Business analytics aims to turn big data into actionable intelligence. To that end, business analysts use a variety of statistical and quantitative methods, computational tools, and predictive models – as well as their knowledge of finance, the corporate world, and the economy – to make data-driven decisions. With the emergence of today's data-driven revolution, the Business Analytics Master’s program trains participants in how to uncover highly relevant data insights using advanced analytics and technologies. A joint report by PwC and the Business-Higher Education Forum indicates that data science and analytics job postings will rise to 2.72 million by 2020, and revealed that by 2021, 69 percent of employers will seek candidates with data science and analytics skills.
The goal of the Business Analytics program is to prepare students with the requisite knowledge to implement data gathering, cleansing, integration, and modeling tasks as well as data asset analysis for business applications. The program will build on the basic business core courses by adding the necessary advanced courses in the Statistics, Data, and Business Analytics Domains. These courses will cover statistical methods, data warehousing, dimensional modeling, big-data analytical methods, and visualization tools and techniques and will introduce topics such as machine learning and predictive analytics. Students will have the skills and experience to create and manage big data initiatives as well as associated business processes facilitating large-scale business data analytics in organizations. Program graduates will not only drive decision-making across companies and government agencies, but will also act as catalysts for growth.
Admission to MS in Business Analytics
MS programs are open to those who have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and whose undergraduate academic records, scores on the required standardized examination, and prior work experience indicate that they have the capability to complete the program. Admission to all programs in business is reviewed by the Admissions Committee.
Applicants for Business graduate programs must take the Graduate Management Admission Test administered by Pearson VUE. The GMAT is administered in most foreign countries and by appointment at designated testing centers throughout the United States. The test typically is taken during the academic year before the term for which admission is sought.
Regular Admission
The admission committee looks at each applicant holistically for evidence of preparedness for graduate study. The minimum requirements for consideration include:
- Bachelor’s Degree (or international equivalent) from an accredited university with a 3.0 cumulative GPA,
- GMAT score (or GRE score)
- A completed application.
- Quality and length of post-graduate work experience,
- Evidence of leadership.
- Evidence of analytical ability.
A complete application includes:
- Completed application form
- Official transcript with GPA and conferral of a Bachelor’s Degree (or international equivalent) from an accredited school
- Resume or CV
- Official GMAT or GRE or a waiver request
- Application fee
- For international applicants only, IELTS or TOEFL score.
Additional Admission Notes:
KU Business Undergraduate GMAT Waiver for the MS in Business Analytics Program
A GMAT waiver may be granted to students that have earned or will earn a KU business undergraduate degree before starting the Masters in Business Analytics program. KU undergraduate business students must have an overall gpa of 3.5 or higher and have earned a B or better in all DSCI, BSAN, IST, and Math courses taken. A GMAT waiver does not guarantee admission into the MS in BSAN program. If you believe you may qualify for a GMAT waiver, reach out to Jinae Krieshok (jinae@ku.edu) for GMAT waiver submission instructions.
Provisional Admission
Provisional admission may be offered to applicants who meet all requirements for admission but have a bachelor’s degree (or international equivalent) with a 2.0-3.0 cumulative GPA from an accredited university. Provisional admission affords one semester of enrollment in the program, at the conclusion of which a 3.0 GPA must be earned or the student is subject to dismissal.
GRE vs GMAT Scores
The GMAT exam is preferred. However, we will accept a GRE score and review it based on a GMAT concordance.
International Applications
Students whose native language is not English or who have not completed a degree from a college or university in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, or Australia are required to provide English proficiency scores to earn regular admission and obtain a waiver from the AEC. International students in F-1 and J-1 status must also comply with Federal immigration requirements by pursuing a full course of study each semester to maintain their legal status.
Curriculum of the proposed program
The Business Analytics program is designed on the fundamental principles of Business Analytics.
Themes should include: Hands on learning, projects and real world case studies. Working with leading companies to solve Business Problems and challenges with Business Analytics.
Also, graduates will not only learn to work with multiple tools, data sets, and solutions, but will learn to tell the value of Business Analytics to better business decision-making and overall business success.
The main student cohort for the Business Analytics program will be students that will be full-time for two consecutive semesters with an optional summer session. The core courses in the curriculum include:
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| BUS 801 | Professional Skills Development (taken in both Fall & Spring semesters) | 1 |
| BSAN 710 | Statistical Modelling | 3 |
| BSAN 720 | Data and Visual Analytics | 3 |
| BSAN 726 | Data Management, Databases, and Data Warehousing | 3 |
| BSAN 730 | Large Scale Data Analysis | 3 |
| BSAN 740 | Optimization and Prescriptive Analytics | 3 |
| BSAN 750 | Data Mining and Machine Learning | 3 |
| BSAN 760 | Data Driven Business Strategy | 3 |
| BSAN 780 | Analytics Capstone (capstone project) (Can be done as Internship as well) | 3 |
| Data Security | |
| Advanced Machine Learning | |
| Accounting Analytics | |
| Healthcare Analytics | |
| Financial Risk Analytics | |
| Marketing Analytics | |
| Total Hours | 31 |
Students pursuing a master’s degree in Business Analytics will develop the following knowledge and skills:
- Creative thinking and critical reasoning
- Advanced data analysis skills
- Statistical analysis and visualization skills
- Strategic communication
- Strategy development
- Ethics
- Written and oral communication
While the program does not require an internship, students may articulate credit for relevant internship experiences. No more than three hours of credit will be articulated for internship credit toward the requirements for the graduate degree.
Through our strong AI Board, representing the top firms regionally, we are actively working to create a pipeline for projects, jobs and internships that will benefit students in both the Undergraduate and Graduate Business Analytics Programs.
Through this strategic partnerships with industries and corporate sponsors that will allow for a variety of experiential learning opportunities in the core and elective courses. Real world examples, cases and data will be used throughout the program to provide unique meaningful learning and relevant experiences in and out of the classroom.
