The UNC System Board of Governors has approved UNC Charlotte’s request to offer a Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree in Data Science and Business Analytics (DSBA) starting in fall 2014. This groundbreaking curriculum is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between the College of Computing and Informatics and the Belk College of Business, as it links the science and business of data.
University leaders note the curriculum will produce talented graduates to meet the 21st-century demands of business and industry.
“This new academic program is UNC Charlotte’s latest step in embracing the opportunities presented by Big Data,” said Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “We have the capacity, industry partnerships and the momentum to help make the Charlotte region a national hub for data science and business analytics.”
The PSM in Data Science and Business Analytics program is the collaborative result of UNC Charlotte’s Data Science and Business Analytics Initiative, which was created as an industry-university-state partnership to broaden and deepen North Carolina’s data science and business analytics talent and position the Charlotte region as a leading Big Data hub for innovation and economic development.
The PSM in DSBA is an interdisciplinary program that draws on faculty expertise from UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing and Informatics and Belk College of Business. The program is designed to develop a new generation of data scientists, business analysts, and managers with the technical and business skills to transform data into smart, innovative strategies.
UNC Charlotte has a history of integrating data science and business analytics into existing undergraduate and graduate programs. These include:
- PSM, Bioinformatics and Genomics
- PSM, Health Informatics
- Master of Business Administration (MBA), Concentration in Business Analytics
- Ph.D., Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
- Ph.D., Computing and Information Systems
The University also offers graduate certificates in data science and business analytics, health informatics, bioinformatics technology, bioinformatics applications, advanced databases and knowledge discovery, management of information technology and information security and privacy.
At the undergraduate level, the University has majors in computer science with a financial services informatics concentration, software and information systems with a financial services informatics concentration, management information systems, marketing with a concentration in marketing analytics and operations and supply chain management.
“By fueling the talent pipeline with graduates in data science and business analytics, UNC Charlotte will play an integral role in high-end job creation and business investment in the Charlotte region and across the state,” said Belk College of Business Dean Steve Ott.
The PSM in DSBA is a two-year graduate degree program that will combine technology, analytics and business to prepare graduates as data scientists and business analysts capable of applying their expertise across many industries. Students in the program will take courses in business theory and practice, informatics and analytics. Graduates will be prepared for employment in a variety of data intensive industries, such as financial services, energy, retail/supply chain or health care.
UNC Charlotte will recruit the inaugural PSM in DSBA class for fall 2014. The program will admit both full- and part-time students of diverse industrial experience. All classes will be offered in UNC Charlotte’s Center City to facilitate participation of working professionals.