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What Do You Learn With a Master’s Degree in Data Analytics?

You can be part of this revolution… if you have the skills, training, and credentials. A Master of Science in Data Analytics program offers all three. Image from Unsplash

Eddie Huffman January 25, 2023

The expertise in data analytics you develop through a master's program can help you advance in such diverse fields as machine learning, data visualization, financial analytics, and bioinformatics.

In this course, participants learn core principles, concepts, and methods of continuous improvement and explore the history of continuous improvement efforts. In a series of lectures, Master Black Belt in Six Sigma Shane Wentz, Ph.D., enables learners to enhance, optimize, and stabilize business processes and to augment quality control through varied methodologies. Participants gain the skills and knowledge to reimagine internal processes, engage in advanced problem-solving, and empower employees. The course covers high-level foundational principles of Lean, Six Sigma, and DMAIC processes before diving deep into Lean Six Sigma methods. Learners will analyze the tools of process mapping, Kaizen (a continuous improvement method/tool deemed a prerequisite for Lean transformation success), Lean (a continuous improvement philosophy that emphasizes streamlined workflows and reducing waste), and the process improvement methodology driving DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.

Entrepreneurs fostering new ventures outside of well-developed entrepreneurial ecosystems like Silicon Valley face significant challenges. These markets are unlike Silicon Valley, and they will likely remain so. That doesn't mean they can't nurture and sustain new businesses. In transitioning markets that lack abundant private sector financing, creative approaches from government officials, donors, and business leaders can fill the void to support entrepreneurial activity. Northeast Ohio (where Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University are located) has become a laboratory for such innovative solutions. During our time together in this course, we will explore some of these creative approaches to promoting regional entrepreneurship. Northeast Ohio has seen a massive infusion of government and donor resources for over ten years. In that time, Northeast Ohio has promoted regional development (including job creation and follow-on funding) through alternative methods of financing startups. It has not been easy. The region has made progress, but it remains to be seen whether it has struck upon an enduring formula. A dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem takes many years, even decades, to develop. Government policymakers and donors typically seek quicker returns on their support programs, which makes long-term support for entrepreneurship challenging. This course includes case studies and first-person testimonials from entrepreneurs who have launched products and services ranging from medical devices to LED lights to whiskey. You will learn how these entrepreneurs discovered and procured resources from various programs and intermediary organizations. You will hear from business people still in the process of developing their companies as well as those whose ventures have flourished. Our focus will extend beyond Cleveland to selected markets around the world, including Greece, Vietnam, Tunisia, Argentina, Rwanda and China. You will learn about international incentives and other supports available to developing startups and small businesses across the globe. This course examines how different communities around the world approach implementing strategies and methods to support businesses. I will ask you to reflect on how to apply the principles we learn to growing entrepreneurship where you live. The social interactive features of the online platform will enable students from around the world to share ideas and learn from one another. Most MOOCs rebroadcast professors’ lectures; this course is different. Don’t expect to see me standing in front of the camera, talking and lecturing every module. Instead, the lectures will be relatively short in length. They have more of the feel of an engaging documentary than a static classroom setting. ## __What type of person takes the *Beyond Silicon Valley* course?__ - Active and aspiring businesspeople in communities looking to initiate new startup ecosystems or bolster existing ones - Current and prospective entrepreneurs who want to learn about funding sources, risk management, and the lifecycle of startups - Professionals who work in government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, philanthropic institutions, and various private funds that fund startups - Anyone curious about how to create and grow startup ecosystems outside the major tech hubs - The principles Beyond Silicon Valley teaches have been drawn from and applied to startups worldwide, from small villages to megalopolises. You'll study success stories spanning the globe from Vietnam to Kosovo to Botswana. ## __What will you learn in *Beyond Silicon Valley*?__ - How and where startups can find funding to get their businesses off the ground - What role government can play in encouraging startups and a healthy startup ecosystem - How anchor institutions such as universities and healthcare systems participate in startup ecosystems - How nongovernmental organizations support startups - How to raise funds from venture capitalists, angel investors, and accelerators - How to navigate challenging periods in the startup lifecycle - The importance of mentoring in successful startups

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Forbes calls data "the oil of the fourth industrial revolution." That's an apt comparison: it's the power source without which the rest of the revolution is possible.

Data science and analytics have shaken up the worlds of finance, medicine, business, and government, culling useful information from the 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created every day by 4.66 billion internet users. Data analysts help organizations identify problems and make important decisions about which investments to make, which products to develop, which markets to explore, and which customers to target.

"Gone are the days when traditional financial reporting, such as the profit-and-loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow, and simple variance analysis are enough," says EY (formerly Ernst & Young), one of the world's Big Four accounting firms. "Business leaders are now looking for in-depth insights that allow them to connect business activity to long-term value, model scenarios in real-time, and efficiently allocate resources."

In medicine, data science and artificial intelligence allow medical personnel to focus more on personalized patient care and improved efficiency and profitability. "AI frees up doctors and other healthcare professionals to focus on the patient, where momentarily they are spending 75 percent of their time analyzing data and doing paperwork," says Patrick Bangert, VP of AI at Samsung SDSA, which specializes in enterprise software solutions. "Patients have to wait four to six weeks, unaware of the results of a biopsy. If those are available instantly the treatment can begin sooner, leading to better outcomes."

