not currently planning on offering it in Winter 2026, as Suraj will be designing a different new course. That said, we do plan on bringing it back in future semesters!