Master of Science in Data Science (Applied Statistics and
Decision Analysis)
Faculty of Science and Information Technology, Department of Statistics Applied
to Economy -INES Ruhengeri
- Award: Master of Science in Data
Science (Applied Statistics and Decision Analysis)
- Mode
of delivery: Face-to-face
- Duration: 2 years, totaling 2,400
hours of teaching and learning (1,800 hours in Year 1; 1,600 hours in
Year 2 including 2 months of
industrial attachment and 5 months for the thesis)
- First
year of presentation: 2025–2026
Rationale: The programme responds to Rwanda's Vision 2050 push for a
data-driven, knowledge-based economy and addresses a documented STEM/research
capacity gap — only about 2% of Rwanda's tertiary graduates are in STEM fields,
and the country has just 20 researchers per million people (well below regional
peers like Kenya). It builds on INES Ruhengeri's ties to the African Center of
Excellence in Data Science (ACE-DS) and partner institutions (NISR, Rwanda
Biomedical Center, IPAR, RRA, etc.) for faculty support, research
collaboration, and industrial attachment placements. A needs assessment found
strong demand: 78.9% of Statistics-department graduates want to pursue an MSc
in Data Science, and on the employer side, 52% prefer hiring data managers with
a Master's degree, with notable skills gaps reported in data-driven
decision-making (96%) and machine learning/AI (32%).
Focus: The programme trains data scientists in applied statistical
modelling, machine learning, data analytics, and evidence-based decision-making
for real-world use across health, finance, logistics, agriculture, policy, and
education sectors preparing graduates for roles such as Data Scientist,
Biostatistician/Data Analyst, Decision Science Specialist, Quantitative
Researcher, and Business Intelligence/Analytics Manager, as well as for future
PhD study.
Graduates gain competencies suited for technical leadership, operational management, or academic progression. Primary career pathways include:
Applied Data Scientist / Quantitative Researcher
Biostatistician / Decision Science Specialist
Business Intelligence and Analytics Manager
Risk, Financial, or Operations Research Analyst
Academic Researcher / PhD Candidate
Names: Mr. HABUMUREMYI Alphonse
E-mail: habumuremyialpha@gmail.com
Tel: +250783039754