In business, Mastercard teamed up with Google to track retail sales based on transactions. "This shows that Google's collaboration with financial services players is raising the bar for a new, innovative way of working," according to the Accenture Banking Blog. "An understanding of the right data sources can drive new product design decisions."

The U.S. government made a $10 million investment in data storage in 2021 "to consolidate their data analytics infrastructure into a single, flash-based storage system that will support the needs of grand-challenge data science," according to VAST Data, the creator of the storage platform. The upgraded system should "unlock the secrets hidden within vast reserves of biological, population and health data."

You can be part of this revolution… if you have the skills, training, and credentials. A Master of Science in Data Analytics program offers all three. What will you learn in a data analytics master's program? This article answers that question. It also covers the following topics:

Why get a master's degree in data analytics?
What will you learn in a data analytics master's program?
Can you get a master's degree in data analytics online?
Master of Science in Data Analytics admissions requirements

Why get a master's degree in data analytics?

A decade ago, Harvard Business Review called data scientist "the sexiest job of the 21st century." Ten years on, that assessment still holds, as data science and analytics continue to break new ground and open new career opportunities.

Who hires people with data analytics degrees? A study by Burning Glass, IBM, and the Business Higher Education Forum found the most job openings in:

Finance and insurance
Professional, scientific, and technical services
Information
Management of companies and enterprises
Manufacturing

Regardless of the field, most data analytics jobs share a few common requirements, according to Talend, a company that provides cloud data integration and integrity solutions for organizations. They include:

The ability to tell a story with numbers
Some coding experience, particularly with SQL
Communication skills and curiosity
The ability to effectively sort and clean data

Carl Howe is director of education at RStudio, which provides open-source and enterprise tools for use with the R programming language, a key analytics tool. He spoke to Talend about the importance of getting into the weeds when it comes to data: "One irony of both data science and analytics is that while you need to know a great deal about models and machine learning, you could spend a great deal of your time cleaning real-world data before you analyze it. It's the old story of 'garbage in, garbage out.' You need clean data to work with before you can model it."

Job prospects in data analytics include:

Analytics associate
Big data analyst
Big data analytics architect
Big data analytics business consultant
Big data engineer
Big data solution architect
Business analyst
Business intelligence and analytics consultant
Clinical or healthcare data analyst
Data analyst
Data architect
Data engineer
Director of analytics
Financial analyst
IT analyst
Market research analyst
Metrics and analytics specialist
Operations research analyst
Pricing analyst
Risk management analyst
Sales analyst
Systems analyst

Not only can a master's degree in data analytics open career doors, it can also enhance valuable skills that extend beyond your profession. These include problem solving, communication, and leadership, according to SAS, a developer of analytics tools. If you're intellectually curious, know something about programming, and have strong math skills and an analytical mind, this could be your field.

What will you learn in a data analytics master's program?

We've already looked at some of the big-picture lessons you'll learn while earning a master's in data analytics, such as problem solving, communication, and telling a story with numbers. Master's programs offer a mix of hard and soft skills.

At Butler University, for example, students learn "technical skills, like predictive analytics and effective visualization techniques, and enhance their soft skills, like critical reasoning and ethical decision-making, through an interdisciplinary curriculum."

Let's take a deeper dive into the broad spectrum of coursework you can expect.

Core curriculum

First, the tech side. In addition to fundamental data analysis classes, expect to take such classes as:

Conceptual Foundations of Information and Data
Python Programming and Data Management
Introduction to Data Mining
Advanced Analytics, Predictive Modeling, and Decision Making
Programming and Data Structures
Applied Machine Learning
Database Design and SQL
Harvesting, Storing, and Retrieving Data
Decision Management Systems
Data Management and Data Visualization
Predictive Modeling
Big Data Analytics

Electives and specializations

If you specialize in business analytics, classes may include:

Introduction To Business Analytics
Marketing Analytics
Supply Chain Analytics
Data and Visual Analytics
Management Consulting

Some schools offer a health data analytics concentration with courses like:

Utilization of Health Data
Healthcare Data Literacy and Analytics
Information Systems for Healthcare Management
Health Services Administration

Other concentrations include statistics, management, artificial intelligence, data engineering, digital retailing, and computational data analytics.

Then there are electives that help deepen your data analytics skills. Sample courses include:

Applied Probability Modeling for Data Analytics
Bayesian Deep Learning
Deep Learning with Big Data
Deep Neural Networks
Intelligent Systems and Robotics
Probability
Time Series Analysis and Forecasting

Many schools require completion of a hands-on capstone project, such as working with a team to solve a business problem or creating a technical work proposal.

Master of Science in Data Analytics admissions requirements

Requirements vary from school to school, but the following are common:

A minimum GPA from your bachelors' degree
Completion of classes in (or knowledge of) calculus, probability/statistics, basic linear algebra, and a high-level programming language such as Python, a key analytics tool
GRE or GMAT scores
Resume
An essay or interview
Two or more letters of recommendation from sources like a recent supervisor or professional colleagues.

Can you get a master's degree in data analytics online?

Online master's degree programs abound, offering part-time and full-time options and typically taking two to three years to complete. Here are a few of the many universities where you can obtain a data analytics master's degree from the comfort of your own hometown: