MS in Business Analytics
Online Master's Degree Program

You may need to take some general education courses in mathematics. If you have completed prior mathematics gen eds, you may be able to transfer credits and fulfill that requirement in the curriculum.

Our core business analytics coursework does not contain any advanced math courses. Your analytical capabilities aren’t necessarily tied to your ability to perform advanced mathematical calculations.

Our undergraduate Business Statistics course does cover measurements like mean/median/mode, standard deviation, and variance. However, you won’t regularly encounter any types of math you may remember from high school or another college course, such as algebra, trigonometry, or calculus.

The MBA curriculum centers mainly around leadership and business administration skills emphasizing business analytics.

A Master of Science in Business Analytics curriculum places greater emphasis on a hard business analytics skillset and technical application of data.

Our MBA curriculum contains courses covering leadership, team dynamics, economics, corporate financial strategy, and project management. An MBA curriculum may have a single introductory course combining predictive analysis, machine learning, big data, or data visualization—while an MS curriculum may split each of those topics into their own full courses.

Data analysts can be found in just about every industry, including the financial industry, market research, healthcare, government, education, and IT. Some analysts work in an office setting, while others may work remotely from home.

Some data analysts choose to work as an independent consultant on a freelance or project basis. They may provide research or even training for companies on an as-needed basis.

Some potential data analytics job titles include:

• Data Analyst
• Business Analyst
• Computer Support Specialist
• Database Administrator
• Network Engineer

Both business and data analysts usually work between a business team and a technology team, though their precise roles between those teams are unique. In some roles you may be asked to wear both hats, while larger organizations may have a more fleshed out structure in how they organize business vs. data analysts.

A data analyst may prepare the specifications and requirements for a project while business analysts actually execute the details of the project. Business analyst responsibilities commonly include directly interfacing with stakeholders, while data analysts may report primarily to a business analyst or project manager.

Generally speaking, data analysts spend a greater percentage of their time engaged in technical tasks while business analysts focus their energy on the bigger picture with an emphasis on people management rather than technical proficiency.

Business analytics can be a great career choice for analytically minded business professionals who may prefer leading meetings and communicating data insights as opposed to coding/programming or regularly working deeply with spreadsheets or databases.

Yes, working from home is a possibility for jobs in business analysis. However, every company and job are different and may have unique requirements for entry-level roles.

Succeeding in a career in data analytics requires soft skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, mathematical and analytical thinking, attention to detail, creativity and ingenuity. A great data analyst has a knack for identifying the key takeaways from a dataset and understand how to communicate it to many different types of people, from fellow analysts to C-suite executives looking for actionable insights.

Every job will come with its own requirements for technical skills and programming languages, including SQL, Python, SAS, Git, Excel, R, or many more.

Some jobs with a business emphasis may place a higher value on your ability to communicate the numbers rather than crunch them. Data analytics can become a valid career path for students with all sorts of different educational and professional backgrounds, such as going from accountant to data analyst.

Data analysts can wear many hats. We offer educational programs in business analytics across the spectrum of business and technology to equip students with the tools necessary to thrive in a wide variety of potential career pathways.

Potential salary in the field can vary significantly given the relevance of a business analytics curriculum to many different types of jobs. 

We’ve designed our curriculum to align with these occupational categories as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:* 

• Data scientists (source): $108,660 average salary per year ($52.24 per hour)
• Management analysts (source): $115,530 average salary per year ($55.54 per hour)
• Market research analysts (source): $76,080 average salary per year ($36.58 per hour)

Please keep in mind these do not represent entry-level salary estimates. Pay can vary by location, education level, years of experience, and specific job duties. Average salaries are typically higher than median figures, indicating the largest group earns below average—but also indicates excellent earning potential should you achieve excellence as a business analyst.

Yes! You can develop the career-focused knowledge and skills to excel in the field right from the start – and build a great foundation to climb the ladder in the future. 

Enroll in a bachelor’s degree program with Herzing University and you can potentially earn dual credit towards an MBA.