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Johnson offers a new degree via eCornell: the Master of Science in Business Analytics

The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, in collaboration with eCornell, is launching a new, online, STEM-certified degree program, the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA).

Johnson’s MSBA is designed for working professionals who seek to build a career in analytics with the skills employers say they desire most: a comprehensive understanding of the language and concepts of business, strong communication and teamwork skills, and the ability to apply the tools of data science to real problems and real data. In this hands-on program, students will collaborate in diverse teams and build a portfolio of data analytics projects as they learn to use essential analytics tools like Excel, Python, R, SQL, and Tableau to collect, visualize, and analyze data to optimize business decisions and evaluate results.

“Success in business analytics requires technical skills, creativity, and critical thinking,” says MSBA program director Vishal Gaur, Emerson Professor of Manufacturing Management, professor of operations, technology and information management. “Our first goal for students in the MSBA program is to excel at these skills by learning from their Cornell University professors who have deep expertise across a wide range of fields. Working with data also poses new challenges and requires awareness of its limitations with regard to bias, fairness, privacy, and ethics. So our second goal for our students is to become careful about the implications of analytics for society and to be aware of the incredibly transformative power of data, so that they can be responsible and effective problem solvers.”

The MSBA degree program offers students a flexible curriculum that allows them to specialize in a concentration aligned with their professional goals. The four concentrations include:

● Marketing Analytics—designed for students seeking careers in fields such as digital marketing, marketing analytics for consumer and business-to-business products, and product marketing.

● Finance Analytics—designed for students seeking careers in fields such as corporate finance, fintech, lending and credit analytics, banking and investment analytics, and fraud detection.

● Operations and Supply Chain Analytics—designed for students seeking careers in fields such as retailing operations, supply chain analytics, revenue management, manufacturing, and digital businesses including marketplaces and gig economy firms.

● Business Analytics—designed for students seeking careers in fields such as healthcare, human resources, and education.

“Data-driven problem solving is at the heart of the Cornell MSBA,” says Mark Nelson, Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean of Johnson. “Our program features an extensive business core, a choice of specialized concentrations, an emphasis on communications and collaboration, and an applied, hands-on curriculum to instill creative and resourceful problem solving. We designed the program this way because our research with practicing business-analytics professionals and employers indicated a pressing need for talent that combines those capabilities.”

All courses will be taught by Johnson faculty and faculty in the broader Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Faculty and industry practitioners will also serve as mentors for the capstone projects.

Instruction for the first intake of the 16-month MSBA program will begin online on May 16, 2022, and run through August 2023. The degree program includes two one-week, intensive summer residency sessions, the first in Ithaca, New York in summer 2022, and the second in New York City in summer 2023. It also entails a substantial capstone project which will unfold over the duration of the program and culminate in industry-ready final deliverables.

Applications for the program are now open.

Learn more about Cornell’s MSBA

This story first appeared on the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business news site, BusinessFeed.

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Cornell Johnson Launches STEM Master In Business Analytics

Cornell Johnson College of Business is the latest US business school to launch a Master in Business Analytics (MSBA) program.

Cornell follows other top US schools like MIT Sloan School of Management and UCLA Anderson School of Business, who offer top-ranked MSBAs.

The STEM-designated program will be taught part-time over 16-months and will be predominantly online.

Cornell Johnson MSBA: The curriculum
Demand for data analytics skills is growing. According to the GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey, 37% of recruiters hired MSBA grads in 2018, compared with a projected figure of 62% in 2021.

This increase means MSBA grads are likely to be able to land roles across a wide range of industries, with the vast majority of companies implementing data into their business models.

“The need for data analytics in organizations and society is increasing rapidly,” says Vishal Gaur (pictured), program director for the new MSBA. “We have been working towards this program for the last two years, meeting with alumni and recruiters to assess the requirements from business analytics professionals.”

Cornell’s new MSBA looks to capitalize on this trend, offering students the chance to develop their analytics skills and knowledge of analytical tools.

The program is scheduled to begin in May 2022, and will run until August 2023. It will be delivered through Cornell’s award-winning online learning platform eCornell.

Teaching will be delivered asynchronously, giving students the flexibility to view online sessions at a time that suits them. But there will be some in-person requirements; Cornell’s MSBA curriculum includes two week-long residency sessions in the summers of 2022 and 2023. These will be held in Ithaca and New York City.

The program is also designed to encourage students to work together, Vishal says.

“It will be run like a residential Johnson program with small cohorts, extensive interaction with faculty and fellow students, and co-curricular activities that allow students to expand their knowledge and network outside of the classroom,” he explains.

The curriculum covers core business elements along with soft skills such as communication and teamwork. This is combined with a focus on analytics skills; students will learn to use tools like Python, SQL, and Tableau to gather, analyze, and visualize data.

Industry-focused specializations
Along with the flexible teaching delivery, the curriculum also features six elective modules covering topics like Machine Learning for Investment and Customer Analytics and Strategy.

During a specialization period, students can choose from one of four different concentrations. These include Marketing Analytics, Finance Analytics, Operations and Supply Chain Analytics, and Business Analytics.

Each specialization is designed for students aiming to launch careers in their chosen field, and so covers a range of analytics functions within that industry. The Finance Analytics specialization, for example, includes teaching on subjects including corporate finance, fintech, and lending and credit analytics.

The program also requires students to work together in teams on a variety of projects. During the program each student will work on a Capstone Project where they will seek to solve a real-world issue using a large data set and analytics tools. They’ll present their findings to MSBA faculty members.

Applications for the Cornell MSBA are now open. If you’d like to enroll in this cutting-edge program, Cornell estimates tuition will amount to around $78,000.