Msa

Institute for Advanced Analytics
MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN ANALYTICS
Preparing students for
Dr. Michael Rappa
professional success in the
Director
21st centur y by equipping
them with the tools they North Carolina State University
need in an ever-changing
June 2010
economy...
MSA
The Master of Science in Analytics (MSA)

is a professional master’s education that
focuses on the tools, methods and
applications of Advanced Analytics.
Established in 2007, it is the nation’s first
degree in Analytics.
Advanced Analytics covers a broad

spectrum of activities, which include:
data collection and integration,
statistical methods and models, and
complex processes for enterprise-wide
decision making.
“Companies are increasingly turning to

analytics to gain a competitive edge. As
they do, they must resolve unique demands
on their information technology, their
structure, their processes, and their culture.
Most critical, however, is the challenge
posed by analytical talent, the people at all
levels who help turn data into better
decisions and better business results.”
Accenture, Counting on Analytical Talent, March 2010

As the need of analytics becomes more

widespread, there is mounting demand
for professionals with strong quantitative
skills coupled with an understanding of
how the techniques are applied to
business and the variety of critical tasks
facing decision-makers.
The Institute and the MSA degree

grew out of a campus initiative
launched in 2006 to address the
growing need for professionals who
can derive insight and understanding
through analysis of the large volumes
of data organizations collect.
How much data?

1.2 zettabytes (ZB)

The amount of digital data that will be
produced worldwide in 2010.*
(Measured in typewritten pages, this would
be enough to cover the earth 30 times over.)
*IDC Digital Universe Study, April 2010

40
35 ZB
30
In one decade the
amount of digital data
20
produced worldwide
is projected to be 30
times larger. 10
1.2 ZB
0
2010 2020
IDC Digital Universe Study, April 2010
Data everywhere...
...but a scarcity of talent with
the skills to make sense of it
and create value.
Addressing the need by

building a better education...
...the making of the MSA.
Every successful business succeeds by

understanding its customers’ needs
better than anyone else.
Listen to customers.
Who are our customers?

What do they want?
A: Students-- the best want...

a challenging and enriching
learning experience
to gain relevant skills that are in
high demand by employers
rapid time to degree completion
affordable tuition
A: Employers-- they want to hire professionals...
with strong analytical skills
who understand their business model
who work effectively in multifunctional teams
who have strong communication skills
who have hands-on experience with the kind
of complex analytical tools they use, and
who are productive from day one!
The MSA degree was created literally

from scratch in terms of structure and
content—a unique blend of statistics,
applied mathematics, computer science
and business disciplines—designed to meet
the specific needs of both students and
employers.
(...and the MSA continues to evolve to
meet these needs as they change.)
Fundamental design principles for the MSA...

max L (learning)
min TTC (time-to-completion)
cohort driven
focus on the practical
learn by doing
athlete/team/coaching model
I Advanced II
Knowledge
Ph.D.
The MSA is an
practical curriculum
focused on the
application of
Traditional MSA complex knowledge.
M.S.
Theoretical Applied
Knowledge Knowledge
B.S.
Foundational
III Knowledge IV
Increasing practicality 
Unlike conventional M.S. degree

programs, the MSA is not...
intended to be a prelude to a Ph.D.
theoretical in its focus
a research or teaching apprenticeship
The MSA program is QUICK TO COMPLETE...

