Business Analytics

The MSBA provides a pathway for students who wish to acquire foundational skills to either enter or advance their careers within the broad field of applied business analytics.

The Master of Science in Business Analytics is designed around hands-on application of data management and analysis methods and tools used to translate available data into decision-guiding knowledge. The curriculum combines an overview of the key scientific research design and statistical data analyses concepts, with some of the more widely used data management, manipulation, analysis, and visualization technologies. The overall goal of this program is to equip students with adequately broad and deep knowledge to enable them to function as business analysts capable of planning and interpreting complex multisource data analytical projects. This 32-credit program emphasizes practical, hands-on exercises to drive the acquisition and application of knowledge necessary to exercise professional skills and develop a foundation of business analytical skills.

Learning Goals and Objectives

Technical Skills

• Planning - The ability to translate business questions into clear analytic plans.
• Analysis - The ability to conduct basic analyses of data using either proprietary (e.g., SPSS) or open-source (e.g., R or Python) applications and/or languages.
• Assessment - The ability to assess the validity and reliability of data analytic outcomes.

 

Laws and Ethics

• Law - Familiarity with statutory and regulatory provisions governing business data and the usage of business data.
• Ethics - The ability to recognize an ethical issue and analyze the potential outcomes for the relevant constituencies and make a reasoned judgment.
• Governance - The ability to understand current and emerging data security, privacy, access and usage rights and obligations.

 

Application and Communication

• Knowledge - The ability to translate analytic outcomes into decision-guiding insights (i.e., answers to earlier delineated business questions).
• Communication - The ability to communicate data analyses-generated outcomes to pertinent organizational stakeholders, in a clear and compelling manner.

 

Admission Requirements

The MSBA program entrance requirements are as follows:

• Undergraduate degree, with a minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA
• Earning grade B or higher on undergraduate quantitative courses (e.g., Statistics, Math, etc.)
• Two (2) plus years of verifiable professional work experience recommended
• Statement of interest

 

Program Requirements

The Master of Science in Business Analytics is comprised of 8 four-credit courses for a total of 32 credit hours.

 

Foundational Courses (20 credits)

BUA5010G	Foundations of Data Management	4
BUA5020G	Foundations of Statistical Analysis	4
BUA5112G	Data Exploration	4
BUA5212G	Data Visualization	4
BUA5314G	Data Governance, Laws, and Ethics	4

 

Advanced Courses (12 credits)

BUA6110G	Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics	4
BUA6210G	Data Mining	4
BUA6310G	Business Analytics Capstone	4