Big Data is taking over the world. In many ways that’s wonderful. Information is democratizing, liberating and fascinating. It allows individuals and organizations to make better decisions, increase profits and learn more than ever before.
Sponsored School(s)
In other ways, though, it presents a huge challenge. Making sense of the morass of data is hard, especially for people who don’t possess the tools to sort through it, discard meaningless noise and find meaningful patterns from the remainder. That’s exactly what business analysts do, though: use cutting-edge data science techniques to inform intelligent business decisions.
If you love math, programming, commerce and management, you could be well suited to work as a business analyst. The good news is, Florida State University has an excellent program.
How Long Is the FSU Business Analytics Program?
The business analytics master’s degree at FSU takes on year to complete. Total, you will need to complete 33 credit hours, 24 of which are core courses and 9 of which are electives. Three of these credit hours will be a capstone project, in which you will use your newly acquired skills to solve a real-world business analytics problem. The entire program is on-campus, so it is not well suited to those who want a distance education model, or who can’t leave current responsibilities like job and family.
What Will You Learn?
According to the front page of the program brochure, the Master of Science in Business Analytics “provides students the knowledge to integrate technical skills with business know-how in order to develop managerial strategies from real, large-scale datasets.” To this end, core courses include:
- Data Analytics and Mining for Business
- Data Management in Business Analytics
- Foundational Concepts for Business Analytics
- Forecasting, Revenue Management & Pricing
- Programming for Analytics
- Quantitative Methods in Business Analytics I
- Probabilistic Optimization for Analytics
- Analytics Capstone Lab
Students will also be required to choose electives, which “will include applications of analytical tools in specific business disciplines, such as marketing, human resources, operations, finance or real estate.”
What Opportunities Does the Program Offer?
As a STEM-certified program, FSU’s business analytics degree enables international students to extend their visas a further 2 years beyond graduation (36 months as compared to the standard 12-month visa extension granted to students of non-STEM master’s programs).
The program is new, which means that there is a lot of excitement behind it right now. Professors and administrators are more determined than they’ll ever be to help their graduates succeed, because it is a requirement of the program’s survival. It’s never a bad thing to ride the coattails of such enthusiasm!
How Can You Pay for School?
Because the master’s program is only a year long, it is easier to pay for than many standard MBAs, which range from 18 to 24 months. Moreover, because FSU is a public university, in-state students will get a good break on tuition, dropping standard $30,000 rates down to $16,000 or so. These are very good tuition rates, and they’re therefore perfect for those who don’t have a lot of funding. Even that can be a stretch, though, which is why you should look for scholarships as well as applying for financial aid.
Why FSU?
Founded in 1851, FSU is one of the most-respected universities in Florida. It has a national reputation as well, ranking No. 70 in the nation, according to US News & World Report. It is in the top hundred for best value schools, No. 26 for top public schools and No. 37 for veterans. If you have served in the armed forces, therefore, here is a school at which you can find lots of support.
Moreover, it is located in Tallahassee, which while not the hugest city, is yet a bustling center of commerce. It is, therefore, a good place for students to cut their teeth on business projects as well as network with people already in the field.
Would you like to find out more about this program? Please feel free to explore this site further or get in touch with us to ask questions today!