The Institute is delighted to announce it has enrolled 85 candidates who will begin studies soon as members of the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2013. The admissions committee reviewed 270 applications, up over 62-percent from last year. A total of 94 applicants were offered admission; all but nine accepted the offer. The process yielded a competitive acceptance rate of 35-percent. Incoming students represent 14 countries of origin and hail from 14 states coast-to-coast. Over eighty percent of the Class of 2013 are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Seventy percent have prior work experience, and over 40-percent hold one or more graduate degrees, including 9 with a MBA, one PhD, and one JD. Read the rest of this entry »

The Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2012 heads to commencement this week with a bright future. Highly capable analytics professionals ready to tackle the challenges of big data, they are in high demand in virtually every sector of the economy. Employer demand for MSA candidates set new records on virtually every key performance indicator. Notably, the Class of 2012 became the fifth consecutive cohort since the Institute’s inception in 2007 to attain over 90-percent job placement by graduation. Candidates in 2012 also logged more interviews, more job offers, and higher starting salaries and bonuses than each of the previous four graduating classes. Read the rest of this entry »

The Institute is delighted to report that 29 candidates (76-percent) of the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2012 successfully earned the SAS Predictive Modeling certificate. Industry standard software tools are an integral part of the MSA learning experience and used extensively by students in their day-to-day work with big data. The Institute’s partnership with the industry leader in business analytics, SAS, provides MSA students with the option of earning professional certifications while completing their degree—and as the numbers show, many do. In addition to the predictive modeling certificate, this year saw all 38 students earn the SAS Base Programmer, and 29-percent earn the SAS Advanced Programmer certification by graduation.

Eight student teams are wrapping up their analytics practicum projects with final presentations to their sponsors this week—including one team that will travel to eBay headquarters in San Jose, California to present its findings. The Practicum is a core component of the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) curriculum that gives students an opportunity to work with large, complex data sets provided by sponsoring organizations. Practicum projects apply advanced data modeling techniques to wide ranging business problems, from improving customer acquisition, loyalty and retention, to managing high volumes of unstructured customer feedback and dispute resolution data, to predictive models for guiding investment strategies in volatile financial markets. In addition to eBay, other project sponsors included: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Elder Research, M&T Bank, Marriott, Quaero, Siemens, and The Daniel Group.

North Carolina State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Carnegie Mellon University are each receiving an initial $2.5 million in grant funds from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to stimulate the creation of a more scientific basis for the design and analysis of trusted systems. The co-principal investigators for the NC State Science of Security Lablet are Dr. Laurie Williams, professor of computer science, and Dr. Michael Rappa, director of the Institute of Advanced Analytics and professor of computer science. Read the rest of this entry »

A lease has been signed for an additional 6,500 square feet of physical space on the fourth floor of the Venture 2 Building, located directly beneath the Institute’s current facility on Centennial Campus. Construction begins this week to build a classroom, offices and student workspaces to accommodate the Institute’s growth in enrollment in the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) degree program to 80 students beginning in June. The new expansion will increase the total space occupied by the Institute to 14,500 square feet. The Institute is extremely grateful to the managing contractor Craig Davis Properties, for all of its efforts to keep the expansion schedule on track.

What is a Data Scientist? That was the question put to the Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa, in a recent interview with Forbes contributing writer, Dan Woods. Data science has emerged as the latest way to describe the ongoing quest to master the skill of drawing insights from vast quantities and varieties of data—sometimes called “big data”—which is core to the mission of the Institute. The interview with Dr. Rappa is the latest in a Forbes series on the subject with the country’s leading thinkers and practitioners in data science.

The century-old mainstay of business education may be showing its age, says the Institute’s director, Dr. Michael Rappa. In the following presentation based on a talk delivered at George Washington University School of Business, Dr. Rappa makes the case for why the generic MBA degree is out of sync with the skill sets needed to compete in a rapidly changing business world. Read the rest of this entry »

Record high salary offers have earned the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) Class of 2012 the distinction of being the most sought-after MSA cohort since the Institute’s inception in 2007. Thirty-eight candidates seeking employment logged a record-breaking 591 initial job interviews with 54 employers during the placement period that started in January—an average of 15 interviews per student. Ninety-seven percent of the Class of 2012 received one or more offers of employment, and most have already accepted their new positions. This marks the fifth straight year the Institute will place over 90-percent of its graduates by commencement despite hard economic times. The average base salary offer registered an increase of 10-percent to $89,300. Read the rest of this entry »

The season’s final information session for prospective applicants to the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) program is scheduled for Wednesday, February 29, from 6:00 – 7:00 PM at the Institute. Interested individuals please register to attend.