Master of Business Analytics

A Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) is an interdisciplinary STEM graduate professional degree that blends concepts from data science, computer science, statistics, business intelligence, and information theory geared towards commercial applications. Students generally come from a variety of backgrounds including computer science, engineering, mathematics, economics, and business. University programs mandate coding proficiency in at least one language. The languages most commonly used include R, Python, SAS, and SQL. Applicants generally have technical proficiency before starting the program. Analytics concentrations in MBA programs are less technical and focus on developing working knowledge of statistical applications rather than proficiency.

Business analytics (BA) refers to the skills, technologies, practices for continuous iterative exploration and investigation of past business performance to gain insight and drive business planning. Business analytics focuses on developing new insights and understanding of business performance based on data and statistical methods. In contrast, business intelligence traditionally focuses on using a consistent set of metrics to both measure past performance and guide business planning, which is also based on data and statistical methods. Business analytics can be used to leverage prescriptive analytics towards automation.