International Student Resources
Building Career Skills & Experiences for International Data Science Students
Current International Students
The resources on this page have been developed to assist student transition and success while in the Data Science Program. These resources are also valuable for Data Science alumni. Please feel free to email us any questions regarding this material.
Open Source, Civic Tech & Technical Portfolio Building
Data science hiring relies heavily on proof of technical capability. You can build, publish, and demonstrate production-level work without needing formal off-campus work authorization.
- Open-Source Software (OSS) Contributions
Contribute code, bug fixes, or documentation to major open-source data science, machine learning, and visualization packages (e.g., scikit-learn, pandas, PyTorch, tidyverse). Contributing to public repositories demonstrates your Git workflows, code quality, and ability to collaborate on production-level software.
- Public GitHub Portfolio & Technical Writing
Build end-to-end data pipelines, predictive models, and interactive dashboards hosted on GitHub. Pair your repositories with technical articles on platforms like Medium or Hashnode to explain your data cleaning, feature engineering, model selection, and business recommendations.
- Data Competitions & Hackathons
Participate in competitive modeling platforms such as Kaggle or DrivenData. Benchmark your skills against global participants, work with complex non-standard datasets, and showcase high-ranking solutions to prospective employers.
On-Campus Opportunities & Interdisciplinary Research
On-campus employment and research assistantships do not require CPT authorization for eligible F-1/J-1 students (subject to weekly hour limits).
- Cross-Departmental Research Assistantships (RAs)
Quantitative skills are in demand across all university departments. Look beyond Computer Science and Statistics. Faculty in Public Policy (Trachtenberg), Public Health (Milken Institute/GWSPH), Business, Economics, and Political Science routinely hire graduate assistants for data cleaning, statistical modeling, database administration, and natural language processing (NLP). Reach out directly to principal investigators whose research grants align with your skill set. Check out the Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships for more information.
- On-Campus Non-Federal Work-Study Employment
Monitor university hiring portals for administrative, technical, and data analyst roles within university administrative offices, libraries, and research centers. Learn more about current student positions with GW Student Employment.
- Student Leadership & Tech Organizations
Join and lead technical student organizations across campus. Organizers can host data hackathons, lead Python/R/SQL workshops, or manage collaborative group projects.
Community Engagement & Civic Data Volunteering
The U.S. Department of Labor defines a volunteer as an individual who performs service for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons without any promises, expectations, or compensation for the services rendered. F-1 and J-1 students may engage in volunteering if activities meet the university's official volunteer policy. Opportunities include:
*Under U.S. labor law and F-1 regulations, students cannot 'volunteer' in unpaid positions at for-profit companies or perform work that is normally done by paid employees. Always consult with the ISO before engaging in any off-campus volunteer activities to ensure compliance with status rules.
Technical Skill Platforms & Target Networking
Use university-provided platforms and data science interview preparation resources to maintain competitive readiness:
- Interstride (International Student Career Portal)
- Filter and identify cap-exempt employers (such as university research centers (such as university research centers, healthcare networks, and non-profits) that are exempt from the standard H-1B lottery cap
- Watch live and on-demand webinars, use technical job search guides, and engage with global remote job boards/ country insights to build targeted job search strategies
- SkillsFirst
Build and optimize technical resumes, tailor cover letters for quantitative roles, refine your LinkedIn profile, and practice technical pitches with AI-driven interview feedback. Learn more about SkillsFirst.
- Technical Skill Platforms & Certifications
Leverage platforms like LinkedIn Learning (current students only) and self-paced practice tools (e.g., SQL practice on LeetCode/StrataScratch, cloud certifications in AWS/GCP/Azure) to build verifiable credentials
- Informational Interviews & Targeted Networking
Connect with alumni working as Data Scientists, Data Engineers, and ML Practitioners. Schedule career consulting appointments to build strategies for engaging hiring managers in technical domains.
Contact Information & Additional Resources
We encourage you to connect with us for questions and concerns:
| Dr. Subrata Kundu Data Science Program Director and Director of Graduate Studies | [email protected] |
| Melissa Feuer Data Science Career Consultant | [email protected] |
| Georgia Middleditch Data Science Associate Program Director | [email protected] |
ISO Advising:
- The best way to reach your ISO advisor is via email, [email protected]
- Students can also schedule an ISO advising appointment for questions/concerns that need to be discussed in detail or attend drop-in advising, typically Tuesdays from 1:30-3:30.
- Additional Resources
- International Services Office (ISO)
International Student Support Space: This biweekly, in-person gathering, offered through GW CAPS, is designed to foster connection, support, and community among international students at GW. In a welcoming and inclusive environment, students can share experiences, discuss challenges, build meaningful relationships, and connect with others who understand the unique joys and complexities of studying far from home. Register or just drop by!
Data Science students also receive weekly updates via our newsletter. Look out for upcoming events and relevant opportunities for professional enhancement. If you are not receiving our newsletter, please email us: [email protected].