The Discovery Informatics Program
The mission of the Discovery Informatics program is to provide students with
the theoretical foundations and practical application experiences needed to understand
and utilize methods for knowledge discovery. The core of the program integrates
statistics, mathematics, computer science, learning theory, logic, information
theory, complexity, and artificial intelligence.
In addition to completing the
core requirements, students choose a cognate discipline and associated courses,
culminating in a Discovery Informatics project directed by a faculty member from
their chosen cognate. Cognates and their directors are listed below.
Core Requirements (54 credit hours)
Discovery Informatics (9 credit hours)
DISC 101 Introduction to Discovery Informatics (3)
DISC 210 Dataset Organization and Management (3)
DISC 495 Discovery Informatics Capstone (3)
Computer Science (19 credit hours)
CSCI 220 Computer Programming I (3)
CSCI 221 Computer Programming II (3)
CSCI 222 Computer Programming I Laboratory (1)
CSCI 230 Data Structures and Algorithms (3)
CSCI 310 Advanced Algorithms (3)
CSCI 334 Data Mining (3)
CSCI 470 Principles of Artificial Intelligence (3)
Mathematics (26 credit hours)
MATH 120 Introductory Calculus (4)
MATH 203 Linear Algebra (3)
MATH 207 Discrete Structures I (3)
MATH 220 Calculus II (4)
MATH 250 Statistical Methods I (3)
MATH 350 Statistical Methods II (3)
MATH 440 Statistical Learning I (3)
MATH 441 Statistical Learning II (3)
Cognate Requirements (15-22 credit hours)
Each student selects one cognate to complete for the Discovery Informatics
major. Students may submit a cognate proposal to the Discovery Informatics
Committee. Those students interested in submitting a cognate proposal should
contact the Program Director or a Cognate Director.
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Biomechanics (22 credit hours)
Director: William Barfield
The Department of Physical Education and Health offers an opportunity for
students in the area of Discovery Informatics to plan, collect, and analyze
data pertaining to the physics of human motion. In order to complete this
cognate area, students will first need to take BIOL 111 and BIOL 112 with
the mandatory laboratories to satisfy their general education requirements,
and then take BIOL 202 (Human Anatomy), PHYS 101 (Introductory Physics),
PEHD 330 (Kinesiology), and PEHD 440 (Biomechanics) to fulfill their cognate
requirements. Data associated with these classes could include, but will
not be limited to: kinematics of normal and pathological gait, kinematics
of other types of human movement including golf and tennis, and the kinetic
analysis of movement and how the kinematics and kinetics might be combined
to solve a particular issue.
BIOL 111 Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (3)
BIOL 111L Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology Lab (1)
BIOL 112 Evolution, Ecology, and Biology of Organisms (3)
BIOL 112L Evolution, Ecology, and Biology of Organisms Lab (1)
BIOL 202 Human Anatomy (4)
PHYS 101 Introductory Physics (3)
PHYS 101L Introductory Physics Laboratory (1)
PEHD 330 Kinesiology (3)
PEHD 440 Biomechanics (3)
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Customer Relationship Management (15 credit hours)
Director: Julia Blose
The Department of Management and Marketing offers an opportunity for students
in the area of Discovery Informatics to plan, participate in and assist
in analyzing data associated with the study of customer relationship management.
Those who successfully gather, analyze, understand, and act upon customer
information are among the winners in this new information age. The benefits
associated with discovery informatics applications in CRM include customer
profitability, customer acquisition, cross-selling, customer retention,
customer segmentation and customer scoring.
ECON 201 Principles of Macroeconomics (3)
ECON 202 Principles of Microeconomics (3)
DSCI 232 Business Statistics (3)
MKTG 302 Marketing Concepts (3)
MKTG 320 Marketing Research (3)
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e-Commerce (18 credit hours)
Director: Gioconda Quesada
The Department of Management and Marketing offers an opportunity for students
in the area of Discovery Informatics to plan, participate in and assist in analyzing
data associated with the study of e-commerce. Those who successfully gather,
analyze, understand, and act upon e-procurement information are among the winners
in this new information age. The benefits associated with discovery informatics
applications in e-commerce include improved marketing intelligence, enhanced
decision making, reduced operational and administration costs, and improved visibility
of customer demand.
