Business Analytics (career), MS

This is the first version of the 2023–24 General Catalog. Please check back regularly for changes. The final edition and the historical PDF will be published during the fall semester.

Organizations are swimming in data, but often lack the talent and expertise to use it effectively for making decisions, revealing insights, and making predictions. Business analytics experts are changing that. The full-time Master of Science program in business analytics puts students on the leading edge of a burgeoning industry hungry for top notch talent.

Students learn the skills and techniques necessary to turn raw data into actionable insights. Descriptive and diagnostic analytics are just starting points in the program. The skills learned develop students into decision-makers and data scientists adept at using predictive and prescriptive analytics to solve business problems.

The full-time science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) designated program is located in Iowa City. The plan of study spans three semesters and includes core courses, internships, and electives. Students have the opportunity to enroll in a combined degree program with an MS in finance, and current University of Iowa undergraduate students may apply to a combined undergraduate degree/MS graduate degree program. See "Combined Programs" in this section of the catalog for details.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates will exhibit knowledge and skills relevant to data and its applications in business. They will demonstrate competence in the subareas of:

  • descriptive analytics;
  • predictive analytics; and
  • prescriptive analytics.

Graduates will create and communicate solutions to data-related business problems that impact their organizations and communities. They will:

  • approach, address, and solve a loosely defined business problem requiring the use, exploration, and analysis of data; and
  • communicate effectively through oral, written, and visual forms.

Graduates will understand and explore ethical and privacy issues related to the use of data in the modern world. They will:

  • contemplate ethical and privacy issues arising in their own work; and
  • express a working knowledge of the major ethical and privacy issues facing the business-analytics profession, supported with examples from current events.

Graduates will demonstrate the ability to be effective team members in a diverse and complex world. They will:

  • engage in effective team processes; and
  • lead and support others to achieve collective goals.