The Big Data market is expected to grow to $28.5 billion by the end of 2014 and to top $50 billion by 2017, according to a recent Wikibon report. With the growing market comes millions of new Big Data and Analytics jobs that are being created across the globe. But the amount of new jobs far outweigh the number of scientists and engineers who have the education to fill them.

“By 2015, 4.4 million IT jobs globally will be created to support Big Data,” said Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Research at Gartner, in a statement. “But there is a challenge. There is not enough talent in the industry.”

This is good news for those interested in becoming data scientists, as there are a large number of universities that IBM and other industry vendors are now partnering with to develop undergraduate and graduate degree programs designed to prepare students for Big Data and Analytics careers. Here, we will take a look at some universities who are partnering with IBM to offer degrees for aspiring data scientists.

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Athens University of Economics and Business

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To help narrow the data scientist skills gap, IBM is partnering with more than 1,000 universities across the globe to develop curriculum to prepare students for Big Data and analytics careers. “We’re…working with…universities globally to actually put together a curriculum—both in the business school as well as in the technical schools—for certifications and advanced…Masters classes around various data type jobs,” said Inhi Cho Suh, Vice President and General Manager of Big Data, Integration & Governance on theCUBE to co-hosts John Furrier and Jeff Kelly at Hadoop Summit 2014.

IBM’s latest educational initiative in Europe came in April 2014 when IBM announced that it is collaborating with the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) in Greece to create the first national Postgraduate Degree in Business Analytics, expected to launch in September 2014.

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University of Piraeus in Greece

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IBM also announced in April 2014 that it will partner with the University of Piraeus in Greece on the development and design of hands-on practical sessions in Business Intelligence and Business Analytics modules of MBA programs.

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Ohio State University

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The worldwide shortage of professionals trained in data analysis and critical thinking is occurring at a pivotal moment in history, according to Christine A. Poon, dean of Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. “While leaders in all industries have the data at their fingertips,” she wrote in a blog post, “they lack the highly skilled workforce to connect the dots and advance their businesses and organizations to new heights.”

To help with the shortage problem in the United States, IBM announced a collaboration between Ohio State University and the IBM Client Center for Advanced Analytics in Columbus, Ohio to develop new curricula at the undergraduate, graduate and executive education levels to help students (and mid-career professionals) gain the latest skills in analytics. “Our strong collaboration with IBM will help our students across a variety of majors gain the latest skills in this burgeoning Big Data discipline and set them on a path to secure the high skilled jobs of the future,” said Poon in a statement.

In February 2014, Ohio State University announced the details of its new undergraduate major in data analytics. The new major is structured in three parts: core subject matter (mathematical, statistical, and computing foundations), discipline-specific specializations (visual analytics and sense-making, system modeling, pattern recognition, and machine learning), and what the school calls “an integrative experiential education” component.

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More U.S.-based Big Data programs

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In addition to partnering with Ohio State University, IBM in May 2014 announced that it is also now partnering with Boston University, Case Western Reserve University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Missouri to offer Big Data and Analytics curricula. Boston University’s Metropolitan College is offering a Master of Science degree in Computer Information Systems with a concentration in Database Management & Business Intelligence. Case Western Reserve University is launching a new undergraduate program in data science and analytics in the Fall 2014 semester. The program includes a major and a minor in applied data science, and eventually a post-baccalaureate certificate program.

The Johns Hopkins University’s DC-based Center for Advanced Governmental Studies is offering a Master of Science in Government Analytics and a Certificate in Government Analytics to “provide students with the needed skills to address contemporary political, policy and governance challenges.” And the University of Missouri is developing an interdisciplinary Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics degree, providing students with access to IBM’s Open Cloud Architecture to “have a comprehensive skill set in building, deploying, and managing cloud resources to analyze big data in journalism, engineering, informatics, and learning analytics.”

Other universities in the United States with which IBM is partnering to develop Big Data courses include: Arizona State University, Babson College, Dakota State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Illinois State University, Indiana University, Iowa State University, Northwestern University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, San Jose State University, Southern Methodist University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, University of Denver, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Maryland in College Park, University of Massachusetts in Boston, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, University of Virginia and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

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Over 30 universities throughout China

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Earlier this month, IBM announced a major collaboration with China’s education ecosystem focused on “addressing the Big Data and Analytics skills opportunity” in China. As part of the collaboration, IBM will initially help launch undergraduate and graduate programs in 30 universities to help prepare students for Data Scientist and Chief Data Officer jobs. “Big Data is big business, but its rapid growth has outpaced colleges’ and universities’ ability to develop and implement new curriculums,” said Li Shu Chong, President of CCID Consulting, in a statement. “IBM’s extensive initiative is poised to help develop new talent in China that will be needed to realize the full potential of Big Data.”

The seven pilot schools that will roll out new Big Data and Analytics programs this Fall include the Beijing Institute of Technology, Fudan University, Guizhou University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Peking University, South China University of Technology and Xi’an Jiaotong University.

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Watch the Hadoop Summit 2014 interview between theCUBE co-hosts John Furrier and Jeff Kelly and IBM’s Inhi Cho Suh:

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Video courtesy of theCUBE