McCormick Announces New Master of Science in Analytics Program, Starting Fall 2012

 
From helping companies make data-driven business decisions to building state-of-the-art databases, the demand for workers skilled in data analytics is skyrocketing in today’s marketplace. To prepare students for this growing field, the McCormick School of Engineering will introduce a new master’s degree program in fall 2012: the Master of Science in Analytics (MSiA) program.

“It is clear that we have to be prepared to deal with an amazing degree of complexity and change,” said Julio M. Ottino, dean of the McCormick School of Engineering. “There are two ways to deal with that change: through analysis and rationality on one side and intuition on the other. Analytics provides a new tool set to bridge the gap between the two.”

Housed in McCormick’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, the 15-month MSiA program will combine math and statistics with instruction in advanced computational and data analysis. The small cohort program will offer students unprecedented access to faculty and resources and a place in a professional network when graduates take the next step into industry.

While other master’s programs tend to be focused on one aspect of analytics – such as modeling or data mining – McCormick’s MSiA curriculum is more comprehensive. Under the guidance of full-time, tenured faculty and prominent industry leaders, students will learn to identify patterns and trends; interpret and gain insights from vast quantities of structured and unstructured data; and communicate their findings in practical, useful terms. Each student will complete a summer internship, choosing from a variety of industries, and the program will culminate with a capstone project provided by an industry partner.

Upon completion of the program, graduates will possess the skills that drive business success, and they will be capable of leading project teams and communicating the business implications of their work. They may go on to become lead analysts for Fortune 500 firms, statistical modeling analysts, communications and media analysts, consultants, or systems engineers.

“We conceived this program because we recognized that there aren’t enough trained individuals in this rapidly growing field,” said Diego Klabjan, associate professor of industrial engineering and management sciences and director of the MSiA program. “McCormick is at the cutting edge in analytics, and we are looking forward to starting the program next fall.”

The MSiA program is designed for recent graduates whose studies are in a related field (engineering, science, or business) who want to start their careers from a position of strength, with wider job opportunities and higher earning potential.

For more information, visit www.analytics.northwestern.edu.