York’s Schulich School of Business will launch Canada’s first Master of Science in Business Analytics in September, one of just a few master’s-level programs worldwide in this rapidly growing and highly sought after discipline.
Business analytics – the art and science of advanced statistical analysis popularized by the movie Moneyball and the bestselling book, Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning – 
is a tool increasingly used by businesses looking to gain a competitive edge.
Murat Kristal
“The Schulich Master of Science in Business Analytics will fast-track students with a background in engineering, computer science or math to leverage their skill sets for business,” says Murat Kristal, program director of Schulich’s Master of Science in Business Analytics and a professor of Operations Management & Information Systems.
Ninety-seven per cent of companies with revenues of more of $100 million are now entering this new frontier, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Business analytics is also the fastest growing category of global IT software expenditure, according to a recent Forrester Research study, and a McKinsey & Company report forecasts a shortage of professionals in the field of business analytics by 2018.
“Business analytics is one of the most sought-after skill sets in the business world right now. It’s the new business frontier,” says Schulich alumnus Babar Chaudhry, vice-president, financial planning, marketing analytics & strategy at a major Canadian international bank. “Companies are capturing vast amounts of data on their customers, products and the environment, but they need more highly trained professionals to analyze and identify patterns and trends for value creation; value creation for their customers as well as their shareholders.”
Schulich’s intensive program will combine mathematical and statistical study with instruction in advanced computational and data analysis to ferret out the data that drives decision-making in business. During the final semester, students will be embedded within business operations to work on real-world, real-time data analysis projects.
Business analytics students will learn to identify patterns and trends; interpret and gain insight from vast quantities of structured and unstructured data; and communicate their findings in practical, useful terms, says Kristal.
Students will emerge from Schulich’s Master of Science in Business Analytics program with skills in forecasting, business intelligence and data mining, and optimization and simulation. Graduates will be qualified to apply for a wide variety of career positions as managers, consultants and analysts in the fields of strategy, research, marketing and sales.
For more information, visit the Schulish School of Business’ MSc in Business Analytics website or contact Schulich School of Business Professor Murat Kristal, program director of the Master of Science in Business Analytics, at ext. 44593 or mkristal@schulich.yorku.ca.