Master’s in Business Analytics: Top Universities to Pursue MS in BA

With the surge of start-ups, branding, and an unparalleled drive towards progression there exists a competitive spirit which demands smart, quirky, and statistically sturdier business models and management strategies. This, in turn, gives Business Analytics its place as a novel and most sought-after course in most well-known universities today. It prepares students to chart out business models, make growth projections, and provide current crisis solutions based on figures, prognoses, and large amounts of data computation.

Business Analytics is a ‘high in demand’ professional course in the highly globalized and competitive market today, where each country plays a front foot game. Leading countries in the market are the ones with diverse business sizes that aim at projecting their growth in precise directions. Japan, Germany, China, the UAE, and US are the top growing countries that have carved out the need for business analysts like never before, owing to the continuous development and competition in the market for better products, services, and a consumer-driven economy. In fact, the US projected a 40% growth in global DATA annually by the end of 2018. This is why most US universities offering this program today rank at the top – globally.

For a detailed understanding of the Business analytics course, check out this e-book on “MS in Business Analytics”

Let us examine and understand the course’s scope and information by studying the top universities in the US providing the Business Analytics course, based on their global ranks in the same.

Top 10 universities providing MSBA in the US

1) MIT – Sloan School of Management

MIT is hands down one of the most well-known universities in the US – and it is not just for its courses in Management. It is the number 1 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics and one of the most competitive schools for the course. The MSBA is a year-long STEM-designated course that focuses on data science with a small but highly diverse class comprising 57% international students hailing from more than 12 countries, 8 streams, and 15 different universities as of class 2018. The school partners with various industrial giants to collaborate, work, teach, and employ its students likewise – BCG, McKinsey, IBM, BMW are a few employers to name. It is an intensive course with five required fundamental subjects, one required Analytics Capstone project, one required project class, six three-hour modules, one pro-seminar, and a minimum of three focused electives with projects that give students opportunities to work in an organization within the US and abroad.

2) The University of Texas at Austin – McCombs School of Business

The MSBA is a yearlong STEM-designated course that focuses on applied statistics, computer science, and risk management. UT Austin is the number 3 ranked university globally, for Master’s in Business Analytics. It is a significant program for applicants from math, computer science, and engineering backgrounds with a specialized career development team to assist students. Tie-ups with companies like Walmart and Deloitte not only recruit but also coach the students. The school has a very good gender ratio in students with more than 40% international students hailing from more than 6 different streams in the past – this school provides a very diverse class including students with vast experience and those who are fresh graduates.

3) University of Southern California – Marshall School of Business

It is the number 6 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics and is one of the most competitive schools for the course. It focuses on the inner working strategies of the global market space. It provides opportunities for international travel and study projects across all discipline courses in business and management studies. It has a full time as well as a part-time track, as per the speed in which the candidate wishes to work; the full-time course is 18-months long and elective courses, such as fraud analytics and foundations of information security are offered. Batch of 2017 hails from 14 different countries as opposed to the batch of 2016 that had students from 6 countries, which shows the growth rate and popularity of the course.

4) University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management

It is the number 4 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics. With high employment rates, students of the batch of 2015 & 2016 received their employment from across the country within three months of completing the course. It has a full time as well as a part-time track as per the speed that the candidate wishes to work in, 1 year long for a full-time course, and 2 year long for a part-time course. The class of 2018 has 84% international students hailing from more than 8 different undergraduate streams.

5) Michigan State University – The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management

It is the number 18 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics with coaching and assistance to custom fit degree programs as per the need and goals of a student. The course is based on social network analytics, web analytics, and the Capstone business analytics corporate project with a 100% employment rate by the time the students graduate. Employment companies include BCBS, Capital One, Citibank, Citrix, Cognizant Technologies, Consumers Energy, Deloitte, Ducker, EY, Ford, GM, Gongos, Haggerty, MGM Resorts, MSU, PWC, Styker, Torrid, UnderArmour, and Urban Sciences. A lot of students are from China and India in recent batches.

6) Purdue University – Krannert School of Management

It is the number 12 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics with a STEM designated – 11 month long full-time course. Experiential learning and group project way to teaching are adopted to help understand prototyping and analysis.

7) Arizona State University – W. P. Carey School of Business

It is the number 19 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics. It provides both on campus and an online business analytics course. Students can complete the STEM course in 9 months and appear for the CFA exams. The online course, however, is 18-months long and focuses in course work approach of teaching. With about 84% international students in the last batch from about 20 different undergraduate schools, this school has one of the most diverse batches.

8) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – The Lally School of Management and Technology

It is the number 27 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics. This 9-month long course focuses on a research-based approach and emphasizes on data integration on powerful computation and visualization source and coursework methodology. In the previous batches, more than 40% of students were from technical backgrounds. There are part-time and full-time programs, where the part-time program is for 2 years and is designed to assist working professionals.

9) Southern Methodist University – SMU – Cox School of Business

It is the number 25 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics, which is a STEM and OPT certified course. Full-time and part-time course options are available, where part-time course can be taken up in the evening as well. It focuses not just on data analysis but also business intelligence work agencies through a 10-month long full-time program that is taught in two semesters and gives specialization within the course – two tracks that students can choose from as per their interest.

10) University of Notre Dame – Mendoza College of Business

It is the number 21 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics, which is a STEM designated program for freshers and professionals with less than two years of work experience. This is 10-month long program that promotes business clubs and honor societies as a way of learning and enjoying the campus. Top employers are Amazon, Bank of America, Deloitte, Emerson, ExxonMobil, EY, Ford Motor, GE, IBM, Intel, JP Morgan, P&G, PwC, United Airlines, Wells Fargo, and Whirlpool.

For more information on Top 10 universities in Business Analytics “Download our eBOOK Here”

So far, we have considered the few best universities in the US offering MS in Business Analytics course. There are, however, other countries who are sporting this course with a renewed zest in the field of business management and statistical advancement data studies. It is imperative to perceive what and how they are offering the same course to conclude a healthy analysis and establish a comparison. Check out the listings that follow.

Globally-ranked universities providing MSBA (other than US)

1) The University of Melbourne – Melbourne Business School – Australia

It is the number 16 ranked university globally for Master’s in Bbusiness Analytics. This is a 1-year long full-time course, with much emphasis on the orientation of business modelling and data analysis through a varied range of software that the students will be taught by experts in the field.

2) The University of Manchester – Alliance Manchester Business School – England (UK)

It is the number 7 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics. The institute offers one-year long full-time course, which focuses on quantitative problem solving with both new age technology and the old methods that evolved it. The coursework has a unique way to process learning with style-case consultation. In the batch of 2017, less than 10% of applicants were selected.

3) Politecnico di Milano – MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business – Milan, Italy

It is the number 35 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics. This is a full-time 1-year long program specializing in big data analytics. The coursework is divided in 6 modules that conclude with an internship or a thesis. It is an EFMD EQUIS accredited course.

4) Athens University of Economics and Business – Athens, Greece

It is the number 27 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics. The institute offers variants in the program, such as a 1-year long full-time course or a 2-year long art time course. Applicants may also choose from an Intensity and part-time variant, which are flexible.

5) University of Strathclyde – Strathclyde Business School – Glasgow, Scotland

It is the number 45 ranked university globally for Master’s in Business Analytics, which offers a full-time 2-year-long course. Distance learning program can also be chosen as per the flexibility of the candidate. The course involves a 3-week long work program with one of its host tie-up companies for most students and an in-house dissertation as part of the mandatory modules.

Now that we have looked at the universities and have an idea as to how our decisions must be driven, it is also important to understand what kind of profile one must build to pursue an MS in Business Analytics. For most people, the major drive is the monetary output that is showcased by universities, agencies, and companies – conveniently not stating a direct hit at the time, focus, dedication, and skills that must be exhausted to produce desired outputs for any form of business.

Tips to take into consideration while making a profile for MS in Business Analytics

• Strong quantitative skills that should be protrayed
• Good soft skills – it is important to have a personality that can not only find a solution but also present it in an efficient way – that sells
• Knowledge of business context and tools
• Basic problem-solving skills and logical reasoning should hold a strong position in your profile
• Critical thinking skills are of utmost importance – the key is to be able to find that key from the bunch which no one would probably even try
• Interpersonal and communication skills – it is important for a Business Analyst to work on the agency side as well; many companies tend to outsource and hence one may have to strive to gain business
• Computer skills – with the increase in data flow every second in this fiscal world, the applicant must be proficient with the skill set that will help in examining large amounts of data and configure it to suit the purpose
• An intermediate knowledge of calculus that some universities may also specifically ask for – although this is highly university- and subject-specific

Check out our blog to know all about the nuances of pursuing your MS in Business Analytics “Here”

Most skills for this course are not ones that can be gained overnight – it is a long cumbersome process that is mostly driven by basic interest and personality traits. A self-analyzed approach to the profile as well as the course is imperative.

For more information, check out our YouTube Video on Career & Job Opportunities in Business Analytics.

In this globally challenging epoch, weigh your chances, affordability, skills, and opportunities in much detail, and then if you decide to be a Business Analyst, we believe it was intended to be. We wish you good luck and much success in your endeavors.