MTSU Mondays: Find out how to attend college free; data science master's degree

Nancy DeGennaro, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal
·3 min read
Killian Gunn, 18, an MTSU freshman from Knoxville, Tennessee, and MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee talk Friday during We Haul move-in day on campus. In the background are Debra Sells, vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, and Sarah Sudak, associate vice president, associate VPSA and dean of Student Life.
Killian Gunn, 18, an MTSU freshman from Knoxville, Tennessee, and MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee talk Friday during We Haul move-in day on campus. In the background are Debra Sells, vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, and Sarah Sudak, associate vice president, associate VPSA and dean of Student Life.

Check out the latest news from Middle Tennessee State University.

Can you attend MTSU for free?

MTSU has launched an effort to help students navigate several scenarios and options that could eliminate, or greatly reduce, the cost of tuition.

Tuition and program services fees will not rise this coming academic year. A full-time, in-state undergraduate student taking 15 credit hours in both the fall and spring semesters will pay $7,704 in tuition and $1,888 in program service fees, for a total of $9,592 for the academic year.

Also, the state increased the amount of its Tennessee Education Lottery (HOPE) Scholarship, raising what it pays the eligible freshmen and sophomores to $4,500 a year while juniors and seniors will receive $5,700 a year. Students need a 21 on the ACT or must graduate with a 3.0 GPA, while meeting other state requirements, to qualify for these awards.

More: No hike in tuition for Middle Tennessee State University, pay raises approved

For HOPE-eligible students, the difference between MTSU’s tuition cost (about $5,100) and the scholarship payout could be mitigated by a variety and combination of means — including federal Pell Grant monies, last-chance academic scholarships from MTSU, and tuition discounts afforded to teachers and state employees.

Admissions recruiters and academic advisors are encouraging students to go to a new website, mtsu.edu/tuition-free/, and engage with an enrollment coordinator via a Zoom virtual portal. Coordinators will review various scenarios with students to determine eligibility.

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New data science master's

Qiang Wu, director of MTSU’s new Data Science master’s program and professor, knows from his 10-plus years of teaching and research that data science solves real-world problems.

Having just graduated its first cohort of undergraduate degrees in the spring, MTSU has launched the new master’s program — the first cohort set to start this fall — to prepare them for this burgeoning and innovative industry.

Prospective students are not required to hold a data science-related degree to qualify: The minimum admission requirement is a bachelor’s degree and cumulative GPA of 2.75.

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“Foundation courses will be available to help students with any skill gaps,” Wu said.

Creation of the master’s program along with the university’s already-existing graduate certificate, doctoral and year-old undergraduate data science programs, reflects the growing market demand for data science professionals.

The Bureau of Labor’s employment statistics project an increase in Tennessee’s data science-related employment growth greater than the national average, Wu said.

“With the (added) move-in of high-tech companies such as Amazon and Facebook to the Midstate, I believe 20% does not overestimate the data science career growth in the Nashville area in the next five to 10 years,” Wu said.

Amazon plans to add 5,000 new corporate/technology jobs with its downtown Nashville office set for completion in 2023. Facebook's data center facility in Gallatin is set to be operational in 2023 and hire 100 new employees.

Although spots in the inaugural cohort this fall are currently full, Wu encouraged students to apply up until the July 31 deadline to get on the waiting list or apply by the Dec. 31 deadline for spring 2023 admission.

Reach reporter Nancy DeGennaro at degennaro@dnj.com. Keep up with restaurant news by joining Good Eats in the 'Boro (and beyond) on Facebook and follow Murfreesboro Eats on TikTok.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU Mondays: How to attend college free; data science master's degree