Business Analytics / Master of Science

Degree Description 

The M.S. in Business Analytics degree seeks to provide students with quantitative and data analytics skills to solve complex business problems and develop corporate strategy by exploring relationships in an organization’s “big data” and predictive decision modeling. Through hands-on experiences with the tools and technologies the curriculum seeks to provide a student with a foundation in technology, management, marketing, finance and analytics. The coursework is specifically designed to encompass both managerial functions and technical details in a number of areas such as:

• Quantitative methods as they apply to the problems of business management, marketing, finance and economics.
• Design, deployment, management, and security of database systems.
• Data mining and business intelligence tools for informed decision making using scenarios from finance, CRM, operations, social media marketing, information systems and other disciplines.
• Business decision making techniques such as decision trees, classification, clustering, segmentation and decision support systems.
• Procedural and substantive areas of law, regulation and compliance requirements that impact business.
• Business requirements, feasibility analysis and development of logical data warehouse models for business data.
• Marketing strategies creation and implementation. 
• Corporate finance theory from a management perspective. Analysis of financial statements, mergers and acquisitions and leasing.

Program Outcomes

• Analyze and use several quantitative models for developing business decisions.
• Evaluate a business solution and build a database application that is used to store and retrieve data.
• Analyze and use several data analysis techniques for advanced business intelligence
• Attain a working knowledge of data mining tools used for business decisions.
• Develop the data architecture for the implementation and administration of the data warehouse.
• Understand and use marketing concepts to develop a data-driven marketing strategy.
• Understand the core financial concepts, including: Corporate Governance, the Capital Budgeting process, and evaluation methodologies. Manipulate controllable variables for a desired financial purpose.

Full Admission Status

Degree candidates must:

1. Hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
2. Complete an application for graduate admission, including a non-refundable application fee. Apply online by visiting lewisu.edu/apply
3. Submit official transcripts from each college or university attended. (Not required for Alumni.)
4. Have an undergraduate GPA ≥ 3.0 or GMAT ≥ 550.
5. Submit a professional resumé.
6. Provide two recommendation forms, available from the Graduate School of Management online or by phone at [phone].  (One required for Alumni.)  Letters of recommendation are also accepted.
7. Complete the orientation checklist with a member of the Graduate School of Management.

Degree-Seeking Candidate

A degree-seeking candidate is a student who has an undergraduate GPA of ≥3.0 or GMAT ≥ 550 ; OR has a post-graduate degree from an accredited university; AND has submitted all appropriate admission documents, and has received official documentation of acceptance.

Visiting Student

An applicant with an undergraduate bachelor’s degree may enroll in MSBA courses and seminars as a visiting student with the approval of the MSBA program director.

A visiting student may take a maximum of six graduate credit hours and must have:

1. A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
2. Submitted a completed application form with the appropriate non-refundable application fee. Apply online by visiting lewisu.edu/apply
3. An official transcript from each college/university attended sent directly to the MBA Admissions Committee of the Graduate School of Management.
4. Complete the orientation checklist with a member of the Graduate School of Management.
5. An undergraduate GPA ≥ 3.0 or GMAT ≥ 550.

Students Educated Outside of the United States

International applicants must satisfy specific requirements before the application will be considered, and before an I-20 will be issued. The requirements include:

1. U.S. bachelor’s equivalent if a bachelor’s degree was obtained outside the U.S., and official transcript evaluation by One Earth Evaluations, W.E.S. ,E.C.E or Educational Perspectives.
2.  A minimum score of 550 on the paper based TOEFL or 79 on Internet-based, or IELTS score of 6.0.
3. Students with a cumulative undergraduate GPA below 3.0 must fulfill the admission criteria required for full degree candidacy (see Student-at-Large/Conditional). Students who are educated outside of the U.S. who have obtained U.S. citizenship or resident alien status are not required to fulfill full degree candidacy prior to beginning the program, but may be required to show English proficiency.
4. Submission of all financial documentation and requirements of issuance of I-20.

Grading

MSBA students must achieve a 3.0 GPA (B average) overall for MSBA coursework. If any grade of D is received for any MSBA course, the grade will not count toward degree requirements and the course must be repeated.

Students whose GPA falls below the required 3.0 minimum will be placed on probation for the following eight-week session.  Students who do not successfully increase their GPA to 3.0 after the probationary eight-week session will be subject to academic dismissal.  

