Data Analytics Graduate Certificate

Newman University’s Graduate Certificate in Data Analytics affords a unique opportunity for professionals to acquire high-demand knowledge and skills within the span of a single calendar year. This certificate is designed for individuals who have already completed a bachelor’s degree and desire to become a part of the growing community of data professionals. The knowledge and skills acquired will be immediately applicable across many fields, from banking to healthcare administration to sports analytics. And it will be relevant across all business units, from administration to marketing, finance, human resources, and supply chain management.

The coursework for this certificate can be applied directly toward the Masters of Business Administration with Business Analytics concentration at Newman University.

Those who have already completed an MBA or other graduate degree may add this certificate to further enhance their educational background.

MBA Application ProcessRequest More Info

Business Data Analytics Career Outlook

Market Demand for Business Data Analytics Graduates

National Demand

The following data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)* and O-NET OnLine (O-NET), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. ** As a baseline, the projected growth for all U.S. occupations is 7.4%. The median annual salary for all U.S. occupations as of 2017 is $37,690. ***

The following table begins with the Operations Research Analyst career, which the Business Data Analytics major or the Data Analytics minor would prepare students to enter. (I will provide its full description below.) The other careers are also opportunities for which our graduates will be competitive applicants.

* https://www.bls.gov/ooh/

** https://www.onetonline.org/

*** “Employment Projections.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed September 2018. https://data.bls.gov/projections/occupationProj 

The Operations Research Analyst Description (OOH)

The OOH describes this role as follows: “Operations research analysts use advanced mathematical and analytical methods to help organizations investigate complex issues, identify and solve problems, and make better decisions.” The typical entry-level education is a bachelor’s degree.

Other Potentially Relevant Career Categories

The following career categories would also be of potential relevance to Business Data Analytics majors, and to Data Analytics minors with emphases in sciences and other fields.

Regional Demand

As of September 2018, job searches using Glassdoor.com, reveal a significant number of position openings which are of direct relevance to the Business Data Analytics major, as well as the Data Analytics minor. (Glassdoor.com has emerged as one of the top search tools for technology and data-related careers. For example, a search in Glassdoor.com tends to yield advertisers from most or all of the companies who advertise in Indeed.com, plus more additional companies.)

Wichita (100-mile radius)

Kansas City (100-mile radius)

Oklahoma City (100-mile radius)

     Dallas (100-mile radius)

Bentonville, AR (100-mile radius)

Denver + Colorado Springs (50-mile radius for each)

* The search terms reflect a cluster of searches which, upon investigation, tend to bring position results that are most relevant to our future Business Data Analytics majors and Data Analytics minors. There is significant overlap between the results for each search term. “Business Intelligence” often results in a sub-set of search results found for the search “Data Analytics.” The “Market Analyst” search term occasionally brings results not found in the other searches, though there is a great deal of overlap.

** We have shown data for all full-time position advertisements, from entry level to senior level positions, in order to give a representation of the entire field which our graduates will enter.

Regional Employer Interviews & Feedback

The School of Business has visited several regional employers — including Koch Industries, Spirit Aerosystems, High Touch Technologies, and others — to ask them about their needs for Business Data Analytics graduates and the kinds of knowledge, skills, and related qualities they would like to see in graduates. CEO’s, VP’s, senior employees, and recruiters all report very similar needs:

• All desire graduates with the qualities of an educated professional, including an understanding of the world of business and the ability to explore and interpret data to shed light on business priorities.
• All desire graduates with a strong set of software skills, including significant skill with Microsoft Excel, and at least a familiarity with data visualization software: typically, either Tableau or Microsoft BI.
• All desire students with an understanding of relational database software and the ability to use SQL to query databases.
• Some desire students who have familiarity with analytics programming in R and/or Python. (We believe this will be a growing need. Moreover, these skills are an on-ramp to graduate work leading to higher-salary data sciences careers.)
• Some employers desire students with skills in programming and/or the Extraction, Transformation, and Loading of data from operational databases to data warehouses and/or analytics and visualization software.
• All desire graduates with stellar presentation skills, including an understanding of effective visual presentation.
• All desire students who demonstrate strong interpersonal and group communication skills, including the ability to cultivate credibility with clients — both technically-minded clients and non-technical.