Applied Data Science

Data has always played a key role in empirical sciences, from the natural sciences to the social sciences and humanities. Today, the amount, speed and variety of data are growing rapidly, creating new opportunities and challenges for how we generate knowledge and make decisions. 

At the same time, developments in Artificial Intelligence are increasingly shaping how data is used in practice. From everyday applications to high-stakes decisions, AI systems influence many aspects of society. This makes it essential to understand not only how data is analysed, but also how these methods work, what their limitations are, and when they are applied appropriately. 

In this minor, you will be introduced to the field of Applied Data Science, with a strong focus on analysing data and understanding the methods behind modern data-driven approaches. You will also learn programming skills that allow you to work hands-on with data. 

Throughout the courses, you will learn how to approach problems from a data science perspective, where prediction and visualization play a central role. You will work with datasets from different domains and explore realistic, interdisciplinary questions. 

Because real-world data is often messy and unstructured, you will also learn how to clean, process and transform data, and how to write simple programs to support these tasks. 

You will work with widely used tools such as R, JASP and Python, free and popular environments in the field of applied data science. 

This minor is open to all students, except those in the Kennis en Data Analytics profile of the UU Bachelor’s programme Informatiekunde. 

For the block 2 course Fundamental techniques in data science with R, basic knowledge of statistics is required, including correlation, regression, comparing means and cross tabulations. You should also have hands on experience with statistical software, such as SPSS, Stata, R, JASP or SAS.

If you do not meet this level, you can prepare by taking this course offered in block 1 (taught in Dutch):

When you have followed an introductory statistics course of 7.5 EC, we expect that you will have the required entrance level. When you are in doubt about this, contact Laura Boeschoten (l.boeschoten@uu.nl).

The obligatory courses are:

In these two courses you will learn how to analyse data from a data science perspective. Unlike traditional statistics, this approach focuses more on predicting outcomes and less on statistical significance.

Programming and data handling are essential in data science, as real-world data often needs preparation before analysis. The following highly recommended course supports these skills:

This course is an entrance requirement for the Master Applied Data Science. 

Note: students who have completed ‘Training Programmeren’ (Psychology) or are enrolled in the Bachelor's programme Kunstmatige Intelligentie cannot take this course due to overlap.

In addition, you can choose from a range of electives to tailor the minor to your interests, ensuring a total of four courses. The following options are available: 

* Note: Students from the bachelor program ‘Informatiekunde’ cannot follow the course Databases due to too much overlap with the course Datamodelleren INFOB1DM.

** Note: the course Toegepaste aardobservatie en GIS only has 3 places available for ADS minor students in 2026 – 2027, so register as soon as the registration period opens for this course. 

Important: some courses have specific entry requirements. Make sure to check the course descriptions carefully, and if in doubt contact the course coordinator or ADS contact person.

Also important: As these courses are offered by different faculties, registration deadlines may vary. Be sure to check the deadlines for each course individually.

Students are free to choose additional courses in any of the blocks.

If you meet the entrance requirements for the course Fundamental techniques in data science with R, you can set up the minor like this: 

If you do not meet the entrance requirements for the course Fundamental techniques in data science with R, you can set up the minor like this:

Possible set-up for minor students from Kunstmatige Intelligentie:

There is a maximum of 110 participants per year for this minor.

Enrolment for the minor for the academic year 2026-2027 is open as of May 31, 2026.

Once you enrol, you can take more than one year to complete the minor.

Important: after enrolling for the minor, you need to enrol for the courses separately. Do this during their regular enrolment period; it is often not possible to enrol after this period! 

For the academic year 2026-2027, the enrolment period for period 1 and 2 for the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (to register for Basis van Onderzoeksmethoden en Statistiek and Fundamental techniques in data science with R) are 08/06/2026 – 26/06/2026. The enrolment period for period 4 (to register for Applied data analysis and visualization) is 02/11/2026– 20/11/2026.

Note that once the enrolment period closes, post registration is sometimes possible during the late enrolment period. See the academic calendar of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pdf) for a complete overview of all the enrolment and late enrolment days of this faculty.

To register for Programming with data, see the enrolment periods of the Faculty of Science.

Utrecht University students

Register via OSIRIS Student. Enrolment is on a first-come, first-served basis and closes once capacity is reached. We recommend registering for the minor first to secure your place, and then enrolling for individual courses. Registration periods may differ per faculty. 

Note: Students in the Bachelor's programme Kunstmatige Intelligentie (UU) should register for the minor Minor Applied Data Science (for students KI) (code: MS-MI5), as their programme differs slightly.

