To better prepare students for careers in data science and business analytics, the MIT Sloan School of Management last month announced the launch of its new Business Analytics Certificate. The certificate program comes in response to growing demand from employers and students for more rigorous academic content focused on data science. It will be offered to MIT Sloan students as a complement to a wide range of data-focused programs, including the Master of Business Analytics (MBAn) degree.
“Competency in analytics—the ability to parse large quantities of data, translate analytic insight into action, and influence key business decisions—is an essential skill needed to be successful within modern organizations,” Michelle Li, director of the certificate and the MBAn program, said in a press release. “Students at MIT Sloan want to learn how to work with multi-disciplinary teams and use analytical tools to make more informed business decisions.”
MIT Sloan students who choose to take part in the new Business Analytics Certificate program will receive hands-on management experience and on-the-ground practice. They’ll work on live analytical projects for companies such as DHL and Facebook to solve real-life business challenges. Students will also choose from a wide range of electives within a vertical of their interest, including options in operations, finance, marketing, human capital, healthcare, and sustainability.
One example of a new class within the certificate program is “Machine Learning: Algorithms, Applications, and Computation.” This course covers the fundamental methods of machine learning and includes topics such as regression, classification, algorithms for missing data, and deep learning. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with a range of state-of-the-art approaches to machine learning.
Students in the MBA, Executive MBA, Master of Finance, and Sloan Fellows programs are all eligible to take part in the Business Analytics Certificate program.
Increasing Demand for Data Science and Business Analytics
Over the last year, applications to MIT Sloan’s MBAn degree have more than doubled, from 300 to 800, making it the most competitive degree at MIT Sloan, with a 4 percent admissions rate. Part of the degree’s popularity is due to the broad range of industries where a business analytics degree is helpful: marketing, finance, healthcare, logistics, insurance, e-commerce, and manufacturing. In fact, according to an IBM report, job openings for data professionals are expected to increase by 364,000 to more than 2.7 million by 2020.
“Every industry is waking up to the power of analytics, and companies need people who can use business data to make decisions and predictions that will bring value to their organizations,” said Georgia Perakis, MIT Sloan management professor. Employers, such as Amazon, McKinsey, the Boston Consulting Group, and IBM Watson, among many others, are very interested in hiring our students for data science roles.”
