Hal R. Varian MIDS Capstone Award

During the final semester of the I School’s Master of Information and Data Science program, students undertake capstone projects which cement skills learned throughout the MIDS program — both core data science skills and “soft skills” like problem-solving, communication, influencing, and management — preparing students for success in the field.

Top projects in each semester are awarded the Hal R. Varian MIDS Capstone Award, named in honor of professor emeritus Hal R. Varian, the founding dean of the Berkeley School of Information and currently the chief economist of Google.