MS-BA academics

Delivered by the highly ranked W. P. Carey Departments of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management, the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MS‑BA) was one of the first business analytics master’s degrees in the U.S. The curriculum is informed by industry partners to ensure its applicability in the real world, builds on your quantitative skills, and develops the analytics depth you need to make an immediate impact in your career.

Curriculum

The W. P. Carey MS‑BA is designed for recent college graduates with a strong quantitative background. Previous work experience is not required. Students can start the program in August or January, with an on-campus orientation required before the beginning of the first semester. Classes are held weekdays on ASU's Tempe campus.

The STEM-designated business analytics master’s will develop the skills necessary for data-driven analysis and strategic business decision-making in one of the economy's fastest-growing fields. In addition to the core curriculum in big data, the MS-BA program can be customized with four optional tracks.

Students are going to get exposure to statistics, database management, pretty much a very extensive crash course on the entire machine learning landscape. They're going to learn about prediction. They're going to have a chance to dive into natural learning processing and then ultimately, they'll also be learning about the various technological ecosystems that we all take advantage of to bring those algorithms and techniques to bear.

Geoff Pofahl, MS-BA Faculty Co-Director and Clinical Assistant Professor Department of Information Systems

Data-driven decision-making is here to stay. As organizations begin to look at this notion of becoming an intelligent enterprise, we look at the future roles as someone being not just a data scientist, but more so a decision scientist. The MS-BA program prepares graduates for that future.

Over the last few years, our students have addressed challenges for over 150 companies in the areas of technology, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail. With Avnet, we’ve had an incredible relationship, working on several different types of capstone projects. This really primes our students for the real world and gets them ready for that final job.

Brett Duarte, MS-BA Faculty Co-Director and Clinical Associate Professor NASPO Department of Supply Chain Management

Sample MS-BA courses

To meet the demand for business analytics specialists, this program will deepen your quantitative and analytical skills. Learn to derive value from data and modeling, lead data-driven analyses, and create a business advantage. Take a closer look at individual courses through ASU class search.

Quantitative Risk Management

Addresses the skills and knowledge necessary to model situations where uncertainty is a major factor. Models include decision trees, queuing theory, Monte Carlo simulation, discrete event simulation, and stochastic optimization, along with application for solving a wide variety of common business problems.

Business Process Analytics

Addresses the use of analytics tools and techniques to enhance the ability of quality management approaches to improve processes. Introduces modern quality management approaches including six sigma and design for six sigma. Covers the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) improvement cycle: the core process used to drive six sigma projects. DMAIC refers to a data-driven improvement cycle used for improving, optimizing and stabilizing business processes and designs. Provides an analytics roadmap to help users work through the DMAIC problem-solving process.

AI and Data Analytics Strategy

Deep learning applications have become an integral part of our lives over the last decade. Alexa, Amazon Go, Waymo, Apple Face ID, and Facebook's face recognition applications are all powered by deep learning networks. Applications based on deep learning models cover a wide spectrum of industries including retail, automotive, manufacturing, health care, banking, insurance, agriculture, security and surveillance. Hands-on look at the latest models, trends and challenges of deep learning applications in business.

Applied capstone project

Students in the master's of business analytics program gain practical experience through a culminating capstone project. Throughout the project, you'll collaborate with real businesses to develop innovative solutions. You'll collect, organize, and interpret real-world data sets and deliver a final presentation with strategic recommendations to the organization's leadership team.

From predictive modeling to optimization, you'll apply classroom concepts to uncover actionable insights. You'll become more proficient in stakeholder engagement, preparing you to be an effective communicator as a business analyst or in a similar role. The MS-BA program is jointly led by two academic departments, giving you access to expanded industry connections. Many of our corporate partners offer internships and full-time roles to students based on capstone project performance.

I first connected with Avnet during my capstone project and was fortunate to be their first capstone hire. I’ve consistently delivered global digital solutions that empower customers and suppliers to take control of their supply chain networks.

