LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management announced today that it is offering a new full-time Master of Science in Applied Analytics (MSAA) with classes starting in August 2016.
The Pepperdine Graziadio School MSAA program integrates content from multiple analytics disciplines and functional business areas. The program focuses on building individual skill sets, practical business applications, and real-world perspectives. Students specialize in either information systems or decision sciences, or focus across business applications.
Most programs focus narrowly on one or two of these elements – the MSAA spans them all. Graduates learn about early stage data collection, preparation, analysis and presentation using a variety of industry-leading software solutions. The graduate business degree is also tailored to accommodate functional specializations such as economics, finance, or marketing.
The MSAA program offers experiential learning opportunities through the one-of-a-kind Education-to-Business (E2B) consulting program, an applied research class and independent study, an internship requirement, and a global study-abroad experience.
Pepperdine Graziadio School faculty are world-renowned academics, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. Professors guide students through the MSAA program, serving as facilitators, teachers, and knowledge-sharers. Students benefit from individualized attention and approaches that bring up-to-the-minute, relevant experience directly from the field to the classroom.
“At Pepperdine Graziadio School, we are uniquely positioned to deliver content that enables students to work across the entire spectrum of analytics to optimize real-world business processes,” said Dr. Bob McQuaid, director of the MSAA and associate professor of decision sciences. “The diffusion of cloud-based technologies and the expansion of the Big Data economy requires professionals to be knowledgeable about infrastructure, databases, data management and analysis, and visualization.”
The Pepperdine Graziadio career services team is dedicated to meeting the needs of students from the U.S. and abroad who wish to study in Los Angeles at the beautiful Malibu campus in California. Pepperdine Graziadio School offers information sessions in the U.S. and around the world to inform prospective students about programs, application deadlines, financial aid options, student life, career services, and more.
The timing to earn an MSAA could not be better. Business analytics and data sciences have experienced rapid growth in the U.S. and around the world. According to a report from McKinsey Global Institute, by 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills. The country will also need as many as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions. Many professionals seek advanced training in order to have a competitive advantage in the field. In fact, according to the most recent Graduate Management Admission Council research, employer hiring trends show significant growth in the demand for data analytics – 51 percent of all companies surveyed globally planned to hire business graduates in 2015 to fill these roles, up from 44 percent the previous year.
About the Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management
A leader in cultivating entrepreneurship and digital innovation, the Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management focuses on the real-world application of MBA-level business concepts. The Graziadio School provides student-focused, globally oriented education through part-time, full-time, and executive MBA programs at our five Southern California locations and at our Silicon Valley, Santa Barbara, and Dallas campuses, as well as through online and hybrid formats. In addition, the Graziadio School offers a variety of master of science programs, a bachelor of science in management degree-completion program, and the Presidents and Key Executives MBA, as well as executive education certificate programs. Follow the Graziadio School on Facebook, Twitter at @GraziadioSchool, and LinkedIn.