New UBC Sauder business analytics program readies students to meet industry demand

IBM reports an estimated 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated globally every day - but despite the abundance of information, there remains a shortage of highly-skilled professionals who can analyze and interpret this data to make effective business decisions.

In 2015, global consultants Accenture reported that more than 90 per cent of the 1,000 global companies they surveyed expected to increase their expertise in business analytics. A study by McKinsey estimated that by 2018, demand for analytics professionals in the United States will be 50 to 60 per cent greater than the projected supply.

The UBC Sauder School of Business’s Robert H. Lee Graduate School aims to help meet this increasing need and prepare students for the growing opportunities available in this field through its new Master of Business Analytics (MBAN).

“To be competitive, organizations increasingly need employees who can guide business decisions with the sharp insights only data-driven analysis can afford,” explains UBC Sauder’s Dean Robert Helsley. “With the Master of Business Analytics, we’re helping produce a new generation of business leaders who can bring order and strategic value to organizations and the larger economy.”

Unique in Western Canada, the MBAN integrates a rigorous technical training in data and decision analytics with a deep understanding of business from marketing to operations. Candidates can also pursue summer consulting internships that provide applied experience with UBC Sauder industry partners in areas such as aviation, tech, healthcare and telecommunications.

“UBC Sauder’s MBAN builds on an award-winning tradition of business analytics education and research that has established the school as a major global centre in the field,” explains MBAN academic lead Harish Krishnan, who notes that UBC Sauder won the 2015 UPS George D. Smith Prize, the highest honour awarded annually to schools that offer operations and advanced analytics programs.

The MBAN expands on the previously offered Master of Management in Operations Research, a small program averaging 15 students which produced graduates who went on to work for leading brands like Boeing, Microsoft, Tesla Motors, Deloitte and EA Sports.

“It is our hope that MBAN candidates will continue the successful tradition of our alumni who have almost all secured employment within three months of graduation – an excellent achievement and indication of the very high calibre of our analytics programming and students,” says Krishnan.

Background on the Master of Business Analytics:

Length of program: Nine months

First intake: September 2017 – May 2018

Students will complete 30 credits in courses such as data handling, decision analytics, data-driven marketing and supply chain management. Students can also apply to an optional summer analytics consulting internship that will give them the opportunity to work in teams with recognized companies and institutions. Academic Requirements: Bachelor’s degree with a 76 per cent average or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution. A GMAT score of 550 with at least a 50th percentile in the quantitative and verbal sections of the test, or GRE score of at least 150 on the verbal and quantitative section.