10 months of intensive study
across 3 semesters (summer, fall, spring)
enroll in July, graduate the following May
no part-time, evening, or distance learning
(fine for those who place a value on
convenience, but not conducive to a first-
rate education in the minimum time)
The MSA education is DEMANDING...
students study full-time (M-F/9-5) on
campus
students march through an integrated
curriculum together as a single cohort
students work in teams throughout the
program
when not in class, students are typically
at work on projects or in study groups
Benefits of a cohort-based education...
evidence shows peer-to-peer learning to
be key success factor
teams provide an opportunity to hone
leadership and “followership” skills
frequent peer evaluation of performance
helps to guide individual improvement
it emulates the reality of today’s
workplace
The MSA education is PRACTICAL...
an integrated multidisciplinary curriculum
aimed at acquisition of practical skills that can
be applied to real world problems, drawing
on fields such as:
statistics
applied mathematics
computer science
operations research
finance & economics
marketing science
technical writing & communication
because students learn and use industry
standard analytics software tools
partner with leading tool vendor, SAS
faculty decide what tools are needed,
then tool skill training is done
separately, mostly during summer
semester
students master the tools and can
choose to obtain vendor certifications
because analytics is wasted unless results can
be effectively communicated. MSA students
receive rigorous training in communication:
60 hours of practical instruction taught
in small groups by industry trainer
focus on presentation techniques
students can earn certification as a
presenter
The MSA education is CHALLENGING...
over 20 faculty participate as lecturers
faculty deliver customized learning
modules based narrowly on their
expertise, not standardized courses
faculty focus exclusively on knowledge
transfer to students, not administrivia
classes are exclusive to MSA students
highly-qualified adjunct lecturers with
industry experience add practicality
The MSA education is LEARNING BY DOING...
Practicum replaces traditional M.S. thesis
students work in teams of 5 individuals
use real world problem and data provided
by industry sponsor (under NDA to protect
confidentiality)
highly structured, substantive work
conducted over 7-months
culminates in final report to the sponsor
Practicum projects vary each year and cover a
wide range of topics and industries, such as:
consulting
retail, including web
manufacturing
transportation
energy
banking & financial services
telecommunications
publishing
Analytics Courses and Topics
Summer Semester
AA 501 – Analytics Foundations (3 cr)
AA 570 – Analytics Laboratory (2 cr)
Fall Semester
AA 502 – Analytics Methods and Applications I (6 cr)
AA 504 – Analytics Practicum I (6 cr)
AA 591 – Special Topics in Analytics (1 cr)
Spring Semester
AA 503 – Analytics Methods and Applications II (6 cr)
AA 504 – Analytics Practicum II (6 cr)
AA501 AA570
ANALYTICS FOUNDATIONS ANALYTICS LABORATORY
Exploratory Data Analysis Data Querying and Reporting
Linear Regression Data Access and Management
Multiple Linear Regression Data Cleaning
Regression Diagnostics Basic Statistical Programming
Logistic Regression Data Mining / Text Mining
ANOVA Geospatial Data Analytics
Cluster Analysis Relational Databases
Analysis of Tables Statistical Analysis of Databases
Survey Data Analysis Web Analytics
Statistics Assessments Databases, Datamarts and
Data Warehouses
AA502, AA503
ANALYTICS METHODS AND APPLICATIONS I & II
Time Series and Advanced Data Mining

Forecasting Text Mining
Geospatial Data Analytics Marketing Science and
Linear and Matrix Algebra Customer Analytics
Data Mining Financial Analytics
Survival Data Analysis Risk Analytics
Logistic Regression Models Linear and Nonlinear
Statistical Methods for Programming
Process Improvement Web Analytics
AA504, AA505
ANALYTICS PRACTICUM I & II
Data Privacy Project Management

Data Security Data Visualization
Legal Issues Visual Communication of
Teamwork Data
Conflict Resolution Problem Solving
Leadership Technical Writing
Followership Consulting Skills
Every successful business succeeds by

understanding its customers’ needs better
than anyone else.
The same can be said of successful
professional education.
How successful is the MSA

program in meeting the needs
of students and employers?
The MSA experience is REWARDING...

