Brown University has launched a new online master’s degree in business analytics. The 16-month program aims to help organizations contend with the rapid growth of available data and the need to make informed, evidence-based decisions by providing students with the professional skills needed to transform complex information into insights through cutting-edge data analysis.
The program consists of eight courses and covers topics including data curation and visualization, statistical methods, machine learning and large language models and predictive analytics and forecasting.
Brown University is a private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, US. It is one the oldest institutions of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Advancing meaningful data analysis
The program will draw on Brown University’s strengths across multiple fields of study to help working professionals understand data structures, statistical concepts, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) with an emphasis on the critical first steps of organizing and preparing raw information and resolving its imperfections, said Andrew Banasiewicz, a professor of the practice of business analytics and director of the program.
“Students will master the complete analytics pipeline, from transforming raw, real-world data into strategic insights to communicating findings that drive decision-making across organizations,” Banasiewicz stated. “Students will learn to bridge theory with practice in addressing complex organizational challenges.”
Learners will engage in hands-on applications to real-world business problems and current industry data to advance meaningful data analysis.
“This program is built around the realities professionals face every day,” said Sandra Smith, dean of the School of Professional Studies. “Our students learn to work with the kinds of imperfect, complex data they’ll encounter in the workplace and turn it into insights that drive real results.”
The first cohort is set to begin studies in Fall 2026 and program leaders are now accepting applications.
What is business analytics?
Business analytics is the application of statistical methods and technologies on raw, historical data to derive actionable insights. This “business intelligence” can then be used to guide decision-making, enhance strategic planning, develop evidence-based solutions to complex problems and even predict future outcomes.
Business analytics typically falls into one of three categories:
- Descriptive analytics, which describes what has already happened.
- Predictive analytics, which provides insight into what could happen based on historical outcomes.
- Prescriptive analytics, which combines descriptive and predictive analytics using AI and machine learning technology to convey what will happen, when and why.