By Dave Hendrick
Newswise — The University of Virginia is now officially accepting applications for its new Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA). The program received formal approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) on 22 May.
Intended for early career professionals interested in enhancing their existing business analytics skills or starting a new career in business analytics, the 12-month degree program — the first degree to be delivered in partnership by UVA’s Darden School of Business and McIntire School of Commerce — will begin in late August.
MSBA students will learn to apply a mix of skills, including advanced analytics, business fundamentals, team and project management, communication, consulting, and design thinking, to issues facing businesses today, as well as gain facility with a range of leading-edge programming technologies and data tools, including Tableau, R, Python, SQL and Hadoop, among others.
Designed to limit students’ time away from the office while maximizing engagement with peers and faculty members, the MSBA program will be delivered by Darden and McIntire faculty members via a combination of midweek online classes and team meetings, self-paced distance learning, and weekend residencies in UVA’s new state-of-the-art facilities in the downtown Arlington, Virginia, district of Rosslyn and on UVA Grounds in Charlottesville.
The program’s highly integrated curriculum consists of five modules, each of which will include two in-person residencies, and a closing residency and capstone project.
- “Enterprise Analytics: Using Data to Gain a Competitive Advantage” (18 August–23 September)
- “Descriptive Analytics: Communicating the Value of Data-Informed Insights” (24 September–16 December)
- “Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning: Driving Agility through Corporate Foresight” (5 January–3 March)
- “Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence: Monetizing Data in an Era of Digital Transformation” (4 March–12 May)
- “Corporate-Sponsored Analytic Challenge: Translating Your Knowledge Into Strategic Business Solutions” (13 May–4 August)
- Closing residency and capstone project: “Business Ethics in the Digital Age: Creating Your Future”
An integrated project will close out each of the modules, giving students the opportunity to practice applying analytics to business challenges and show how data insights can be used to advance business strategy and drive value. The program will also open the classroom to industry experts and corporate sponsors, who will be invited to share their perspectives.
Graduates of the program will be prepared for a range of career opportunities, including positions as data analytics specialists, business analytics consultants, strategy and operations managers, web analytics managers and marketing analytics managers, among others.
The next application deadline is 15 June and the final round of applications will close 15 July. Applicants interested in being considered for a scholarship are encouraged to apply before 15 June.
To apply for the program, review a series of frequently asked questions or schedule a conversation with a member of the admissions team, visit the MSBA website.
Learn more about the MSBA program and business analytics at a panel discussion moderated by McIntire Professor and Director of the Center for Business Analytics Ahmed Abbasi 4 June at the UVA Darden Sands Family Grounds in Arlington, Virginia. Register to attend.
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business delivers the world’s best business education experience to prepare entrepreneurial, global and responsible leaders through its MBA, Ph.D. and Executive Education programs. Darden’s top-ranked faculty is renowned for teaching excellence and advances practical business knowledge through research. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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