I recently performed some research into graduate schools offering a Master of Science in Business Intelligence (MSBI). As of November 7, 2008, I found three Universities in the United States that have such a program. They are Saint Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), University of Denver Daniels College of Business (Denver, Colorado), and American Sentinel University (online university). A fourth school, the University of Alabama Manderson Graduate School, offers an MBA with a Business Intelligence Concentration. Information concerning these programs will change, so please consult each university before making any decisions based upon this article. All content is subject to change (especially tuition costs!) and will likely be out of date a few months after the original post. I would encourage anyone who has participated in any of these programs to post a comment. I would love to hear what you think. I have not applied to any of the programs, but I find the idea of a Master Degree in Business Intelligence to be quite intriguing.
Here are some basic comparisons of the programs:
Legend:
ASU: American Sentinel University
DU: University of Denver Daniels College of Business (Denver, Colorado)
SJU: St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
UA: University of Alabama Manderson Graduate School of Business (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
Online vs On-Campus:
ASU: Online only
DU: Campus only
SJU: Online and Campus
UA: Campus only, Full Time program
Tuition:
ASU: $390 per credit hour (minimum 12 credit hour commitment over 12 months)
DU: $916 per credit hour for the 2008-2009 academic year. Other fees apply.
SJU: $785 per credit hour (fees included), Approximately $23,550 total
UA: Estimated Totals* Resident Non-Resident
First and Second Year $19,450.00 $42,650.00
Price not broken out by credit hour. This is a full time program.
Credits required to graduate:
ASU: 36, 12 3-credit courses, Students may be eligible to transfer up to 18 hours from previous graduate study.
DU: 58, 10 Daniels Compass, 44 Business Intelligence Core, 4 Elective
SJU: 30, 10 3-credit courses, 20 month program, 8 week classes done one at a time
UA: 60
GMAT/GRE Required:
ASU: NO ASU is a GMAT-using school, but a GMAT or a GRE is not required.
DU: YES
SJU: YES
UA: YES
Objectives:
ASU:
The objectives of the online program are to:
Identify and understand the functional areas of business intelligence.
Develop analytical, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills applicable to real-world problems.
Apply sound analytical skills and business principles to decision making with respect to operational and strategic activities.
Develop sound financial planning, reporting, and information models which satisfy regulatory considerations such as Sarbanes-Oxley.
Develop corporate dashboards which utilize key performance indicators that managers and workers can use to improve day-to-day business operations.
Use a framework such as Six Sigma to analyze all aspects of business operations as well as find and implement quality-control improvements and efficiencies.
Recognize and solve potential risks and put in place policies and procedures which minimize the impact of business interruptions.
DU:
Not clearly stated, but I found this excerpt…
Information, business intelligence, is no longer the exclusive domain of IT or research departments. That’s why Daniels has created a one-of-a-kind program that takes you across disciplines — data warehousing, marketing, finance and management and operations — so you’ll know how to gather and leverage information to lead organizations, control decisions, and be relied upon to steer enterprises.
SJU:
The online Business Intelligence Master’s degree at Saint Joseph’s University helps you develop:
– The ability to create business models for forecasting and business analysis
– A fundamental understanding of Business Intelligence technologies
– The ability to integrate information from all aspects of the organization into a big picture understanding
– A solid foundation in technology and a grasp of the decision-making tools that will aid your ability to interpret information
UA:
Not clearly stated, but I found this excerpt…
One of the few programs of its kind offered within a college of business, it delivers the exceptional knowledge, skills and experience you need to produce valuable results for your organization. And, it’s one of the few graduate business programs to prepare you for certification in SAS Enterprise Miner, the premiere software tool for the data mining industry.
Curriculum:
ASU:
COURSES Credit Hours
BUSI500 Overview of Business Intelligence 3
BUSI510 Data Mining 3
BUSI520 Balanced Scorecards and Performance Dashboards 3
BUSI530 Business Performance Management 3
BUSI540 Customer Relationship Management 3
BUSI550 Business Intelligence Tools 3
MGT540 Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation 3
IS550 Project and Change Management 3
IS565 Decision Support and Intelligent Systems 3
IS575 Data Warehousing 3
BUSI599 Business Intelligence Capstone Research Project 6
DU:
Daniels Compass Courses
The Essence of Enterprise
Leading at the Edge
Ethics for the 21st Century Professional
Business Intelligence Core Courses
Introduction to Business Intelligence
Enterprise Intelligence
Data Warehousing
Applied Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence Practicum
Quantitative Methods
Applied Statistical Modeling
Data Mining I
Marketing Strategy
Marketing Research
Competitive Strategies
SJU:
DSS 4415 Contemporary Information Technologies
DSS 4715 Developing Decision Making Competencies
DSS 5515 Concepts and Practice of DSS Modeling
DSS 5525 Database Management Theory and Practice
DSS 5535 Enterprise Data
DSS 5545 Applied Business Intelligence
DSS 5555 Advanced Business Intelligence
FIN 4315 Shareholder Value Management
FIN 5305 Financial Institutions and Capital Markets
FIN 5055 Portfolio Management
UA:
YEAR ONE, FALL SEMESTER
AC 521 Concepts of Financial Mgmt. Accounting 3
OM 506 Decision Modeling & Business Intelligence 3
MGT 517 Organizational Theory 3
MKT 518 Marketing Management and Decision Making 3
ST 509 Statistics for Business Applications 3
YEAR ONE, SPRING SEMESTER
EC 500 Managerial Economics 3
FI 504 Foundations of Financial Management 4
MIS 511 Management Information Systems 2
OM 516 Production Operations Management 3
ST 532 ADVANCED DATA MINING 3
YEAR TWO, FALL SEMESTER
GBA 525 Business Policy 3
MGT 542 Management Communication 3
ST 521 INTRODUCTION TO DATA MANAGEMENT 3
________ BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ELECTIVE 3
________ ADDITIONAL ELECTIVE* 3
YEAR TWO, SPRING SEMESTER
LGS 522/IBA 550 Legal-Ethical Environments in Business/IBA 1.5/1.5
ST 522 ADVANCED DATA MANAGEMENT 3
________ BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ELECTIVE 3
________ ADDITIONAL ELECTIVE* 3
________ ADDITIONAL ELECTIVE* 3
*ADDITIONAL ELECTIVES include any reasonable graduate course approved by a concentration advisor. Suggested courses include economics, finance and operations management. Students completing OM 506, ST 532, ST 521 and ST 522 will receive UA/SAS Data Mining Certification.
Web Addresses:
http://www.americansentinel.edu/Programs/MSBI/index.php
http://www.daniels.du.edu/business-intellegence-master.aspx
http://www.sju-online.com/programs/business-intelligence-masters.asp
http://mba.cba.ua.edu/curriculum/concentrations/business_intelligence.php
Other related links:
http://www.b-eye-network.com/channels/index.php?filter_channel=1531
http://www.tdwi.org/News/display.aspx?ID=8855
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/04/prweb521950.htm
-ez