Master of Science in Business Analytics for Decision Makers National College of Ireland, Ireland

The MSc in Business Analytics for Decision Makers seeks to provide non-cognate (NFQ Level 8/international equivalent) undergraduate degree holders with key skills and a robust theoretical underpinning of the role of analytics in informing decision making in the business context.

The programme will equip non-cognate learners with essential analytic capabilities, allowing them to interact with data scientists and engineers with a view to improving evidence-based decision making.

The programme is designed to prepare students for a career in roles that both involve and interact with data science. In this way, the programme is viewed as a one-year conversion course (full time) for qualified degree holders seeking to transition to a career as a business analyst but not necessarily as data scientists.

The programme has been aligned with the National Qualifications Framework to engender the required knowledge and skills that allow learners to graduate from this Level 9 programme. The programme will seek to advance learners’ systematic and integrated knowledge of key theories, concepts, principles and applications that pertain to data science and related disciplines, while also preparing learners for further study through the promotion of independent research and critical decision making and for participation in business through engagement in adaptive problem-solving, communication, and teamwork in diverse contexts.

The above will be achieved through a mix of modules (statistics for data analytics, data governance and ethics, business data strategy and management, science of decision making, introduction to analytics programming) and assessments which will seek to evaluate learners’ knowledge of key data science disciplines, assess their ability to apply this knowledge technically in the analysis and presentation of business data and business information, and provide meaningful and authentic opportunities for collaboration, self-reflection, and complex problem-solving.