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NC State to offer Decision Analytics Certificate for Business Professionals

Beginning fall 2014, the NC State Jenkins Graduate School of Management in the Poole College of Management will offer to its students a sequence of courses leading to a graduate certificate in decision analytics. The certificate program is designed to complement an MBA-level management education and to equip students with the skills they need to apply big data analysis to make meaningful business decisions.

Courses in the Decision Analytics Certificate program will explore topics from data aggregation and isolation to using big data as a strategic planning tool. Courses include: data management and security, data driven decision making, decision analysis and business analytics.

Students earn the certificate by completing 12 credit hours of courses, including a Decision Analytics Practicum.

“The practicum course will allow our students to immerse themselves in a real business challenge, putting into practice the frameworks and analytical skills learned in the classroom to help our corporate partners drive forward their businesses,” said Steve Allen, associate dean for graduate programs and research at the Poole College of Management.

“We are pleased to offer an educational program to meet an unmet – and growing – need in the market. Big data is here to stay, and we are committed to instilling in our MBA students a mindset and skills for embracing and managing rapid innovation and change.”

The Decision Analytics Certificate builds on the Jenkins MBA program’s experience with the “Big Data Boot Camp” short course, which has been offered the past few years by the Center for Innovation Management Studies at the Poole College of Management.

Beginning fall 2014, all students enrolled in the Jenkins Graduate School of Management will be eligible to earn the Decision Analytics Certificate. Courses are designed to work with full-time and professional student schedules, but the courses are not presently offered online. Jenkins graduate alumni may also be able to enroll on a space-available basis.

NC State also offers a Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) program through the Institute for Advanced Analytics. The MSA program is designed to train students in complex statistical methods for large-scale data modeling. Comparatively, the decision analytics certificate aims to prepare business professionals to effectively navigate big data to inform business decisions.

Learn more about the NC State Decision Analytics Certificate, open to NC State Jenkins MBA students.