Stillman School of Business Launches New M.S. in Business Analytics  

Advanced technology now allows companies to gather and store massive amounts of data more easily than ever before. But businesses are all facing the same dilemma: how to harness that data once they have it. All over the globe, organizations are searching for leaders who can use data to solve problems strategically and make effective business decisions. The Stillman School's new Master of Science in Business Analytics will prepare students to do exactly that.

Offered entirely online and launching this fall, the 30-credit program provides a well-rounded approach – developing equal expertise in both business processes and data analysis. Courses cover everything from using R/Python, JSON/XML and SQL, to examining business processes through their data models, to extracting meaning from big, unstructured data. Different from a data science program, the new master's program focuses on the specific applications of analytics to business issues and business decisions.

"Our Master's in Business Analytics offers students a very applied, hands-on approach to learning. They'll take actual data, perform analyses on it and learn how to communicate findings to management. Graduates of the program will be ready to hit the ground running wherever they choose to work," said Viswa Viswanathan, associate professor, computing and decision sciences.

Business analytics is not new to the Stillman School. Its Department of Computing and Decision Sciences has always had robust courses in Business Statistics and Quantitative Methods. Over the last few years it began to offer a Business Intelligence course. Strong student interest then led the department to offer an undergraduate certificate in business analytics followed by the successful launch of a graduate business analytics certificate program for a leading communications corporation.

This experience in the discipline and increasing market demand for "MS in Data Analytics talent," are strong indicators for the success of the new program.

As noted by Professor Penina Orenstein, "There are very few people out there with the skills this program teaches. With this degree, graduates are eminently employable. It's a well-designed, self-contained master's and a great opportunity for grads to position themselves for a new career."

With the full support of Dean Joyce Strawser, the Stillman faculty and an impressive advisory board comprised of professionals from leading organizations such as KPMG, TD Bank and Amazon, the Stillman School is more than ready to offer the new M.S. in Business Analytics program.

For more information about the Master of Science in Business Analytics, contact the Stillman School Office of Graduate Admissions at busgrad@shu.edu or (973) 761-9262. The School is currently accepting applications for the 2019 Fall Semester. Applicants with prior work experience in analytics and/or undergraduate or graduate degrees in accounting, computer science, economics, engineering, finance, information technology management, mathematics, natural sciences and supply chain management will prove especially competitive in the admission process.