Full-time MBA + Certificate in Business Analytics = ROI

How important are data skills in today’s job market?

A survey of 1,300 global business leaders by a firm that conducts business with over 90% of Fortune 100 firms discovered that data literacy is critical for career advancement. In fact, 81% of the executives agreed that becoming a senior leader in their organization requires being data literate.

And it’s not just for professionals who are interested in working in the tech sector.

Earlier this year at an analytics summit, a partner and senior executive at PwC said that data analytics is embedded in nearly every activity at the Big Four accounting firm. A C-level executive from Morgan Stanley proclaimed that “data analytics is the oxygen of Wall Street.” Even on the nonprofit side, a spokesperson from the Gates Foundation said, “it’s not that we need to have everyone out there go and become the next great data analyst, but we need to have people who understand how to consume the data.”

So, yes, data skills are very important whether you are interested in working in consulting, healthcare, financial services, energy, consumer goods, logistics – or pretty much any industry today.

Fortunately, the UofSC MBA has you covered. We know that our graduates must be data proficient, analytically capable, and functionally skilled to win the top job opportunities in every industry today. 

Whether you are considering our No.1-ranked International MBA or accelerated One-Year MBA, you have the option of earning a graduate certificate in Business Analytics as part of your core curriculum, like nearly all of our 2020 graduates have.

Recent graduates and current students have leveraged their Business Analytics Certifications to realize highly sought-after, full-time roles or internships, at industry-leading compensation levels, in consulting (e.g., Deloitte and Gartner), marketing (e.g., The Coca-Cola Company, Microsoft, and Nike), logistics (e.g. Amazon and Delta) finance (e.g., Exxon and EY), manufacturing (e.g., Boeing and Hilti), or FinTech (e.g., Fiserv). 

This certification gives graduates a separate distinction that, in addition to enhancing official transcripts, also bolsters their LinkedIn profiles among top-tier employers seeking analytics achievements. And for international students, the certificate is a designated STEM degree, which affords graduates the opportunity to extend their U.S. stay and post-MBA employment for up to three years.

To alleviate potential concerns regarding the additional workload, UofSC MBA candidates pursuing this certificate take just four courses (12 credit hours) beyond the MBA core curriculum, as UofSC offers one of the most quantitatively based MBA cores in the market. Our MBA program incorporates the hottest certification in demand right now, seamlessly and with flexibility.

Three required courses include:

  • Advanced Quantitative Methods
  • Data Resource Management
  • Customer Relationship Management and Data Mining

And the elective additional course selections are:

  • Big Data Analytics
  • Student Managed Investments
  • Revenue Management
  • Information Systems
  • Marketing Spreadsheet Modeling

That means you’ll still have time to work out at our world-class wellness and fitness center, join a student club on campus, or take a study break to trade securities in your brokerage account in our notable trading floor classroom with 25 Bloomberg terminals.

By pairing the UofSC MBA with a graduate certificate in business analytics, you’ll have the professional currency to best compete for high-demand (and high-paying) jobs such as these openings on Glassdoor.

Interested in learning more? Contact Assistant Director of Full-time MBA programs, Diondra Black, at Diondra.Black@moore.sc.edu.