Business Analytics
Program Overview
Business analytics is the scientific process of analyzing data to gain insights by predicting business trends, utilizing techniques like data mining, simulation and predictive analytics. Business analytics plays a role in nearly every type of industry and is one of the fastest-growing career fields in the nation.
This major prepares students for such jobs as data analysts, business consultants and market research analysts. The top industries that are hiring business analysts include insurance, banking, consulting and health care.
A report by PwC predicts that by 2020, there will be more than 300,000 job postings in business analytics, with about 86 percent requiring a bachelor's degree.
Our program combines courses from the areas of quantitative methods, information systems and business intelligence.
Learning Outcomes
- Students will understand the principles of the business applications of Big Data, Internet of Things (IOT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and their ethical use.
- Students will apply a systematic approach to solving business problems (e.g. using descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics).
- Students will use appropriate technologies in gathering and analyzing data relevant to managerial decision-making (e.g. data mining, optimization and simulation techniques.)
Curriculum
The business analytics major offers a practical curriculum with courses like data mining, database management, simulation and business forecasting.
Students learn how to look at "what happened" (descriptive analytics), using data visualization techniques; "what might happen" (predictive analytics), using forecasting and statistical modeling; and "what actions should be taken" (prescriptive analytics) using optimization and simulation techniques.