Transfer of Graduate Credit

A student entering the Lewis MSBA program with appropriate prior graduate coursework in business may have a maximum of nine credit hours beyond the foundation level applied to Lewis MSBA course requirements.

Course credits eligible for transfer consideration must meet the following criteria:

1. All transfer credit must have been earned within an eight-year period prior to matriculation in the Lewis MSBA program.
2. The coursework must have been completed at a regionally accredited graduate school.
3. A minimum grade of B must have been earned for the course.
4. The coursework must have an equivalent in the Lewis MSBA curriculum.

Time Commitment

Graduate level study requires a significant commitment of time. Because of the concentrated, eight-week course schedule, it is crucial that students attend all class meetings. Students should expect two to three hours of homework for every class hour. Thus, a three-credit-hour class may result in a substantial number of study hours.

Assignments must be submitted on time, or a course grade could be jeopardized. Although most instructors will try to make arrangements for a student whose work demands travel, this may not be possible in all cases. Students are responsible for informing instructors in advance of known absences and as soon as possible in the case of emergencies. Two or more unexcused absences in an 8-week session can result in a grade of F .

Course Load

The Graduate School of Management strongly recommends that students who are employed full-time enroll in no more than one course each eight-week session, for a total of six credit hours per semester.

A course load of three classes (nine credit hours) each semester is considered full-time, and is only advised for students who are not employed or are only minimally employed.

Immunizations

Please see Immunization Law.

Outcomes Assessment

The program reserves the right to require students to participate in institutional testing programs as part of ongoing assessment of student outcomes. All MSBA and MSF students must complete the Major Field Test (MFT) exam during the last semester prior to graduation.

Course Meetings/Times

Classes usually meet once a week during weekday evenings or on Saturday mornings. Some courses are offered online.

Class Attendance

Students are expected to attend scheduled classes regularly. This expectation presumes a mature student’s interest in maximizing the opportunity to profit from the instructor’s expertise, planned class activities, and the interchange with peers. It also presumes the student’s responsibility to contribute to the quality of intellectual interaction in the class. Each instructor specifies the class attendance policy in the course syllabus at the beginning of each course. A student registered for a Saturday course may not register for a weekend MBA seminar.

Time Frame for Completion of Degree Requirements

Attending classes part-time, an MSBA student generally completes all degree requirements in two to three years (including summers). A full-time student should be able to complete all degree requirements in one to two years. The maximum time allowed to complete all degree requirements is seven consecutive years from the date of matriculation.

Graduation Requirements

Upon completion of the following eight requirements, students will be awarded the MBA degree:

1. The degree candidacy admission standard.
2. Phase I - Foundation Course requirements.
3. Phase II - Core Course requirements.
4. Phase III - Functional Areas of Concentration Course requirements.
5. Phase IV - Capstone Course
6. A minimum 3.0 GPA.
7. Satisfaction of all financial obligations to Lewis University.
8. An Application for Graduation completed and submitted to the Registrar’s office.

Withdrawing from a Course

Students should consult with the MBA advisor and the course instructor when considering withdrawal from a course. Please see Withdrawal Policies.

Incomplete Grade

Please see Incomplete Grade.

Degree Offered: Master of Science

Total credit hours required: 36

Curriculum

I. Foundation (3)

Students who have not completed a business undergraduate degree will be required:

67-520

Fundamentals of the Business Enterprise

3

II. Core Courses (21)

67-504	Quantitative Methods of Business	3
67-679	Business Intelligence & Data Analysis	3
67-594	Database Management	3
67-536	Business Data Warehousing	3
67-530	Legal & Ethical Issues in Information Security	3
67-538	Visualizing Information	3
67-540	Data Mining for Business Decisions	3

III. Concentration Courses (9)

Select one:

Marketing Analytics

67-568	Marketing Management	3
67-605	Social Media Analytics	3
67-590	Marketing Research	3

Financial Analytics

67-572	Managerial Finance	3
67-604	Quantitative Techniques for Financial Markets	3
-	Choose one of the following elective courses (3)
67-579	Investment Analysis	3
67-584	Derivatives I	3
67-585	Financial Management Strategies	3

Healthcare Analytics

67-675	Introduction to Healthcare Informatics	3
67-676	HC Data Security, Privacy and Confidentiality	3
67-677	HC Data Analysis & Design	3

Operations Analytics

67-562	Operations Management	3
67-564	Coordinating & Managing Supply Chains	3
67-569	Supply Chain Management Analytics	3

IV. Capstone (3)

67-695

Business Analytics Capstone

3