Quick answer: An online data science degree can lead toward data science, the occupation with the highest projected growth covered on this site at 33.5% from 2024 to 2034 (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Most accredited programs are master’s-level, and the subject suits online delivery well because there is no lab or clinical component. Programs, the careers this degree opens, and what they pay are covered below.
There is no programmatic accreditor for data science the way ABET covers engineering. Institutional accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor is what to verify, and it governs credit transfer. Judge the program on its course list, particularly the depth of the statistics sequence.
Before you request information anywhere, verify institutional accreditation - there is no programmatic accreditor here the way ABET covers engineering - and judge the depth of the statistics sequence in the course list. With that filter set, compare online data science programs enrolling now:
Every school listed is verified in federal IPEDS data both to award this degree and to offer programs that can be completed entirely by distance education at this level. Whether this exact degree is delivered fully online varies by school, so confirm the format before you apply.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 10 of them carry a score.
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal about the institution rather than about this subject. Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
This field is unusual in that the master’s is the more common entry credential. The bachelor’s tier in data science specifically is still thin, and many practitioners arrive with a bachelor’s in statistics, mathematics, computer science or economics plus a portfolio of modelling work.
Two practical implications. If you already hold a quantitative bachelor’s, a master’s in data science is the direct route and typically two years. If you do not, a bachelor’s in a quantitative subject is the prerequisite step, and going straight into a data science bachelor’s is viable but check how much statistics it actually contains.
Portfolio matters here more than in licensed fields. There is no exam or license to demonstrate competence, so demonstrable projects do that work instead. Two or three finished pieces of analysis on real, messy data will carry more weight in an interview than a transcript, and the messiness is the point: cleaning and framing the problem is most of the job, and a portfolio built only on tidy teaching datasets does not show that you can do it.
Versus computer science. Computer science is the broader and larger field, with considerably more employment and a higher median; data science is the narrower, faster-growing specialism within the same broad area. See online computer science degree.
Versus IT and infrastructure. If keeping systems running appeals more than modelling, online information technology degree is the better match, and online cybersecurity degrees covers the security specialism.
Versus MIS. Management information systems sits between business and technology and leads toward the IT management rung rather than the modelling one. See online management information systems degree.
Data scientists earn a median $120,230 and BLS projects employment to change by 33.5% from 2024 to 2034, about 23,400 openings a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34).
| Metric | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $120,230 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Wage range | $67,240 (10th pct) - $199,130 (90th pct) | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Employment | 262,440 data scientists | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Projected change (2024-34) | 33.5%, about 23,400 openings per year | BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34 |
| Typical credential | Master’s is the common entry credential; bachelor’s tier is thinner | Program catalogs |
| License | None. Data science is not a state-licensed occupation | - |
| SOC codes covered | 15-2051 data scientists; 15-1243 database architects; 15-1242 database administrators; 13-1111 management analysts | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
33.5 percent is the highest projected change of any occupation on this site, and it deserves both emphasis and caution.
| Occupation | SOC | Median | Employment | Projected change | Annual openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data scientists | 15-2051 | $120,230 | 262,440 | +33.5% | 23,400 |
| Database architects | 15-1243 | $139,500 | 67,140 | +8.7% | 4,000 |
| Management analysts | 13-1111 | $101,860 | 898,280 | +8.8% | 98,100 |
| Database administrators | 15-1242 | $104,620 | 69,990 | -0.7% | 3,800 |
Wages and employment: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Projections: BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34.
Read the top and bottom rows together, because that contrast is the actual story. Data science is projected to grow by a third while database administration is projected to shrink slightly. Both are data jobs. The difference is that one builds models and the other maintains systems, and the second is the more automatable of the two.
That pattern - growth concentrating in the judgment-heavy end of a field while the routine end flattens - is the same shape visible in manufacturing on the mechatronics and robotics page, where CNC operator employment is projected to fall 10.7 percent while the maintenance roles that keep automated equipment running grow 16.1 percent. It is worth understanding as a general pattern rather than a fact about one industry.
A caution on the openings column: 23,400 openings a year on 262,440 jobs is healthy, but management analysts post 98,100 openings a year. Growth rate and hiring volume are different things, and the larger, slower occupation still hires more people annually.
The case for: the fastest projected growth on this site at 33.5 percent, a median of $120,230, a 90th percentile of $199,130, no licensure gate, and a subject that genuinely suits online study because there is nothing physical to replicate (BLS OEWS, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34).
The case against: the entry credential is usually a master’s, so the path is long for someone without a quantitative bachelor’s; the mathematics is real and is where most attempts stop; and the title is applied loosely by employers, so two jobs with the same name can require very different skills. Growth projections are projections, not promises.
Is college worth it covers the general tradeoff. Individual outcomes may vary.
The national median annual wage for data scientists is $120,230 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The bottom 10 percent earn $67,240 or less and the top 10 percent earn $199,130 or more, across employment of 262,440 nationally.
It is the fastest-growing occupation covered anywhere on this site. BLS projects data scientist employment to change by 33.5% from 2024 to 2034, with about 23,400 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). For comparison, database administrators are projected at -0.7% over the same period, so the growth is concentrated in the modelling side rather than data work generally.
Not always, but it is common. Most accredited data science programs are master's-level, and the bachelor's tier is still thin by comparison. A bachelor's in statistics, computer science or mathematics plus demonstrable modelling work is a recognized route. Confirm what any specific employer expects rather than assuming.
Yes, and the subject is well suited to online delivery. Statistics, programming, machine learning and data engineering all deliver at a distance, and the capstone is usually a portfolio project rather than lab or clinical work. That absence of a physical component is why online delivery is genuinely equivalent here in a way it is not for nursing or welding.
Analytics generally describes reporting on what happened; data science builds models that predict or classify. The wage data reflects the split, with data scientists at a median $120,230 against management analysts, who do much of the analytics work, at $101,860 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Programs vary in which they teach, so read the course list rather than the title.
The published projections point the other way for this occupation specifically: 33.5% projected change through 2034 (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). The roles that automate most readily are the routine reporting ones, which is visible in the -0.7% projection for database administrators. Nobody can promise what any individual role looks like in ten years, and individual outcomes may vary.
Statistics and probability, programming in Python or R, machine learning methods including validation and model selection, data engineering and pipelines, and the ethics and bias material that applies when a model makes decisions about people. A program that teaches tools without the statistics behind them leaves you unable to tell a good model from a lucky one.
It is one of the more demanding transitions on this site, because the mathematics is real and the entry credential is often a master's. What transfers from technical work is the instinct for measurement, tolerance and error, which is genuinely relevant. Expect a multi-year path and a heavy statistics sequence. Individual outcomes may vary.
State pay, licensing and metro-level data for this degree. Wage and employment figures on every state page come from BLS OEWS, May 2025.
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About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
