Technical Coursework and Managerial Application
CURRICULUM
Students earn the MSPA degree after completing a minimum of 11 courses. The seven core courses will focus on database administration, predictive modeling and quantitative analysis, communication of analytics, and leadership. Students will complete two electives, consisting of additional predictive modeling courses and case study-based courses that apply analytics to specific topical areas demanded by industry today.
This combination of technical and managerial coursework produces a wide range of learning outcomes. Students develop deep technical skills in statistical modeling, data-structure evaluation, and the ability to translate data into clear and actionable insights. They also cultivate leadership and managerial skills that include planning for and resolving business issues, articulating analytics as a core strategy, and evaluating data use constraints.
Core Courses (7 courses)
- PREDICT 401-DL Introduction to Statistical Analysis
- PREDICT 402-DL Introduction to Predictive Analytics & Data Collection
- CIS 317-DL Database Systems Design and Implementation
- CIS 435-DL Data Warehousing & Data Mining
- PREDICT 410-DL Predictive Modeling I
- PREDICT 411-DL Predictive Modeling II
- PREDICT 475-DL Project Management
Electives (choose 2 courses)
- PREDICT 412-DL Advanced Modeling Techniques
- PREDICT 450-DL Marketing Analytics
- PREDICT 451-DL Risk Analytics
- PREDICT 452-DL Web Analytics
- PREDICT 453-DL Text Analytics
Leadership Course
This course identifies the fundamental leadership behaviors that enable people to excel in their careers, and to help students apply these behaviors to personal and professional success. The course builds from the basic premise that leadership is learned, and looks at the theory and practice of leadership at the individual and organizational level. The course will explore definitions of leadership, the importance of leadership, leadership styles, the role of vision and integrity, the importance of giving and receiving feedback, how to lead change and solve problems, effective teamwork, and communication strategies. The culmination of the class is a personal leadership development plan formulated by each student.
Capstone Project
MSPA students may pursue their capstone experience independently or as part of a team. As their final course, students take either the individual research project in an independent study format (PREDICT 590-DL) or the classroom capstone class in which students integrate the knowledge they have gained in the core curriculum in a project presented by the instructor (PREDICT 498-DL). In both cases students are guided by MSPA faculty in exploring the body of knowledge on predictive analytics while contributing research of practical value to the field. The capstone independent project and capstone class project count as one unit of credit.