If you believe a picture is worth a thousand words, data visualization is for you Students in our data visualization major use graphics and diagrams to present complicated information, data and analytics in a visual manner. By displaying information graphically, you could make research concepts more understandable, spot human behavior trends more quickly or better illustrate climate change causes and effects.<br><br>Majors learn data visualization design principles, theories, data management skills, and graphics techniques that are required to design and develop interactive data visualizations. Upon completion of the program, students will be able to design effective visual representations of data based on the data's characteristics, business needs, and the requirements of prospective users.<br><br>The ability to understand and communicate data is an essential skill in this big data era. Data visualization specialists present complex information in an easy-to-understand format. Their efforts can help identify trends, provide important insights, illustrate impact, and enable data driven decision making. They can help highlight tumors in MRI images to track disease progression or visualize air flow over a car to assist designers in making more fuel efficient vehicles. The data visualization major at Purdue University focuses on the computer and graphics tools necessary to create accurate and meaningful visualizations for researchers, leaders, decision-makers and the general public.