Introducing: The Georgetown Data Science Corps

By: Miranda Yarowsky SFS 2026, MDI Communications & Events Assistant

In the Fall of 2024, a cross-disciplinary team at Georgetown University received support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to launch the Georgetown Data Science Corps, a new summer program reimagining how data science is taught before college. By bringing together high school teachers and undergraduate students, the initiative pairs hands-on research with curriculum development to emphasize critical thinking alongside technical skills.

Supported by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL), the Georgetown Data Science Corps is a part of the NSF’s Harnessing the Data Revolution initiative, “a national-scale activity to enable new modes of data-driven discovery addressing fundamental questions at the frontiers of science and engineering” ~NSF

So… What exactly is the Georgetown Data Science Corps?

At its core, the program aims to strengthen STEM education by working directly with high school teachers and supporting them in bringing data science concepts into their classrooms, expanding access to data literacy at a formative stage in students’ education. While data science has become increasingly central at the collegiate level, many schools still lack opportunities for a structured and meaningful engagement with data. In response, this initiative introduces a collaborative summer research experience with the ultimate goal of creating a lasting impact in data science education.

Each summer, the Georgetown Data Science Corps brings high school teachers and undergraduate students together in small, collaborative cohorts designed to encourage shared learning and mentorship. Six teachers and six undergraduates form three mixed teams, working side by side on applied data science research and developing classroom-ready curricula informed by that work. The program will run for three consecutive summers, beginning with a pilot cohort drawn from local high schools.

NSF Support

The Georgetown Data Science Corps is supported by the NSF through a competitive merit review process that looks for projects with both strong intellectual merit and “the potential to benefit society and contribute to meaningful societal outcomes.”

How Does the Georgetown Data Science Corps Benefit Society?

These priorities are central to the design of the Georgetown Data Science Corps, because the program advances data science education beyond the university and into much earlier stages of learning. It manifests in expanding early access to data literacy, and helping students learn to think critically about the role data plays in the world around them.

Rather than treating data science as a collection of isolated techniques the Georgetown Data Science Corps aims to embed data work within complex, real-world issues, and make them digestible for students to tackle. Each summer, participants choose from a curated set of research topics aligned with Georgetown faculty expertise. These topics span a wide range of contemporary challenges, including: 

What are the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence?

How can biological datasets on human and viral genetics help predict disease spread?

Can we track the spread of AI-generated or manipulated images on social media?

How can data be used to better understand migration and population movement worldwide?

By working on problems that matter, participants gain not only analytical skills, but also a deeper understanding of how context and ethics shape the use of data in society, which are insights that will carry forward into future work

As Dr. Singh emphasizes, what makes the program distinctive is that “we aren’t just teaching the techniques… we’re teaching the details of an issue that exists in the world today.”

A Model for the Future of Data Science Education

The Georgetown Data Science Corps positions education itself as a form of civic infrastructure. By equipping teachers and students with the tools to think critically about data, evidence, and uncertainty, the program aims to prepare future generations to engage thoughtfully with the challenges that define public life. In doing so, the project advances NSF’s “broader impacts” mission while offering a scalable model for how data science education can begin well before college. 

Leadership Behind the Initiative

The initiative is led by Mahlet Tadesse, Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, who serves as Principal Investigator. She is joined by Lisa Singh, Director of Georgetown’s Massive Data Institute (MDI); Michael Bailey, an economist and statistician focused on data-driven public understanding; Purna Gamage, Director of the Data Science and Analytics Program; Brit He, faculty member in Data Science and Analytics; and Rebecca Vandershall, MDI Research Manager and Project Manager for the initiative.