Rady School of Management at UC San Diego Launches Master of Science in Business Analytics

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The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego has launched a Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) degree program. This intensive new program will offer hands-on training to prepare students to use data and analytics to identify business opportunities, generate business insights and create business solutions.

The MSBA program is the first in the University of California system and one of the very few in California. The program is designed to meet the rapidly growing need for skilled professionals who can frame key operational and strategic business questions and leverage data, analytics and information technology to discover new insights and to address these questions.

“Companies are increasingly data driven and there is a vast need for professionals who are able to analyze that data and translate it into meaningful business outcomes,” said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan. “The Rady School’s Master of Science in Business Analytics provides students with the unique skillset needed to quickly make a significant impact at companies that rely on data for business solutions.”

MSBA students will gain both the quantitative skills to make better decisions and the ability to manage teams and communicate effectively with stakeholders throughout each phase of an analytics project. Graduates will be prepared to create immediate value in organizations by improving marketing, financial, management and operational decisions through the use of data and quantitative analysis.

Rady School Professors Terrence August and Vincent Nijs, who will co-direct the program, explained the program’s aim and design.

“Although the program has a strong technical bent, classes and discussions will address business problems,” said Nijs. “For example, we do not have any traditional classes on statistics. Rather, classes will focus on an array of topics such as customer analytics, business intelligence, supply chain analytics and will prepare students to apply methods like experimentation, statistics and machine learning to help formulate and answer business questions. The program we developed will be challenging and intense for students, but also hands-on and practical.”

“Vast amounts of data on customers, suppliers, operations and financial transactions are collected from a variety of sources, often managed in diverse systems, by multiple stakeholders,” said August. “Transforming this data into insights that can enhance decision-making is a key strategic challenge for businesses of every size, across all industries. We’ve thought a lot about how to design a program that helps to produce business analytics professionals who understand the full life-cycle of analytics projects. Our students will graduate knowing how to positively impact a businesses’ bottom line and sustain it.”

The Master of Science in Business Analytics is open to recent graduates as well as experienced professionals and is currently accepting applications for fall 2016. The 50-unit degree program can be completed in 12 months. For more information, go to: rady.ucsd.edu