Master’s in Business Analytics

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Turn big data into career opportunities

Master the most in-demand field in business

Big data is everywhere, and so are companies that need to turn their data into real business value. That’s where you come in. Your master’s in business analytics from Clark will give you knowledge and skills that set you apart.

MSBA Students may choose a concentration aligned with key growth areas within three key industries:

Financial Analytics
Marketing Analytics
Accounting Analytics

Bridge disciplines and departments

Learn how to inform all aspects of business operations with data and analytics. Combine a deep understanding of technology with the business and communications skills necessary to share actionable intelligence with executives and colleagues throughout an organization.

Leverage data for social good

Discover how big data and business analytics can be harnessed to address pressing societal challenges, from preserving resources and creating economic and employment opportunity, to ensuring equity in social programs and advancing ethical decision-making.

STEM-Designated Program

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees are in tremendous demand across most major industries in the United States. Graduates with a STEM-designated degree may be eligible to work in this country for up to 36 months on Optional Practical Training (OPT).

A highly regarded lifetime credential

Earn your graduate degree in business analytics from a globally ranked and accredited business school – The Clark School of Business is among the elite 5% of business schools worldwide to receive AACSB accreditation, and has been named a Princeton Review “Best Business School” and U.S. News & World Report “Best Part-time MBA”
Develop the multidisciplinary skill set you need to help organizations leverage big data most effectively.
Join a close-knit learning community representing 90+ countries and 150 nonprofit and business partners around the world.
Work in a highly collaborative learning environment with talented peers and scholar-practitioners who share their deep leadership experience with you.
Pursue your business analytics degree on your own terms, with options for part-time, full-time, and accelerated study.

Leveraging Data: Graduate School is a Game-Changer for Marcus Anum

International student Marcus Anum takes the leap into graduate school, putting his career on hold to continue his education. Marcus plans to take the skills gained at Clark University and apply them back home in Ghana to make a positive impact.

Data analytics changes the way you think. It changes the way you see everything. You do not just make decisions. Everything is based on something.
—Marcus Anum

The Essentials

Program Overview

Your coursework is organized into four primary areas of focus: analytics methodologies, data handling and processing, applications, and computation. You will establish foundational skills in each area, building on this groundwork each semester. You’ll use critical thinking skills to gather, evaluate, and interpret information, and enhance your leadership and management skills as you learn how to collaborate with diverse stakeholders within organizations.

An understanding of database and data warehouse design principles
Foundational skills in industry-standard data analytics technologies and software
The ability to interpret and synthesize data to make practical recommendations
Effective communication and presentation skills

Big Data Statistics
Programming with Python
Big Data Computing
Business Intelligence

As you progress through the program, you will be working with a variety of databases, programs and software. The computers in the on-campus computer labs that School of Business students use are equipped to handle the high level of needs that the students in our MSBA program will have. However, to allow for more flexibility for you to do your work and assignments outside of the computer labs, we strongly recommend that you purchase the following computer to run Windows:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11
Processor: better than intel core-i7
Memory (RAM): 32 GB
Hard-drive: 512 GB Solid State Hard-drive (SSD) or larger
Warranty: 1-3 year manufacturer’s warranty
Graphic card: GeForce

It can be purchased from Whalley Computer at:
https://usm.channelonline.com/wca/clarkuniversity/Products/overview/M020348792 for $1,989.

Here is a web page from HP which has more information about the laptop:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/laptops/product-details/product-specifications/29322815

Students must satisfy the Master of Science in Business Analytics prerequisite courses prior to beginning their first semester at Clark University. Students must satisfy 1 Math or Statistics course and 1 Python or SQL Server Programming course. Please read below for prerequisite guidelines:

Math and Statistics (Probability and its Applications)

The prerequisite is automatically satisfied if the student took one (1) Statistics or Math course through an accredited college or university. The course must have been for credit and the student must have earned a letter grade. Students missing a prerequisite statistics class can complete STAT 4009 through Clark University prior to starting their program.

Courses taken through an open online courses platform (MOOC) will not satisfy the statistics prerequisites.