Students from the Kennis en Data Analytics profile of Informatiekunde (UU) cannot complete the full minor due to overlap, but may take individual courses.

Students outside of Utrecht University

Enrol for the courses through our application form at OSIRIS Online Application (visit our subsidiary courses page for more information). Use the same application form to apply for the minor. Given that the maximum number of participants has not yet been reached, the Student Information Point will process your form and enrol you for the minor.

Please note that in this particular minor, you can choose courses from different faculties. You will need to fill in a different application for each faculty of which you would like to attend a course from. See the frequently asked questions at the bottom of this page for more information.

Students from Universities of Applied Sciences

The minor is open to applications from students from Universities of applied Sciences. For applied Sciences University students, the course in block 1 (taught in Dutch) Basis van Onderzoeksmethoden en Statistiek is obligatory.

For entry requirements for the Master's programme Applied Data Science for students from Universities of applied Sciences, please check the Applied Data Science website.

I am a student from another University, can I also apply for the minor?

Yes, you can most definitely also apply for the minor. To apply for the minor, please go to the subsidiary courses page for further information. If you pay the yearly tuition fee at your current university, you don’t have to pay to follow courses at Utrecht University. We will need to see proof of paid tuition fee, after registration you will be further informed about the procedure.

I am a student from an applied University, can I also apply for the minor?

Yes, you can also apply for the minor, but please note that the course Basis van Onderzoeksmethoden en Statistiek taught in period 1 (in Dutch) is obligatory. To apply for the minor, please go to the subsidiary courses page for further information. If you pay the yearly tuition fee at your current university, you don’t have to pay to follow courses at Utrecht University. We will need to see proof of paid tuition fee, after registration you will be further informed about the procedure.

I am not a student anymore (but am a PhD student/work/…), can I also apply for the minor/one course?

Yes, you can follow one or multiple courses via non-degree education, please go to the non-degree courses page for more information. Here you can also find more information on the fee for non-degree education. To enrol, you need approval of the course coordinator (see the ADS minor website), who checks if you fulfil the entry requirements of the course.

I do not fulfil the entrance requirements for the minor, but the pre-course is in Dutch?

Unfortunately, the pre-minor course is as yet indeed in Dutch, we hope that we can change this to English in the future. Note that the entry requirement is a minimum of 7.5 EC of statistics & methodology courses, which means that you could also take another (introduction to) statistics course. Note that none of the introduction courses offered by our department (Methodology and Statistics, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences) are in English, hence the fit will most likely not be 100% but it can certainly do.

An example of an introductory statistics course at another faculty is Methods and Statistics 1 (course code: TW2V19002), Faculty of Humanities, period 3. Please enquire with the course coordinator before registering if you are allowed to enrol, and if this course would be accessible enough to you as a non-humanities student. Another option would be to take an English introductory course in statistics at another University. Make sure to check with the minor coordinator in advance if the chosen course is sufficient.

If I apply for the minor, do I still have to register for the minor courses separately?

Yes, by applying for the minor you do not automatically register for the courses, you still have to do that yourself. This is because there are multiple electives you can choose, and you can opt to spread the minor over multiple academic years. Enrolment periods can be found on the Osiris course catalogue page of the dedicated course (see links on this webpage).

If you are an external student, you first have to apply for the minor via the subsidiary courses page. Please read the next paragraph thoroughly for instructions.

Applying for courses from multiple faculties – for non-UU students

The minor Applied Data Science is a collaboration between multiple faculties of Utrecht University. Since each faculty has its own procedures, the application process is multifaceted.

First, you need to apply at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Please see the subsidiary courses page for the application process. You here apply for the minor itself, the two obligatory courses plus all courses that you would like to follow that are from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.

If there is a course from another faculty you would like to follow in this minor (for example Programming with data or Hands on GIS), you need to apply separately. Please see the non-degree courses and contract teaching page for all application procedures per faculty.

If you need help or are unsure where to apply, you can contact Bijvak.fsw@uu.nl for help.

I am not able to enrol for one of the minor courses

Please check the enrolment period. For the obligatory courses (Fundamental techniques in data science with R and Applied data analysis and visualization), these are the enrolment periods of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural sciences. For the elective courses, these are faculty dependent. Course enrolment periods can also be found on the Osiris course catalogue page of the dedicated course (see links on the ADS minor webpage).

If this does not solve your problem, please contact STIP Social Sciences.