What is BA?
BA, short for Business Analytics, is an emerging field that builds on business knowledge, uses mathematical and programming methods, starts with data analysis, and creates value through decision optimization, realizing the commercial application of Big Data.
The MIT Sloan School of Management describes the positioning of the BA program as follows:
"Prepares students for careers that apply and manage modern data science to solve critical business challenges."
In summary, it is about managing and analyzing modern quantitative data to contribute to corporate decision-making.
What Do You Learn in BA?
This major is entirely employment-oriented, with courses focused on practical skills: basically fundamental applied programming (VBA + SQL) + statistics (using statistical software or programming for statistical analysis) + some business management knowledge. Therefore, almost all Business Analytics programs include courses in data analytics, programming, optimization, statistics and probability, calculus, and so on.
Business Analytics = 40% Statistics + 30% Computer Science + 30% Business
BA is an interdisciplinary field of mathematics, computer science, and business management.
The Difference Between BA and MA
Business Analytics
Simply put, Business Analytics involves analyzing data owned by enterprises and organizations, not only market data but also user behavior and preferences, with the goal of deriving information useful for business decisions and activities.
More and more companies, especially tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter abroad, and Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba, and Sina domestically, are placing increasing emphasis on data collection and analysis. In the eyes of these tech giants, the world has entered the era of Big Data. The ability to use data for decision-making is a requirement of the new era. Although different companies have slightly different definitions of the responsibilities of Business Analytics under their umbrella, it basically revolves around "data analysis" to maintain the company's commercial operations or manage small projects.
Marketing Analytics
Marketing Analytics focuses more on the marketing function within an industry or company. It primarily analyzes the results provided by the data team from a market perspective, offering constructive suggestions and issuing guidance reports. In today's data-saturated world, Marketing Analytics has become a core direction within Marketing. Through data analysis, it better understands the proportional relationship between commodity supply and demand in the market, thereby adopting correct business strategies to meet market needs and improve the economic benefits of business operations.
Marketing Analytics is generally offered as one of the concentrations within programs like Marketing or Integrated Marketing Communication; some schools also offer a standalone Marketing Analytics major.
Degree Options in Business Analytics:
1. Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) - Analytics Master's:
This is an interdisciplinary field, an emerging specialty that integrates applied mathematics, statistics, computer science, and various business principles. Some schools also call it Predictive Analytics and Data Analysis. North Carolina State University was the first to offer this program in 2007. Typical schools include Northwestern University, etc.
2. Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) - Business Analytics Master's:
Emerging in 2013, this is the newest type of program in business schools. Some schools offer it jointly through the business school and other departments. This degree is quite similar to the Analytics Master's, but with fewer technical courses and higher tuition. Typical schools include the University of Rochester, Michigan State University, etc.
3. Master of Science in Data Science (MSDS) - Data Science Master's:
Emerging in 2013, the curriculum is very similar to the Analytics Master's. U.S. universities offer it through separate research institutes or engineering schools; some programs are called Data Science & Engineering or Information & Data Science. Typical schools include Columbia University, New York University, etc.
The training objectives for business analytics degrees vary by school:
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Northwestern University believes analytics is a process that uses data relationships and computer models to drive business value, improve decision-making, and understand human relationships:
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New York University considers business analytics a discipline that studies data through statistical and operational analysis, forms predictive models, and promotes communication between customers and business partners as well as the optimization of technology applications;
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George Washington University perceives data science as an emerging field aimed at extracting effective information from massive arrays of data. The program primarily uses technology and theoretical statistics, computer science, and mathematics to effectively analyze and use big data in the natural and social sciences;
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Case Western Reserve University's data analytics and data science focus more on data collection, storage, and analysis, emphasizing the learning of computational tools and statistical techniques.
Business Analytics Curriculum
The vast majority of Master of Business Analytics programs are employment-oriented, training students from the perspective of real-world big data to analytical work. Courses are mostly practical, essentially including MIS (basic but practical programming like VBA+SQL, some database knowledge, etc.) + STAT (teaching you to use statistical software/programming for automated statistical analysis, etc.) + some management knowledge.
Therefore, most schools' courses cover Data Analytics, Data Analysis Programming, Optimization, Probability and Statistics, Calculus, Web Analytics, etc. Correspondingly, in terms of enrollment preferences, schools also encourage applicants with backgrounds in mathematics, computer science, engineering, etc.
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Data Analytics Programming
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Optimization and Decision Analysis
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Financial Management
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Introduction to Data Management
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Introduction to Business Data Analytics
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Advanced Data Analytics I: Predictive Modeling
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Advanced Data Analytics II: Unsupervised Learning and Time Series
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Business Intelligence Capstone
Popular Programs
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
CMU's BA program is housed in the Information School. Based on past admissions data, over 60% of students have work experience. Each year, approximately 50 students from around the world are admitted, with undergraduate degrees in computer science, architecture, mathematics, statistics, finance, management, accounting, and more. Backgrounds are very diverse, but a strong quantitative background is a significant advantage.
The average GMAT score is 710, the GRE Verbal average ranges from 152 to 160, the Quant average ranges from 163 to 169, and the average GPA is 3.6. The application difficulty is quite high.
University of Southern California (USC)
USC's BA program was launched in 2014. Although relatively new, it ranked first in the 2016 TFE U.S. Business Analytics Master's Program Rankings. The program is three semesters long, totaling 18 months, and is housed in the business school. It is a STEM-designated program with 29 months of OPT.