ACCT 203 Financial Accounting (3)
ACCT 204 Managerial Accounting (3)
DSCI 232 Business Statistics (3)
DSCI 300 Management Information Systems (3)
DSCI 306 Introduction to Electronic Commerce (3)
MKTG 333 Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (3)
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Economics (15 credit hours)
Director: Calvin Blackwell
The Department of Economics & Finance offers an opportunity for students
in the area of Discovery Informatics to plan, participate in and assist in analyzing
data associated with the study of economics and finance. Improved methods for
interpreting the vast amount of data available concerning the macro-economy and
financial markets is important to both business leaders and government policy-makers.
Specific courses required to provide a content background for these students
are Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 201), Principles of Microeconomics (ECON
202), Microeconomics Analysis (ECON 317), Macroeconomics Analysis (ECON 318)
and Introduction to Econometrics and Forecasting (ECON 419). These classes will
present the student with the basic problems economics addresses, the tools of
economic analysis, and some of the most widely used data in economics.
ECON 201 Principles of Macroeconomics (3)
ECON 202 Principles of Microeconomics (3)
ECON 317 Microeconomic Analysis (3)
ECON 318 Macroeconomic Analysis (3)
ECON 419 Introduction to Econometrics and Forecasting (3)
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Exercise Physiology (16 credit hours)
Director: John Dobson
This cognate, offered by the Department of Physical Education and Health, provides
Discovery Informatics students with the opportunity to plan, collect, and analyze
large datasets that pertain to the performance of the physiological systems that
are most affected by the stress of physical activity. In order the complete this
cognate area, students will first need to take BIOL 11 and BIOL 112 with the
mandatory laboratories to satisfy their general education requirements, and then
take BIOL 201 (Human Physiology), and PEHD 340 (Exercise Physiology) to fulfill
their cognate requirements. Data associated with these classes will include,
but will not be limited to: the physiology of fitness, nutrient metabolism and
energy production, diet modification for physically active individuals, pulmonary
function and spirometry, electrocardiography, endocrinology, and the determinants
of VO2 max.
BIOL 111 Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (3)
BIOL 111L Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology Lab (1)
BIOL 112 Evolution, Ecology, and Biology of Organisms (3)
BIOL 112L Evolution, Ecology, and Biology of Organisms Lab (1)
BIOL 201 Human Physiology (4)
PEHD 340 Exercise Physiology and Lab (4)
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Molecular Biology (16 credit hours)
Director: Allan Strand
Bioinformatics makes use of large genetic datasets to address questions in biology
at the cellular and molecular level. To expose DI students to training in bioinformatics,
we suggest that students take Biology 111 and 112 with the mandatory laboratories
to satisfy their general education requirements. For the cognate courses we recommend
Biology 212 and 311 with laboratories. These two courses provide introductory
and advanced training in genetics, respectively.
BIOL 111 Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (3)
BIOL 111L Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology Lab (1)
BIOL 112 Evolution, Ecology, and Biology of Organisms (3)
BIOL 112L Evolution, Ecology, and Biology of Organisms Laboratory (1)
BIOL 212 Genetics (3)
BIOL 212L Genetics Laboratory (1)
BIOL 311 Advanced Genetics (3)
BIOL 311L Advanced Genetics Laboratory (1)
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Organismal Biology (15 credit hours)
Director: Allan Strand
Historically DI has been relevant to biology through the field of bioinformatics,
but large datasets can be found in many biological sub-disciplines that focus
upon levels of organization higher than the cell. Large datasets, particularly
ecological time-series and imagery, have proliferated in environmental biology.
