Globalisation and the advancements in information and communication technologies have set the pace to the rapid growth of real-time data collected from various sources, such as mobile phones, social media, and sensors, and shared through cloud-powered technologies.
The MSc Business Analytics programme responds to the demand for business analytics capabilities needed to gain actionable insights on customers’ behaviours, market trends, and business opportunities based on big data and statistical methods. Technological advancements are also having a huge impact on the job market globally.
The graduate job market in business analytics is growing
The graduate job market in business analytics is growing and offers several career opportunities across different business and industry sectors. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2022 85% of companies will have adopted Big Data and Analytics technology. By 2026 96% of companies are likely to hire permanent staff with relevant analytical skills. The MSc Business Analytics programme will nurture talent with business analytics skills as well as knowledge and understanding of the strategic value and managerial implications of business analytics.
Why study Business Analytics at the University of Bristol?
Our programme has been created in partnership with Industry professionals from IBM, LV & UCL/IBM Industry Exchange Network. It provides students with the opportunity to consult on real-life business analytics projects, where possible, in partnership with private, charity, and public sectors’ organisations. Students will gain a critical understanding of organisational, societal, and ethical issues in the use of business analytics. These issues are crucial for many organisations that seek to provide data-driven services while trying to balance innovativeness and competitiveness with public trust and corporate social responsibility. Students can also have access to Data Science resources and events through the Jean Golding Institute at the University of Bristol.
Who is this programme aimed at?
Our MSc Business Analytics suits graduates or early career professionals who wish to pursue a career in business analytics across sectors including digital marketing, human resources, logistics, retail, banking & finance, insurance, and healthcare.
We consider applications from graduates with an upper second-class honours degree (or international equivalent) in an applied Social Science or Science discipline (or related field) with a substantial quantitative component (e.g. Maths, Statistics, Economics, Computer Science, Engineering, Science, Data Science/Analytics, Operational Research, Accounting, Finance, Management/Decision Science). Applicants must have passed units/modules in quantitative analysis (e.g. applied statistics, statistical analysis/analytics). We also consider applicants from different backgrounds who do not meet the entry requirements but have relevant work experience.
What skills do we teach?
We will teach technical skills in data preparation (e.g. identification, extraction, and cleaning of data); the use of statistical and machine learning techniques such as regression, classification, and clustering to perform data mining and predictive analytics; the formulation and execution of statistical and mathematical models to inform management decisions; the visualisation, interpretation, and reporting/communication of results from statistical analysis. Students will learn how to perform ad-hoc data analytics in Python and through specialised software such as IBM SPSS Modeler and IBM CPLEX.
At the end of the programme, students will have learned how to provide data-driven solutions to a real business problem or challenge, such as statistical and machine learning models to identify trends, patterns, and actionable insights from data, predictive modelling based on historical data, optimisation of complex business decisions, and social media analytics (e.g. web scraping, sentiment analysis, Natural Language Processing). Examples of projects with industry partners include optimisation of resource allocation, people analytics to support hiring decisions, customer segmentation and sentiment analysis to improve a business strategic direction.
What career opportunities could this lead to?
The MSc Business Analytics programme responds to the increasing demand for skills in business analytics both in the UK and abroad. Career paths examples include:
- Business Analytics Specialist/Professionals
- Management Consultant
- Product Manager
- Market Research Analyst/Digital Marketing
- Quantitative/Data Analyst
- Business Operations Analytics Specialist
- HR/People/Insurance Analytics Specialist
- Financial Analyst.
The median salary of professionals and specialists employed in this area is around £63,000 (GMAC).
Find out more about our MSc Business Analytics programme and how to apply.