Business Analytics - M.S. Download to print

The language of business today is dependent on information and data management, and the emergence of advanced technologies for capturing, preparing and analyzing data provides unprecedented opportunities for those with business analytics expertise that spans all industries and organizations. The Master of Science degree in Business Analytics provides students with a holistic knowledge of analytics that balances the technologies, analytical methods and business expertise needed to glean useful information from data to make strategic business decisions. 

In this program, students will gain the technical, analytical, communication, decision-making and leadership skills needed to be successful business analysts. The curriculum includes integrative capstone analysis projects, and there is an internship option for additional professional development through the on-site College of Business Administration's Career Services Office. 

Students entering the program will be expected to have completed a bachelor’s degree in business or a science, technology, engineering or mathematics discipline, where they would have gained the requisite backgrounds in statistics, mathematics, information systems and business required for the program. At a minimum, students should have general knowledge of inferential statistics, adequate general business knowledge, basic knowledge of business information systems and technologies and a solid understanding of algebra and general mathematics with some exposure to calculus.

• Students who have not passed at least an undergraduate course (minimum B grade) that has substantial coverage of inferential statistics cannot be admitted into the program. Such students may fulfill that requirement by taking the graduate course MIS 64005 Analytics for Decision-Making before they may be considered for admission.
• Students must have completed at least 3 credit hours of mathematics that includes linear algebra (minimum B grade) before they can be admitted into the program. Deficiencies in mathematics must be met with appropriate undergraduate course(s) (such as MATH 21001 Linear Algebra with Applications).
• Deficiencies in business information systems and technologies, as well as partial fulfillment of the business knowledge requirement, can be obtained by taking the graduate course MIS 64042 Globalization and Technology Strategy.
• Students who have at least three years of experience working in industry may have the academic business requirement waved.
• Students entering without any business coursework or experience can fulfill that requirement by taking the undergraduate course MIS 24163 Principles of Management and/or the graduate course MIS 64158 Leadership and Managerial Assessment.
• Students must complete these requirements before they start on the related program curriculum. The Business Analytics program director may consider concurrent enrollment according to the strength of the student’s baccalaureate curriculum and preparedness, and the courses proposed to take concurrently with the prerequisite courses.

Students who have met these requirements may apply for admission into the program by submitting the following:

• A current résumé and three letters of recommendation.
• An official transcript(s) of all undergraduate coursework with proof of bachelor’s degree from the graduating institution and a minimum 3.000 overall GPA.
• An official GMAT report with minimum 500 overall (40th percentile in verbal and 60th percentile in quantitative sections minimum) or the GRE.
• A goal statement explaining why the student is pursuing this degree and her/his plans for it.
• Results from a TOEFL, if applicable. TOEFL may be waived for applicants who completed their bachelor’s degree in the United States or an English-speaking country.

For more information about graduate admission, please visit the Graduate Studies website.

The Business Analytics program requires the successful completion of a minimum of 30 semester hours of coursework that includes a capstone project. The 30 credits are comprised of 24 hours of required courses and 6 hours of elective courses that give students the flexibility to explore their individual interests in analytics.

Graduates of the program will be able to:

1. Develop proficiencies in the framing of both the business problem and the analytics problem.
2. Provide leadership and decision-making abilities using analytics tools in different business contexts throughout the model lifecycle.
3. Develop competencies in identifying data needs and sources, data acquisition and the cleaning and refining of data for analytical processing.
4. Develop competencies in analytical model selection, software selection and model building.
5. Develop competencies in deploying, validating and interpreting analytical solutions.
6. Develop competencies in problem-solving skills and effective verbal and written communications of results to diverse audiences.

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), International