First launched in 2017, the QS World University Rankings: Business Masters Rankings includes the QS Masters in Business Analytics Rankings 2019, an index of 75 of the world’s best institutions for master’s in business analytics degrees, based on a methodology which assesses each institution’s employability, value for money, class & faculty diversity and more, with data collected from a global survey of employers and other sources.
Read on to discover the 10 highest ranked institutions for business analytics from 10th to first, or click here to view the full table.
10. University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management - Master of Science in Business Analytics
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Ranked 10th in the world for its Master of Science in Business Analytics course, the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management earns its highest score for the value for money indicator. The school’s Master of Science in Business Analytics is a one-year program which utilizes experimental learning, with students completing a semester-long experimental learning project with a partner company in the Carlson Analytics Lab.
Also achieving a high score for the alumni outcomes indicator, 100 percent of Carlson’s 2015 and 2016 graduates received offers of employment within 90 days of graduating, working for big name brands such as Amazon, Capital One, Google, Facebook, AirBnB, American Express, LinkedIn and Microsoft.
9. University of Edinburgh Business School – MSc in Business Analytics
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Heading to the UK, the University of Edinburgh Business School claims ninth place for its MSc in Business Analytics degree this year. It achieves its best score in the diversity indicator, with a whopping 94 percent of students coming from outside the UK, representing 69 different nationalities. The MSc in Business Analytics course takes one academic year to complete and commences with compulsory courses in the first semester, building a solid foundation on the principles of data analytics and other topics before students specialize in four option courses in the second semester. Students also benefit from many opportunities to work with industry and business professionals, for example through group consultancy projects, dissertations, guest lecturers and industry exploration treks.
8. Warwick Business School - MSc Business Analytics
Location: Coventry, UK
The University of Warwick’s largest department, Warwick Business School (WBS) is ranked eighth in the master’s in business analytics ranking this year, achieving a very strong score for the thought leadership indicator. As well as its semi-rural campus in Coventry in the West Midlands, WBS has a London campus in The Shard, which offers part-time courses, giving it a presence in one of the world’s major financial centers. The school’s MSc Business Analytics degree includes a collaboration with leading analytics software developer SAS to provide a Text Analytics module, dedicated to data mining. Students will also take part in a consultancy project and a research project to explore an important topic related to decision making in business.
7. Alliance Manchester Business School - MSc Business Analytics
Location: Manchester, UK
Ranked seventh for its MSc Business Analytics degree, the University of Manchester’s Alliance Manchester Business School operates on the phrase ‘Original Thinking Applied’ and was one of the UK’s first business schools, established in 1956. Its MSc Business Analytics degree aims to give students the practical skills and knowledge needed to overcome the major challenges facing industry, business and the public sector today, and offers a broad range of optional modules to allow students to tailor the degree to their interests and career goals. Alliance Manchester receives high scores for thought leadership and alumni outcomes, with students graduating with the analytical skills and knowledge ideal for a large variety of careers.
6. USC Marshall School of Business - Master of Science in Business Analytics
Location: Los Angeles, US
Heading to California, and next in our look at the top universities for master’s in business analytics degrees is the University of Southern California (USC)’s Marshall School of Business, ranked sixth. Its Master of Science (MSc) in Business Analytics is an 18-month, comprehensive program in which students gain a broad, in-depth knowledge of all areas of business analytics and big data analysis, learning programming tools and how to translate and present complex data to help make business decisions. USC Marshall achieves very high scores for its alumni outcomes and value for money, with graduates earning an average starting salary of $72,841.
5. ESADE - MSc in Business Analytics
Another high-rated institution for its masters in business analytics degree, ESADE Ramon Llull University is ranked fifth in the world for its MSc in Business Analytics course and earns a perfect score for the alumni outcomes indicator. The course in taught in English, with electives available in Spanish, and is set apart from other courses by ESADE’s connections with leading companies. Students will have the opportunity to connect directly with leading data scientist employers around the world such as Amazon, Microsoft, Santander and Telefónica. They can also gain expertise in programming languages and take part in an optional three to six-month internship, further enhancing their employability.
4. ESSEC/CentraleSupélec - MSc in Data Sciences & Business Analytics
Two of the most prestigious universities in France, ESSEC Business School and CentraleSupélec, are ranked fourth in the world for their jointly-offered MSc in Data Sciences & Business Analytics program, achieving a very high score for alumni outcomes. The course takes one year to complete and is offered in entirely in English. Students firstly gain a solid foundation of knowledge in period one before majoring in one of three major options in period two: Data Sciences and Business Analytics, both in Paris, or Digital Transformation Strategy, offered at ESSEC’s Asia-Pacific campus in Singapore. The program is built on the premise of ‘learning by doing’, and students therefore take part in a four to six-month internship, write a final thesis and go on an international field trip.
3. University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business - Master of Science in Business Analytics
Location: Austin, Texas, US
The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business is ranked third for its Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) degree, achieving a very high score for the value for money indicator, which shows that graduates are seeing a good return on their investment from this master’s degree. McCombs offers students support and recruitment from industry leaders such as Walmart and Deloitte Consulting, a STEM certification, networking opportunities and industry connections, and lots of support in finding employment upon graduating. Of the admitted class of 53 students in 2017, 41 percent were international, and 53 percent were women.
2. Imperial College Business School – MSc Business Analytics
Location: London, UK
Heading back to the UK, Imperial College Business School ranks second in the world in this year’s master’s in business analytics ranking, achieving its best scores for employability and diversity. 94 percent of the school’s MSc Business Analytics students are from outside the UK, representing 31 nationalities, and the school also has a highly multicultural faculty. For those who prefer to study part-time and remotely to fit the course around other commitments, Imperial has now launched an online version of the program, which follows the full-time curriculum almost identically. In terms of employability, an impressive 95 percent of students are in employment three months after graduating, earning an average salary of US$60,000.
1. MIT Sloan School of Management - Master of Business Analytics
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
Continuing to rank first in the world for its Master of Business Analytics degree, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Sloan School of Management achieves perfect scores for three indicators: employability, alumni outcomes and thought leadership, with the final indicator taking into account a survey of academics as well as research impact and the number of staff with a PhD. Sloan’s Master of Business Analytics degree aims to prepare students to interpret and use data science to solve business challenges, giving them the skillset needed for careers in a broad range of industries such as management consulting, financial services, technology and healthcare. During the course, students take part in an Analytics Capstone Project, in which they’ll work on real-life data science problems with industry specialists.
This article was originally published in November 2017. It was updated in September 2018 to reflect the launch of the latest QS Business Masters Rankings.
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