Program Overview

You will gain the skills to extract meaningful insights from very large and complex data sets to support business decision‐making. You will learn how to collect, curate, manipulate, encode, and store data sets so it can be analyzed and mined in a way that can be reused and re-purposed to solve challenges and predict trends in any size and type of business. Key areas of study include database design and management, statistics and programming for business analytics, market research, data mining, data visualization, and decision‐making through analytics.

The Business Analytics program combines computer science and technology courses with database, research methods, marketing, and communications courses. This combination of courses enables students to find or gather data, use a wide variety of tools to analyze it, and share results through various forms of communication from reports to dashboards and infographics. The goal of the program is to help students become effective and persuasive analysts and communicators who can provide information that will allow industry leaders to  make evidence-informed decisions. 

Additionally, students will develop an understanding of programming, statistics, and foundations of data management within the context of the emerging field of analytics. The knowledge gained will be tested and applied through exercises focusing on critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will learn to work as a member of an interdisciplinary analytics team. The program combines computer science and technology courses with database, research methods, marketing, and communications courses, enabling students to gather data, use a wide variety of tools to analyze it, and share results through various forms of communication ranging from reports to dashboards and infographics.

Program Strengths

This program leverages and builds on existing experience and creativity in problem-solving enabling students to become strong, effective analysts who are skilled at bridging the gap between data, business, and technology.

Students are exposed to a variety of theory, hands-on, applied, and experiential learning opportunities that prepare them to meet the needs of current job markets.

A variety of workshops, community engagements, co-curricular activities, field trips, and guest speakers provide students with opportunities to begin networking and collaborating in the analytics and related fields.

Career outcomes*

Data analyst

Research scientist

Data administrator

Market research analyst

Business systems analyst