Python or SQL Server Programming

The common topics that the programming courses must cover are the syntax, algorithm, and programming skills of a popular programming language, such as Python, Java, C++, C, SQL, Visual Basic, Perl, PHP, or MATLAB.

The prerequisite is automatically satisfied if the student took one (1) course at an accredited college or university. Students can also satisfy this programming prerequisite if they successfully complete the following Online Certificate programs from either LinkedIn Learning or Udemy:

LinkedIn Learning

Click here for the “Python Essential Training” course
Click here for directions on how to download/print your certification

Udemy

Click here for the “Programming with Python: HandsOn Introduction for Beginners” course
Click here for directions on how to download/print your certification

Minimum Grade Requirements

Students must receive a B or higher from the courses taken at an accredited college or university in order to satisfy the pre-requisites. Students who take the Online Certificate for programming through LinkedIn Learning or Udemy must demonstrate the course completion and certificate received from the platform and submit it to their admissions representative.

EAS and Pathway

EAS and Pathway students who did not already satisfy the pre-requisites may complete them while taking their English language courses at Clark University. However, Statistics and Programming will not be part of the EAS curriculum. Students will need to complete the Statistics requirement online at Clark University STAT 4009 or online through another accredited university, and they must also complete the programming prerequisite through LinkedIn Learning or Udemy.

Requirements

11 course units

10 core courses
1 Experiential Learning Requirement (ELR) course in Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, and an internship

Coursework includes online, hybrid, and in-person classes.

Course Catalog

School of Business makes experiential learning a priority. In addition to gaining hands-on experience in many courses, you must complete either an internship at an external organization or a dedicated experiential learning course, in which you will work on projects that affect real change in an organization, the community, or region.

The School of Business is fortunate to be part of a small, liberal arts-based research university located in an urban environment. Your fellow MSBA students will typically be a mix of professionals with work experience, recent college graduates, and international students. This close-knit community provides a wide variety of perspectives on current global business challenges and opportunities.

Attend guest speaker series and panel discussions that bring executives from corporations around the world to the Clark campus.
Participate in networking events specifically created for business analytics students.
Take part in group projects benefitting our urban community.
Participate in the SAS Global Forum Competition and School of Business Annual Analytics Poster Competition.
Join School of Business student clubs and organizations, including the Clark Business Analytics Association.

GSOM-Skills-You-Learn

Faculty research in the School of Business tackles issues that impact not only business, but also society at large, engaging locally with topics that have a global reach. Faculty members bring their findings to bear on the classroom experience, giving students the opportunity to work with real datasets from their findings.

Students, too, may engage in research with faculty, with peers, or individually. A select number of School of Business students participate in the prestigious national SAS Global Forum Competition and locally in School of Business Annual Analytics Poster Competition.

Using machine learning to help detect multiple heart conditions
Examining Steam game data by genre
Predicting credit card default
Using latent Dirichlet allocation to recommend videos
Conducting sequence analysis of viral events

shibbir_khan-msba-student-clark-university-2018- — Clark graduate uses analytics to predict how long immigrants will stay in the United States.
Read More

Clark’s MSBA program gives you a grounded approach in the fundamentals of business analytics, taking you from the basics of descriptive analytics (what happened) and diagnostic analytics (why it happened), to predictive analytics (what will happen) and prescriptive analytics (how we can make it happen). Through data, you can communicate effectively and productively with colleagues across disciplines and at every level of an organization, offering a range of opportunities to advance your career.

Career Outcomes

Senior Director of Digital Analytics
Health Care Data Analytics
Senior Manager of Inventory Analytics
Pricing Analyst
Marketing Analyst
Data Solutions Associate
Business and Data Analyst

Relevant. Challenging. Transformative.

Faculty Research Areas

Jing Zhang

Professor

Systems of knowledge in the world of big data

Professor Zhang dedicates her research to examining management information systems, including interorganizational knowledge sharing and networking.

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Hamid Ahady Dolatsara

Assistant Professor Sub

Data-driven ideas that have a positive impact on society.

Dr. Ahady Dolatsara is a data scientist with research interests in health care analytics, finance, and transportation.

Explore what the School of Business has to offer.

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