The USC Master of Business Analytics program lasts 1.5-2 years and requires 27 credit hours. It focuses primarily on big data mining and analysis, with the overall curriculum leaning toward data science and information technology. Located in Los Angeles, USC enjoys a prime location and strong overall and program-specific rankings. As a result, the program attracts a large number of applicants each year and competition is fierce. It is recommended to prepare in advance if you wish to apply.
The average GMAT score is 720, TOEFL is required to be no less than 100 with no subsection below 20, IELTS no lower than 6.5, and the average GPA is 3.6. The application difficulty is not small either.
University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin)
UT-Austin's BA program ranks in the top ten nationally. It is housed in the business school under the Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management. The program lasts one year and admits approximately 60 students each year, only for the fall semester. It requires applicants to have a background in business or science/engineering, as well as international experience.
The average GMAT is 713, TOEFL 100+, and the average GPA is 3.6.
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU, WU)
Washington University's BA program is committed to enhancing students' ability to master data-driven decision-making methods in the emerging era of big data.
Courses are jointly taught by professors from the business school and the School of Engineering & Applied Science and Arts & Sciences, ensuring students learn relevant business and computer science courses and master methods for processing data with computers.
GPA 3.58, GMAT 721, TOEFL 106; international student enrollment is 84%.
University of Rochester
The Simon Business School's MSBA program is designed to cultivate students with solid analytical skills so they can leverage big data from social media to make sound business decisions.
The Business Analytics program lasts 11 months (without internship) or 17 months (with internship). Applicants are required to have an undergraduate degree and a background in economics or mathematics. The program offers merit-based scholarships, which are automatically awarded with the offer without a separate application.
Reference admission scores from 2015: average TOEFL 106, IELTS accepted; GMAT average range (80%) 600-680, GRE average 300-324; GPA average range 3.06-3.68.
Columbia University
Columbia University's Business Analytics program is a two-semester program. Core courses include Probability Theory, Algorithms (for Data Science), Statistical Inference and Modeling, Computer Systems (for Data Science), Machine Learning (for Data Science), and Exploratory Data Analysis and Visualization, among others. After completing the core curriculum, students can choose to undertake projects and research at one of six research centers, including the Center for Financial and Business Analytics and the Center for New Media. An engineering or science background is required for application.
Minimum TOEFL 99, IELTS 6.5; GRE Verbal 154, Math 159+.
Cornell University
Cornell University's Data Analytics program is offered under the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering. It is one of the concentrations within the Master of Engineering program, alongside Applied Operations Research, Financial Engineering, Information Technology, Industrial Engineering, and Strategic Operations.
The Data Analytics track emphasizes the combination of theory and tools to make better decisions through data analysis. The program requires 30 credit hours and a capstone project. Applicants should have completed courses in case analysis, Operations Research I: Optimization, Linear Optimization or Optimization II or Financial Optimization Modeling, Engineering Probability and Statistics II, Simulation Modeling and Analysis, and Stochastic Processes.
TOEFL has specific section requirements: Writing 20, Listening 15, Reading 20, Speaking 22, and a total score of 100 or above.
Business Analytics Application Requirements
As an interdisciplinary field, Business Analytics requires applicants to have both business background and quantitative background. However, undergraduate programs do not directly offer Business Analytics at present. Therefore, students from business majors need to focus on supplementing coursework and practical experiences in mathematics, statistics, and programming. Meanwhile, those from mathematics, statistics, or other quantitative backgrounds need to strengthen their research or internship experiences in business analytics and systematically train their interview skills.
Specifically, academically, Business Analytics programs hope or require applicants to have at least studied advanced mathematics and linear algebra for one year each, have learned probability theory and statistics, and possess some programming ability, such as having learned at least one programming language or being able to use some data analysis software.
Regarding practice, suitable research projects or internships for Business Analytics include, but are not limited to, credit card user behavior analysis, new song recommendation systems, business operations analysis and optimization, web data analysis, and identifying "water army" (fake accounts) on Weibo.
Can Liberal Arts Students Apply for BA?
Liberal arts students can apply for Business Analytics, but they must have:
√ Relevant foundational mathematics courses (having studied courses such as linear algebra, calculus, statistics, etc.);
√ Relevant research or internship background in business analytics.
These are the most basic requirements. If the above requirements are not met, liberal arts students are not recommended to apply for Business Analytics.
Career Prospects
The employment direction for BA graduates is mainly as data analysts and programmers. Across different industries, they specialize in collecting, organizing, and analyzing industry data, and using that data to perform industry research, evaluation, and forecasting. Therefore, common job titles are business analyst, market analyst, risk analyst, model analyst, and so on.
Common industries include enterprises, institutions, group companies, IT, finance, securities, consulting and planning, etc., covering fields such as economic analysis, market research, intelligence research, data collection and integration.
Common employers include: governments, foreign investment banks, commercial banks, investment companies such as GlaxoSmithKline (China) Investment Co., Ltd.; computer companies like IBM, HP;
mobile phone companies like Apple, Samsung; internet companies like Google, Yahoo, Baidu;
professional third-party data analytics companies;
large chain retail organizations like Wal-Mart, Carrefour, etc.
Of course, the only requirement is that they are large companies, because small startups typically do not need data analytics.
Statistics from LinkedIn show the top 10 companies where BA graduates most frequently land jobs after graduation.
As for the salary of BA, according to Glassdoor, the national average annual income in the U.S. is $70,170.
