Data is one of the most powerful resources for improving processes and performance for businesses who’ve invested in skilled data analysts.
The Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business prepares students for the current and future landscape to draw valuable insights and implement optimal improvements in operations, procedures, and policies. Our Online Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program focuses equally on both tools and techniques, putting students to work on real industry projects centered on problems in business analytics derived either from outside organizations or Purdue University. Foundational courses elevate your technical and communication skills and a variety of electives allow you to tailor your studies to achieve your aspirations.
Online MSBA students must complete 30 hours of coursework including core data and information courses, industry-specific electives for specialization, and general business electives to round out your business acumen.
This course provides Daniels School students pursuing business careers an opportunity to apply the knowledge learned from their studies in an applicable area. This course is designed to polish and integrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities you have developed from your coursework by successfully developing a solution with an industry partner in a structured fashion. Thus, you will devote most of your time to working with your project teammates to provide the answers and deliverables specified by the partner over the semester. Your project team will be given a project description. In some cases, a data dictionary and access to datasets may be provided by the company (e.g., in a data analytics project or an HR project). Whereas, in other cases, the data may have to be searched for from external sources (e.g., market research, or strategic fore-sighting exercises). By the end of this course, you will have developed and presented a solution to a challenging industry problem in an agile fashion.
This is a second course in machine learning. After studying the fundamental concepts and essential machine learning tools in Machine Learning I, this follow-up course will go over a range of more advanced topics and learning methods. Topics include support vector machines, deep learning and neural networks, principal components analysis and other unsupervised learning methods. As in the first course, we will be using the statistical software R and its packages extensively to implement various learning methods.
After completing this course, students will be able to:
Prerequisites: The prerequisite is ECON576 Statistical and Machine Learning. Students should also have a good working knowledge of programming (e.g., R, Matlab or Python). Students without any prior programming experience are strongly encouraged to go through the preparation materials for R programming thoroughly posted on Brightspace.
The main goal of this course is to extend the computational and programming toolkit developed in Quantitative Economics with Python. In particular, we will cover advanced methods for working with, visualizing and analyzing data in Python. In addition, we will consider more advanced programming techniques including stochastic optimization and infinite-horizon dynamic programming. Throughout the course we will consider a number of applications related to microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics covered in the MS Econ program curriculum.
In the past eighteen years, Excel spreadsheets have become the standard tool that business people use to model and analyze quantitative problems. The latest versions of these spreadsheet packages contain powerful analytical tools that could be possible only with mainframe computers and mathematically trained personnel more than a decade ago. This course covers up-to-date and practical spreadsheet modeling and simulation tools that can be applied to a wide variety of business problems in finance, marketing, and operations. The topical coverage mainly consists of the following four modules: (1) deterministic and stochastic optimization techniques to determine the best managerial actions under internally- and/or externally-imposed constraints; (2) probability distribution fitting techniques to find the most likely description of the uncertainty in future business; (3) simulation modeling techniques to discover and analyze the risk and uncertainty in business environment and processes; (4) application of spreadsheet modeling and simulation techniques in forecasting asset dynamics (stock price) and pricing options and real investment opportunities. This course provides hands-on experience of computer applications using Microsoft Excel and the spreadsheet add-ins @RISK, RISKOptimizer, SimQuick, etc.
Supply Chain Analytics focuses on data-driven and rigorous decision making in supply chain management, which is a complete problem solving and decision-making process that integrates a broad set of analytical methodologies that enables the creation of business value.
This course exposes students to RStudio and the R programming language as tools for data analytics. Students will develop a small portfolio of projects that demonstrate fundamental knowledge of programming, study reproducibility, data reshaping, exploratory data analysis, data visualization, and basic predictive modeling techniques such as regularization and shrinkage using R.
This course is an introduction to Financial Management. As such, the course addresses the two basic financial problems that all companies face: (1) On what should funds be spent (i.e., investment decisions)? and (2) From where should funds be obtained (i.e., financing decisions)? Specific topics include financial statement analysis, financial planning, stock and bond valuation, project analysis (i.e., capital budgeting), estimating the cost of capital, understanding capital structure, and estimating firm value. Readings, case analyses, and problem sets focus on the basic tools used by financial analysts and financial decision-makers.
The purpose of this course is to provide you with essential tools and concepts you need to help create and sustain needed change in your personal and/or professional life, your work teams and your organizations. The course is taught in an executive-style format intended for working future managers. Emphasis is placed on knowledge application and experiential learning.
This course is an introduction to Financial Management, approached from the view of a general manager. The objective of the course is to provide you with the conceptual and practical framework necessary to evaluate the financial impact of operating decisions. Readings, case analysis, and problem sets focus on the basic tools used by financial analysts and financial decision makers. The course is devoted to the two basic financial problems that all companies face: (1) On what should funds be spent (i.e., investment decisions)? and (2) From where should funds be obtained (i.e., financing decisions)? In this course, we consider such topics as financial statement analysis, financial planning, stock and bond valuation, project analysis (i.e., capital budgeting), estimating and using the cost of capital in practice, understanding the differences among financing alternatives, understanding financing decisions, and estimating the value of an operating business.
