The request to establish a Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics

Date: November 18, 2016
To: Belk College of Business
From: Office of Academic Affairs
Approved On: October 14, 2016
Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Fall 2017

Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.

Catalog Copy

The Business Analytics Certificate provides students with a foundation in business analytics. The aim of the certificate is to satisfy the large and rapidly increasing demand in the marketplace for data-driven decision making in business. Students will learn how to understand and apply data analytics techniques in business decisions. Demand for these skills has been driven predominantly by exponential growth in the generation of unstructured data by consumers — often referred to as the “Big Data Revolution.” Students considering graduate study in business analytics will learn how to turn abstract data into important information that can be used in business decisions. The certificate program requires completion of 12 graduate credit hours of coursework in business analytics (4 courses).

Admission Requirements

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, the following are required for graduate study in Business Analytics:

  • A bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, from a regionally accredited college or university.
  • GPA of at least 2.75 (based on a 4.0 scale) on all previous work completed beyond high school (secondary school).
  • An online application through the Graduate School’s application system.
  • A statement of purpose.
  • Unofficial transcripts of all college course work attempted.
  • Official and satisfactory scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), if English is not the applicant’s native language and he or she has not earned a post-secondary degree from a U.S. institution.

Program Description

The Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics requires completion of 12 semester hours of 6000-level courses in business and marketing analytics. Transfer credits are not accepted into the Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics program. Students must earn a grade of B or above in all four courses that make up the certificate program.

This 12-credit certificate program consists of:

Core Requirement (6 credit hours):

  • MBAD 6201 Business Intelligence and Analytics (3)
  • MBAD 6276 Consumer Analytics (3)

Plus 2 of the following elective courses (6 credit hours):

  • MBAD 6122 Decision Modeling and Analysis via Spreadsheets (3)
  • MBAD 6207 Business Project Management (3)
  • MBAD 6211 Advanced Business Analytics (3)
  • MBAD 6212 Enterprise Systems (3)
  • MBAD 6213 Applied Healthcare Business Analytics (3)
  • MBAD 6272 Marketing Analysis and Decision Making (3)
  • MBAD 6277 Social Media Marketing and Analytics (3)
  • MBAD6283 Mobile Marketing and Analytics (3)
  • MBAD 6278 Innovation Analytics (3)
  • MBAD 7090 Big Data Analytics for Competitive Advantage (3)