Which courses should an aspiring data scientist prioritize?

For someone interested in pursuing a career as a data scientist, which university courses are the most important? I'm trying to plan my college coursework to align with my career goals, and I don't want to miss anything crucial.

The primary skills of a successful data scientist include strong mathematical foundations, statistics, computer programming, as well as a grasp on machine learning. Therefore, your coursework should reflect a mixture of these areas.

On the math side, you should consider courses in Calculus and Linear Algebra to build a strong mathematic foundation.

Statistics is the second key pillar for a data scientist. Courses on Statistics, Probability, and even more specialized fields like Statistical Modeling can prepare you well for the statistical analysis side of the job.

In terms of computer science and programming, you should prioritize courses teaching languages often used in data science such as Python and R. Courses like Intro to Computer Science, Data Structures, and Algorithms can all be very useful.

Also crucial to a data science career is knowledge of databases and how to manage and pull data from them. Courses about Database Systems and SQL would be useful here.

On the machine learning side, consider coursework that offers both theoretical understanding as well as practical application of machine learning algorithms.

Lastly, never underestimate the power of soft skills. Data Visualization is an intrinsic skill for communicating your findings, and so courses that cover this aspect would bring a lot of value.

These are the core areas you should focus on while planning your coursework. However, note that the specific courses offered can vary from institution to institution. Your academic advisor will be your best resource for aligning your coursework with your specific career goals.