Purdue launches online analytics degree

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management will begin offering an online Master’s in Business Analytics in fall 2020.

The degree is aimed at working professionals. Students will receive broad exposure to various functional areas of business and how they use information to make better-informed decisions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the need for business analysts to increase 14% by 2024, and this degree will prepare participants for a wide variety of roles within the industry.

“We are proud to offer the number one-ranked residential data science program in the country, according to CIO magazine, and our business analytics faculty are consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally by U.S. News & World Report,” says David Hummels, the Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Krannert School. “Those same faculty are now offering an online business analytics program that is rigorous and relevant to working professionals.

“The demand for technical and analytical expertise is exploding. With this degree, we’ll be able to expand our reach far beyond our campus boundaries and help meet this tremendous need.”

The program can be completed in three semesters. It will provide students with skills to work in cross-disciplinary teams and across functional boundaries. It features immersion electives in specific areas, such as disruptive technologies in artificial intelligence. Participants also may take a practicum course to implement the knowledge they have learned in other courses. Future plans for the program include specialized tracks such as supply chain analytics, marketing analytics, cyber security and data science.

Professor Dilip Chhajed, associate dean for online programs, says typical courses in the program will consist of case studies, class discussions and exercises to maximize peer-to-peer learning. An emphasis will be placed on both technologies and techniques, twin requirements in the emerging world of big data according to a recent McKinsey & Co. report.

Students will work in close connection with the Krenicki Center for Business Analytics and Machine Learning, which offers data-analytics-oriented initiatives spanning all areas of business and economics. Participants also will be able to take advantage of Purdue’s many resources in data analytics, including the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS), one of the world’s leading research and education centers in information security. CERIAS will collaborate with the Krannert School in developing courses for the online program.

“This program takes advantage of Purdue’s strong STEM reputation while also capitalizing on synergies at the Krannert School,” Chhajed says. “Students will enhance their critical analytical thinking and communication skills, and they will be able to do so without a disruption to their careers or their families.”

For more information, or to enroll in the program, visit https://purdue.university/msba.

Media contact: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu

Writer: Tim Newton, tnewton@purdue.edu

Sources: David Hummels, hummelsd@purdue.edu; Dilip Chhajed, dchhajed@purdue.edu