Data scientists will have essential competencies in several areas related to analysis of data. In particular, a data scientist should: have strong programming ability in a language popular in data science (e.g., Python, R, Julia), be able to extract, manipulate, and visualize data, have an understanding of probability and statistics in order to quantify uncertainty, be able to build complex models for finding patterns and explaining data. This certificate should provide students with essential skills for introductory data science.<br>The Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver offers degrees and certificates at the undergraduate and graduate levels in mathematics, applied mathematics, data science, and statistics through coursework, research and industrial collaboration. Traditional courses such as calculus, linear algebra, probability, statistics and discrete mathematics are offered regularly by the department. In addition, contemporary subjects such as high-performance computing, numerical analysis, optimization, statistical methods, and operations research are also well represented by course offerings and faculty interests. In all of its activities, the department embodies the outlook that mathematics, statistics, computing and data science are powerful tool that can be used to solve problems of immediate and practical importance.