Rare, STEM-designated MBA in business analytics at UNT gets green light for fall 2019

Friday, September 28, 2018 - 09:38
Category:
Two College of Business students study outside of the Business Leadership Building.
Two College of Business students study outside of the Business Leadership Building.

DENTON (UNT), Texas — One of the nation’s first Master of Business Administration degrees in business analytics designed around the STEM fields has been approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Starting August 2019, students can begin taking classes for the program through the University of North Texas College of Business.      

“We are now one of the only M.B.A. degrees in the U.S. with a STEM-designation,” said Leon Kappelman, chair of the UNT Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences. “The beauty of this unique configuration is that students not only get a strong foundation in business analytics, but they will also graduate with a core-management foundation and that is great for those who aspire to managerial and C-suite positions.”

For international students, the categorization as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program by the U.S. federal government, gives graduates the eligibility to work for 36 months under the Optional Practical Training program, instead of the usual 12 months for graduates of non-STEM degrees.

The new M.B.A. coincides with the department’s Bachelor of Business Administration in business analytics and it’s Master of Science degrees in business analytics, which also became STEM designated several years ago.

According to Kappelman, the M.B.A. in business analytics, is intended for technical professionals who want to move into a managerial career path and lead the teams that solve problems related to analytics and data science.

“The M.B.A. in business analytics would be ideal for someone who already has some management experience and/or a background in analytics,” said Kashif Saeed, director of master’s programs and principal lecturer for the Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences. “Whereas, the M.S. in business analytics is a specialist degree, targeted at line managers and professionals interested in technical jobs in analytics.”   

Among the courses for the M.B.A. and the M.S. options in business analytics, students will take classes in big data, strategic use of information technology, model-based decision making, artificial intelligence, and the enterprise applications of business intelligence. Students will be prepared for careers in a wide range of analytical specializations including data science, business intelligence, social media analysis, data mining and data engineering.

 Both online and traditional, face-to-face courses will be available. Additionally, classes will be held for both programs on the Denton campus and in Frisco.

For information about degree programs in the Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences: https://cob.unt.edu/itds/academics/degree-programs.

 

UNT News Service
News_Service@unt.edu
(940) 565-2108