For students to receive the training they would need to apply DI approaches to
organismal-level subfields, we recommend that students take Biology 111 and Biology
112 as part of their general education and choose two 300-level courses (for
example, ecology (BIOL341) and Evolution (BIOL 350)) from the biology department’s
offerings through consultation with their cognate advisor. Many 300-level biology
courses require one year of chemistry (Chemistry 111 and 112) as prerequisites.
If the courses identified with the student’s cognate advisor have this
prerequisite, the cognate will require up to 23 credit hours, else it will require
a minimum of 14 credit hours.
BIOL 111 Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (3)
BIOL 111L Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology Lab (1)
BIOL 112 Evolution, Ecology, and Biology of Organisms (3)
BIOL 112L Evolution, Ecology, and Biology of Organisms Lab (1)
And two 300-level biology courses selected by the biology cognate advisor. Example:
BIOL 341 General Ecology (4)
BIOL 350 Evolution (3)
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Physics and Astronomy (18 credit hours)
Director: Jon Hakkila
The Physics and Astronomy cognate, offered by the Department of Physics and Astronomy,
provides students with a working knowledge of basic physics and astronomy as
well as some familiarity with associated data types. Students in this cognate
would take Physics 201 and Physics 202 to satisfy their general education requirements,
and then take Physics 311 (Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics 330 (Modern
Physics), and Physics 370 (Experimental Physics). The department is also in the
process of expanding course offerings in computational physics; it is expected
that anticipated computational physics courses would replace some of the aforementioned
courses and/or would serve as ideal cognate requirements when implemented.
PHYS 201 General Physics I (4)
PHYS 202 General Physics II (4)
PHYS 311 Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics (3)
PHYS 330 Introduction to Modern Physics I (3)
PHYS 370 Experimental Physics (4)
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Sociology (15 credit hours)
Director: Tracy Burkett
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology offers the sociology cognate. Sociology
is a quantitative discipline, and much of the current research in this field
is based upon querying large databases. To provide the training that DI students
interested in sociology would require, students pursuing the sociology cognate
will take SOCY 101 as part of their general education social science requirement.
For the remainder of the cognate courses, we require SOCY 202, SOCY 260, SOCY
271 and SOCY 371.
SOCY 101 Introduction to Sociology (3)
SOCY 202 Introduction to Social Institutions (3)
SOCY 260 Development of Social Thought (3)
SOCY 271 Introduction to Social Research (3)
SOCY 371 Social Research Practicum (3)
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Supply Chain Management (18 credit hours)
Director: Marvin Gonzalez
The Department of Management and Marketing offers an opportunity for students
in the area of Discovery Informatics to plan, participate in and assist in analyzing
data associated with the study of supply chain management. Those who successfully
gather, analyze, understand, and act upon the supply chain gain competitive advantage
in the marketplace.
ECON 201 Principles of Macroeconomics (3)
ECON 202 Principles of Microeconomics (3)
DSCI 232 Business Statistics (3)
MKTG 302 Marketing Concepts (3)
MKTG 333 Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (3)
TRAN 312 Global Logistics (3)
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D.I. Minor Requirements (18-19 credit hours)
The Discovery Informatics minor provides students an introduction to the field
by developing their quantitative abilities in statistics, data mining, databases,
and programming.
The primary goal of the Discovery Informatics minor is to increase the quantitative
and analytical learning outcomes to students of all degree programs at the College
of Charleston who complete this minor.
Discovery Informatics (6 credit hours)
DISC 101 Introduction to Discovery Informatics (3)
DISC 201 Introduction to Databases and Data Mining (3)
Computer Science (3 credit hours)
CSCI 130 Visual Basic for Applications (3)
Mathematics (9-10 credit hours)
Either:
MATH 105 Calculus for Business and the Social Sciences (3) or
MATH 120 Introductory Calculus (4)
MATH 250 Statistical Methods I (3)
MATH 355 Bayesian Statistical Inference (3)
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