students consistently rate the program
highly... mean 4.5/5.0 in terms of
overall quality and satisfaction
supportiveness of the staff and quality of
the facilities receive high marks
over 95% of MSA graduates are
inclined to recommend the degree
program to family, friends, or
colleagues
MSA graduates are in HIGH DEMAND...
despite the difficult economy demand
for talent in Analytics remains strong
for the third consecutive year over
90% of the MSA graduates had offers
of employment in the profession within
30 days of commencement.
students had on average 10 job
interviews and 2 job offers arranged
by the Institute— and one-quarter of
the job seekers had 4 or more offers
MSA graduates are HIGHLY VALUED...
average base salaries in 2010 reached
a record high of $83,500 — up $10,000
offers for experienced candidates
frequently topped $100,000
half the offers included a signing bonus
many sectors of the economy are hiring
MSAs, the strongest was consulting
interest among employers both large
and small
MSA graduates are HIGHLY VALUED...
Percent with one or more offers of employment
91
within 30-days of graduation
Number of employers interviewing 61

Number of employers hosted by Institute 38
Average number of interviews per student 10
Average number of job offers per student 2.3
Percent of graduates with 3 or more job offers 29
Average salary offer including signing bonus $94,000
Average salary offer not including signing bonus $83,500
Salary range on job offers $60,000- $150,000
Percent of offers that include signing bonuses 51
The MSA is a young degree in comparison

to the century-old MBA and is not
intended to mirror a traditional business
education.
However, employers have set a value for
the MSA that is on par with lucrative
graduate degrees in business.
MSA MBA
$90,000
$85,000
$80,000
MSA average salary
$75,000
offers surpass the
average for MBA’s. $70,000
$65,000
$60,000
2008 2009 2010
Source of MBA data from Graduate Management Admissions Council

MSA MBA
100%
90%
80%
MSA placement rates 70%
60%
at graduation are more
50%
than double the MBA.
40%
30%
20%
2008 2009 2010
Source of MBA data from Graduate Management Admissions Council

MSA graduates are valued by EMPLOYERS...

who come from across the country to
recruit
from many different industry sectors
who return each year to hire
some who seek to hire several grads
who claim to save between 6- to 24-
months in start-up time with MSA hires
Employers making offers to MSA graduates...
Acxiom (Chicago, IL) Fulcrum (Fairfield, CT)
Alltel Wireless (Little Rock, AR; Chicago, IL) Futures Company (Chapel Hill, NC)
Amazon.com (Seattle, WA) Hallmark (Kansas City, MO)
Bank of America (Charlotte, NC) HSBC Finance (Chicago, IL)
Barclays (Wilmington, DE) IBM Corporation (various locations)
Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC (Chapel Hill, NC) Labcorp (Burlington, NC)
Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN (Memphis, TN) MaxPoint (Cary, NC)
CA (Islandia, NY) NetApp (Raleigh, NC)
Capital One (Richmond, VA) NetJets (Columbus, OH)
Constellation Energy (Baltimore, MD) Quaero/CSG (Charlotte, NC)
Crossbit Solutions (Cary, NC) Quintiles (Durham, NC)
d-Wise (Raleigh, NC) RBC Bank (Raleigh, NC)
Deloitte Consulting (various locations) RTI International (RTP, NC)
Deluxe (Shoreview, MN) SAS Institute (Cary, NC)
Detica (Arlington, VA) Sharefile (Raleigh, NC)
Dex One (Cary, NC) State Farm (Bloomington, IL)
Duke University (Durham, NC) T-Mobile (Seattle, WA)
Epocrates (San Mateo, CA) Takeda (Chicago, IL)
Family Dollar (Charlotte, NC) The Body Shop International (Raleigh, NC)
Five x Five (Atlanta, GA) Travelers Insurance (Hartford CT)
Food Lion (Salisbury, NC) UNC (Chapel Hill, NC)
Wells Fargo (Charlotte, NC)
Werum (Cary, NC)
Types of positions offered to MSA graduates...
Analyst Operations Research Analyst Consultant
Analytics Analyst Programmer/Analyst Principal Consultant
Analytic Engineer Research Analyst Senior Consultant
Applications Analyst Risk Analyst Senior Consultant, Research & Models
Applications Developer Risk Solutions Architect Life Sciences Consultant
Applied Statistician SAS Analyst, Promotional Planning Marketing Consultant
Research Statistician Senior SAS Analyst —
Biostatistician SAS Programmer Manager, Forecasting & Analytics
Business Analyst Sr. Analyst Manager, Pricing & Analytics
Business Intelligence Engineer Sr. Business Analyst Manager, Strategy & Analytics
Business Technology Analyst Sr. Business Analyst, BI Project Manager, Product Development
Credit Risk Analyst Sr. Business Analyst, Optimization —
Data Mining Analyst Senior Decision Science Analyst Director of Analytics
E-Commerce Business Analyst Senior Health Outcomes Analyst Director, Quantitative Analytics
Fraud Analyst Statistical Analyst Director, Web Analytics
Informatics Analyst Strategic Business Analyst
Marketing Analyst Systems Engineer
Marketing Database Analyst Technical Specialist – Analytics
Prospective employers interested in hiring