Leadership is essential to the realization of organizational goals. Successful leaders can inspire and enliven followers and influence them to pursue particular courses of action. This course focuses on leadership from a managerial perspective. Participants will explore leadership models, learn about current research findings, investigate examples of leadership in practice, and engage in developmental activities to evaluate and enhance their leadership skills.
Examine the nature of the legal environment from the viewpoint of the social and moral bases of law. Emphasis is given to the operation of our legal system and its significance in managerial decisions.
This course examines how the US economy functions and develops a theoretical framework permitting an analysis of the forces affecting national income, employment, unemployment, interest rates, and the rate of inflation. Emphasis is placed upon the role of government fiscal and monetary policy in promoting economic growth and stable prices. Throughout the semester we will discuss both the theory and the empirical evidence on aggregate macroeconomic measures; consumption, savings, and investment; labor supply and demand; employment and unemployment; economic growth; money and banking; and macroeconomic stabilization techniques.
The course “Managerial Economics and Business Strategy” studies optimal decision-making processes made by managers and policy makers within firms and other organizations. The course is based on microeconomics and applies advanced microeconomics related concepts with an emphasis on pricing strategies. The course covers topics such as monopolies (price discrimination, optimal pricing strategies), advanced strategic decision-making and imperfect competition (optimal pricing and production), new product introductions, product variety offered on the market, and entry deterrence strategies.
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the methods and frameworks necessary to execute strategic plans in a marketing context. Marketing managers must be able to properly identify the needs of their given consumer base and design strategic plans to align the different dimensions of the marketing mix, such as pricing, promotional campaigns, product characteristics, and the necessary distribution channels, while taking into consideration the offerings of the competitors. To this end, we offer an immersive course, which leverages both lectures and case discussions, to enhance the thought process and presentation of hallmark marketing frameworks.
This course covers microeconomic concepts relevant to managerial decision making. Topics may include demand and supply analysis; consumer demand theory; production theory; price discrimination; perfect competition; partial equilibrium welfare analysis; externalities and public goods; risk aversion and risk sharing; hidden information and market signaling; moral hazard and incentives; rudimentary game theory; oligopoly; reputation and credibility; and transaction cost economics.
Negotiations permeate every aspect of our lives both inside and outside companies. We negotiate with everyone from our spouses to potential employers, yet studies show this vast experience does not translate into aptitude. In other words, most of us simply are not good at negotiating, though we use the skill constantly. Despite popular opinion to the contrary, good negotiators are made, not born. In a course based on experiential learning using cases from Kellogg School of Management's Dispute Resolution Center, students will learn tools and techniques for maximizing their outcomes in both business and personal negotiations, an invaluable skill in today's globally competitive marketplace.
Individual and group behavior are the central components of the study of behavior in organizations. The focus of the course is on the managerial application of knowledge to issues such as motivation, group processes, leadership, organizational design structure, and others. The course employs cases, exercises, discussions, and lectures.
Strategic Management is concerned with understanding how organizations might achieve an advantage relative to competitors. In particular, it deals with the organization, management, and strategic positioning of the firm so as to gain long-term competitive advantage. To address this issue, we take on the role of general managers, or integrators – that is, managers who make decisions that cut across the functional and product boundaries of a firm. By focusing on what makes managers effective, we will develop the ability to evaluate different situations and give you usable skills regardless of the business context in which you want to work. Strategic management issues that we will consider include the following: How can my firm create value (e.g., low cost or differentiation; using resources; integrating activities correctly) relative to the competition? How do other players in the industry impact the amount of value I capture from my activities? How can the firm identify new opportunities for value creation and value capture and implement those activities within the firm? How can a corporation create (rather than destroy) economic value through its multimarket activities? What options are available to a firm to successfully diversify?
In addition to the traditional 2 or 3 credit general business courses, there are also "Essentials of" courses offered for many of these same courses, but in a condensed 4-week period. All “Essentials of” courses are 1 credit hour and cannot be used in conjunction with a 2 or 3 credit course that has already been completed (for example, you cannot use both MGMT 60000 - Accounting for Managers and MGMT 69000 - Essentials of Accounting towards fulfilling program credit hour requirements).
Students may choose elective courses to suit their individual interests. They may use as additional electives any MGMT, ECON or OBHR courses or credits that they have NOT used for filling other requirements.
The Online MSBA program at the Daniels School of Business helps students accelerate their careers with critical expertise to draw insights from the data on which organizations build successful strategies. You’ll apply management techniques, problem solving, programming skills, and the latest technologies to solve case studies, complete projects and learn to make informed decisions that translate across industries and organizations. With a wide variety of electives, you’ll acquire the skills you need to further your career and reach your aspirations.
If you would like to receive more information about the Online MS Business Analytics program at Purdue, please fill out the form and a program specialist will be in touch.
We are available to meet with you virtually to discuss how your goals align with our curriculum, community, student experiences, and outcomes to determine if Purdue is the right fit for you!