Aakash Anand, MS-BA graduate

STEM-designated program

The W. P. Carey MS-BA program has been designated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security as a STEM eligible degree program (CIP code 52.1301). The STEM designation may allow eligible graduates on student visas access to an Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension, up to 36 months, as compared to 12 months for non-STEM degrees. As an international student, the longer work authorization term can help you gain additional real-world skills and experience in the U.S.

Optional MS-BA tracks

Prepare for unique career opportunities by expanding your knowledge in critical areas. Choosing to add an optional track will extend the length of your program and impact your overall program cost. Prerequisites may be required for some courses. Ask a recruiter to learn more.

Cloud computing and tech consulting

The marriage of cloud technology and big data will drive businesses and the economy of the future. As a result, new career pathways are being created every day to meet this new demand. Leverage the knowledge and experience of W. P. Carey faculty to deepen and broaden your digital skillset.

The cloud computing and tech consulting track requires a third semester of the MS-BA program, with two additional core courses and two electives, while also preparing for a competitive job market with a summer internship opportunity.

Careers in cloud computing and tech consulting are exploding in the American and global marketplace. A master’s degree with a focus in these fields creates a competitive advantage in your career search. Sample job titles include:

Cloud administrator
Cloud security analyst
Cloud network engineer
Cloud automation engineer
Cloud consultant
Cloud software engineer
Cloud engineer
Cloud architect

Financial technology

New technologies are rapidly and permanently transforming the financial industry. Payments, banking, wealth management, insurance, real estate, capital markets, digital lending, and more are all being redefined by emerging tech and data.

With the MS-BA track in fintech, you’ll develop not only your strengths in big data, you’ll learn how and where to apply them to lead further innovations in financial institutions and beyond.

As financial services firms dedicate more resources to technology and data science, fintech careers will remain on an upward trajectory. That makes this an excellent time to focus your studies on this exploding field with the MS-BA fintech track. Sample job titles include:

Developer
Marketing manager
Financial analyst
Business development manager
Data analyst
Cybersecurity specialist
User experience designer

Marketing analytics

Expand on your data expertise by applying your skills to the exploding field of marketing analytics. From analyzing performance metrics to uncovering insights about digital marketing and brand management, the MS-BA marketing analytics track will prepare you to make data-driven decisions in a fast-paced and ever-evolving industry.

The marketing analytics track requires a third semester of the MS-BA program. In addition to two track-specific core courses and two electives, you can also take advantage of a summer internship opportunity to help you build experience for your future career. Sample job titles include:

Marketing Manager
Operations Research Analyst
Market Research Analyst
Brand Manager
Computer Systems Analyst
Big Data Analyst
Director of Marketing Strategy
Marketing Scientist
Marketing Performance Manager

Supply chain analytics

The world’s reliance on supply chains has come into full focus over the past few years. Analytics — and the data scientists who leverage them — help supply chains improve their decision-making, keep costs low, and transform a company’s overall efficiency and effectiveness.

The supply chain analytics track in the W. P. Carey MS-BA requires a third semester consisting of two additional core courses and two electives. All supply chain analytics students also have a summer internship opportunity, to expand their horizons for post-graduation careers.

By combining business analytics and supply chain management, you can find an exciting, fulfilling career across multiple industries. The MS-BA supply chain analytics track will prepare you for a number of possible job titles, including:

Sourcing Analyst
Materials Analyst
Production Analyst
Inventory Analyst
Demand Planning Analyst
Deployment Analyst
Transportation Analyst
Supply Chain Modeling Analyst

Faculty

Students in the MS-BA program have the unique opportunity to learn from esteemed faculty in both the NASPO Department of Supply Chain Management and the Department of Information Systems within the W. P. Carey School. The faculty members in these departments are prolific researchers and industry leaders, renowned for distinctive perspectives on business analytics that students can learn from. We strive to be at the forefront of technological changes in both AI-enhanced teaching and research.