MSA graduates or sponsoring practicum
projects should contact us at:
analytics@ncsu.edu
We’ll be glad to connect you with our
students and alumni community.
Visit our website to learn more:
http://analytics.ncsu.edu/employ
What kind of students are

admitted to the MSA program?
MSA student cohorts are DIVERSE in both their
experience and education...
Number of students 40
Percent enrolled who are US citizens 80–90
Percent enrolled who are NC residents 70–80
Number of countries of origin 5–10
Percent who are female 45–55
Percent with a prior graduate degree 25–35
Median years since last academic degree 2–5
Percent previously employed full-time 55–65
Average age 28–30
Range in age 22–55
Distribution of academic majors...
Other
Engineering Statistics
10%
25%
10%
Business,
15%
Finance &
Economics
25%
15%
Computer Science & Applied

Information Technology Mathematics
Prospective students interested in applying

for admission should send their resume to:
analytics@ncsu.edu
We’ll let you know if the MSA is right for
you and the next steps you can take.
Visit our website to learn more:
http://analytics.ncsu.edu/apply
The MSA education is AFFORDABLE...
Residents from the following 16 southern states
may qualify for low resident tuition rates...
Our commitment to our CUSTOMERS...
To prepare students for professional success

in the 21st century by equipping them with
the tools they need in an ever-changing
economy.*
To produce graduates who can productively

contribute to their employers from day one.
*See: University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission Final Report, December 2007

Venture 2 Building, Suite 530
920 Main Campus Drive
NCSU Centennial Campus
Raleigh, NC 27606
http://analytics.ncsu.edu

Msa

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Msa

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Institute for Advanced Analytics

The Master of Science in Analytics (MSA)

Advanced Analytics covers a broad

“Companies are increasingly turning to

Accenture, Counting on Analytical Talent, March 2010

As the need of analytics becomes more

The Institute and the MSA degree

How much data?

1.2 zettabytes (ZB)

*IDC Digital Universe Study, April 2010

Addressing the need by

Every successful business succeeds by

Who are our customers?

A: Students-- the best want...

The MSA degree was created literally

Fundamental design principles for the MSA...

Unlike conventional M.S. degree

The MSA program is QUICK TO COMPLETE...

Time Series and Advanced Data Mining

Data Privacy Project Management

Every successful business succeeds by

How successful is the MSA

The MSA experience is REWARDING...

Number of employers interviewing 61

The MSA is a young degree in comparison

Source of MBA data from Graduate Management Admissions Council

MSA placement rates 70%

Source of MBA data from Graduate Management Admissions Council

MSA graduates are valued by EMPLOYERS...

Prospective employers interested in hiring

What kind of students are

Computer Science & Applied

Prospective students interested in applying

To prepare students for professional success

To produce graduates who can productively

Institute for Advanced Analytics

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