Skip to main content

Academics

American Statistical Association Spotlights Bentley’s MSBA Program

Amstat News, the member magazine of the American Statistical Association, has chosen Bentley University’s Master of Science in Business Analytics as one of four MS analytics programs to be featured it its latest issue.

Bentley joins the University of Tennessee, George Mason University, and University of Minnesota in this selection.

“More universities are starting master’s programs in data science and analytics due to the wide interest from students and employers,” said Steve Pierson, ASA Director of Science Policy. “Amstat News reached out to the statistical community involved in such programs. Given their interdisciplinary nature, we identified those that involved faculty with expertise in different disciplines to jointly reply to our questions.

“While the ASA has not issued a statement about the role of statistics in analytics, we assume statistics to also be foundational there,” Pierson added. “For this reason, we highlight the programs that are cross-disciplinary and engage statisticians.”

In an in-depth Q&A with Amstat News, Professor Mingfei Li, former MSBA program director and coordinator of the business analytics certificate and concentration programs, spoke about key components of Bentley’s MSBA program, including:

  • Basic elements of Bentley’s MSBA curriculum and how it was developed
  • The primary motivation for developing a master’s program in analytics
  • Student reaction to the program
  • How she views the relationship between statistics and data science/analytics
  • The types of jobs Bentley grads are prepared for, and the employer demand for them
  • Advice for students considering an analytics degree and institutions considering the establishment of such a degree

Bentley’s MSBA program continues Bentley’s long tradition of training analytics professionals at the graduate level, providing the valuable tools needed to succeed in this emerging field.