Master's in Business Data Science and Analytics Curriculum

Master’s in Business Data Science and Analytics Curriculum

Building business intelligence in a data-driven world.

The M.S. in Business Data Science and Analytics program focuses on three core areas:

Training our students to be leaders in data management process and business analytics approaches
Providing our students with experiential project management opportunities using live data sets for analysis and application
Developing students’ expertise in key data management areas such as:
- Data mining
- Marketing technology, website analytics and social network analytics
- Applied statistical approaches
- How to interpret and communicate data analysis

The business analytics courses listed are delivered as a full-time, fixed curriculum, cohort-based program.

The program will register students for all their data and business analytics courses. Please see the academic calendar for specific dates and deadlines on MSU scheduling.

Students must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher in all graduate courses. For more information, please refer to the handbook:

Master’s BDSA Student Handbook

Sample Resume Template

Core Curriculum

MSBDSA students will complete 30 credits to earn the degree. The 21-credit core includes coursework that awards two certificates, one in Advanced Analytics and one in Data Decision Making, and students will complete an additional 9 credits in a third certificate pathway, choosing either Business Essentials or Organizational Leadership and Strategy, allowing graduates to leave the program with the MSBDSA degree and three transcribable certificates.

ITM 843 Career Management

1 Credit

Career development theory through experiential and skill-based learning focused on the unique requirements of the data science and analytics industry. Active practice of career management, networking, negotiation, goal setting, and development planning skills. Offered first half of the semester.

View full course description at the Office of the Registrar.
ITM 818 Data Management and Visualization in Analytics

3 Credits

How digitized business processes and data analytics are essential to the performance and competitive advantage of a modern corporation. Different approaches for strategic data management and business analytics. Real-world cases of successes and failures with analytics-based business strategies.

View full course description at the Office of the Registrar.
CSE 801a Computational Techniques for Large Scale Data Analysis

3 Credits

Emerging issues in big data (e.g., collection, warehousing, pre-processing and querying; mining, cluster analysis, association analytics; out-of-core, online, sampling-based, and approximate learning algorithms; model evaluation and applications, etc.).

View full course description at the Office of the Registrar.
ITM 886 Communication Strategies for Analytics

1 Credit

Development of managerial-level business communication skills focusing on oral and written formats. Translation of technical data for communication to non-technical audiences.

View full course description at the Office of the Registrar.
ITM 883 Business Analytics Problem Solving (Statistics)

2 credits

Application of statistical concepts including random variables, distributions, parameter estimation, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance and time series analysis. Develop modeling understanding of when to use what analytical capability. SPSS and R software introduced.

View full course description at the Office of the Registrar.
PIM 884 Artificial Intelligence Governance

Full description coming soon.

Link to registrar coming soon
ACC 822 Information Systems Project Management (corporate project)

Introduction to the project management process in an analytics framework using real-world data. One business’ problems presented and solved by the full cohort, broken into smaller student teams. Approximately 10–11 weeks long.
STT 805 Applied Statistics Methods

3 Credits

Fundamental concepts in probability and statistics including hypothesis tests, type I and type II errors, statistical significance and power, uncertainty quantification, bootstrapping, Monte Carlo methods, and advanced statistical modeling. Three-week intensive at start of semester.

View full course description at the Office of the Registrar.
ITM 881 Network Analytics

3 Credits

This course explores the application of network analysis in business contexts. Focus is placed on establishing the basic methods and terminology associated with network analysis and text analytics and then progresses into broad-based applications. Applications of these techniques span a broad range of business contexts, including human resource management, CRM systems, supplier networks and online networks.

View full course description at the Office of the Registrar.
ITM 885 Machine Learning and Optimization in Analytics

3 Credits

Concepts and application in decision making, (stochastic) gradient descent, supervised learning (such as penalized regression, classification, survival analysis), deep neural networks for classification, optimization in Python and R, advanced topics in machine learning (such as generative models, adversarial learning, meta learning).

View full course description at the Office of the Registrar.
ITM 888 Capstone Business Analytics Corporate Project

1 Credit

Corporate practicum in the development and delivery of predictive data analysis for strategic decision making in organizations. Application of the principles and tools of analytics to real-world problems in research & development, marketing, supply chain, accounting, finance and human resources management. Development and presentation of analytical insights and recommendations.

View full course description at the Office of the Registrar.

Specialized Certificate Pathway (choose one)

Organizational Leadership & Strategy

Term	Course	Credits	Timing
Fall 1	PIM 800; Organizational Management	1.5	1^st half
Summer 1	PIM 803; Leadership or PIM 867; Ethics	1.5	1^st or 2^nd half
Fall 2	PIM 852; Negotiations	1.5	1^st half
Fall 2	IM 853; HR & Talent Management	1.5	1^st half
Fall 2	PIM 855; Strategic Management	1.5	2^nd half
Spring 2	PIM 856; Strategic Management 2	1.5	2^nd half

Business Essentials

Term	Course	Credits	Timing
Fall 1	PIM 811; Financial Accounting for Leaders	1.5	1^st half
Spring 1	PIM 862; Customer Analysis	1.5	1^st half
Spring 1	PIM 841; Finance: Investment Decisions	1.5	2^nd half
Fall 2	PIM 870; Supply Chain Management	1.5	1^st half
Fall 2	PIM 812; Performance Measurement & Control	1.5	2^nd half
Spring 2	PIM 863; MKT Systems	1.5	2^nd half