Practicum Team

Benchmark Report – April 2023

Each year the MSA is measured against leading MBA programs with comparably-sized enrollment on two-dozen metrics using publicly available data. Why MBA programs? Because too few analytics and data science programs publicly disclose student demographics and outcomes with the thoroughness and consistency needed to accurately benchmark. Also, the variation in cohort enrollment size and program formats make comparisons difficult.

MBA programs have a long history of reporting student demographics and outcomes as a part of the annual ranking process conducted by organizations such as U.S. News. The data are reported under clear and consistent guidelines that make a fair benchmark possible. The Institute follows these guidelines in reporting results for the MSA program. Other analytics and data science programs are encouraged to do the same.

The MSA benchmark study is updated each year (in April) with the latest data from U.S. News. The schools used in the study may change from year to year based on the changes in the annual ranking or program cohort sizes.

Selected for comparison are the top-5 highest-ranked MBA programs with similar cohort sizes to the MSA program, enrolling between 76 and 113 students (the MSA enrollment is 93):

  • Emory University (EU)
  • University of Washington–Seattle (UW)
  • Georgia Tech (GT)
  • University of Rochester (UR)
  • Notre Dame (ND)

Based on publicly available data, the following metrics are used:

METRICS
Number of Applicants
Acceptance Rate
Enrollment
Enrollment Rate
% Female Students
% International Students
Length of Work Experience
% Work Experience
Age
Undergraduate GPA
% Seeking Employment
Number Seeking Employment
Average Base Salary
% Reporting Salary Data
% Employed at Graduation
% Employed 3-Months After Graduation
Signing Bonus
% Receiving Signing Bonus
Tuition and Fees
Tuition and Fees – Residents
Average Indebtedness
% Students with Debt
ROI Payback Period
ROI Payback Period – Residents
 

Practicum Team

2023 BENCHMARKS

Metrics

MSA

Top-5 MBA Programs

Mean

EU

UW

GT

UR

ND

US News Rank (April 2023)

17

20

26

27

30

Admissions:

Number of Applicants

661

949

1,055

1,000

492

1,497

700

Acceptance Rate

22%

29%

37%

28%

32%

15%

33%

Enrollment

93

93

113

96

76

85

96

Enrollment Yield

75%

39%

29%

34%

50%

39%

42%

Student Demographics:

% Women Students

38%

35%

28%

41%

31%

42%

33%

% International Students

18%

33%

24%

40%

24%

47%

32%

Age

25

28

28

29

28

28

27

Undergraduate GPA

3.63

3.35

3.38

3.30

3.24

3.54

3.30

Work Experience (mo.)

36

71

71

77

69

77

65

% Work Experience

53%

98%

100%

100%

97%

98%

93%

Employment Outcomes:

% Seeking New Employment

100%

91%

88%

95%

85%

97%

89%

Average Base Salary ($000)

113

140

149

147

137

133

133

Reporting Salary Data

100%

86%

83%

84%

93%

90%

82%

Employed at Graduation

100%

90%

83%

84%

93%

75%

80%

Employed 3-mo. After Graduation

100%

98%

98%

99%

100%

95%

96%

Signing Bonus ($000)

12

34

34

41

27

35

34

Students Receiving Signing Bonus

66%

87%

86%

84%

92%

94%

78%

Costs and ROI:

Tuition and Fees ($000)

54

113

143

112

85

103

124

Tuition and Fees – Residents

29

102

143

77

62

103

124

Average Indebtedness ($000)

32

71

95

68

NA

59

62

Students with Debt

40%

59%

59%

36%

NA

71%

46%

ROI Payback Period (months)

27

30

31

26

28

31

35

ROI Payback Period – Residents

21

28

31

21

24

31

35

 

MSA

Mean

EU

UW

GT

UR

30

Source of business school data: U.S. News

Applicants – Acceptance Rate
Enrollment – Enrollment Rate
Women – International Rate
Prior Work Experience
Age – GPA
Grads Seeking Employment
Average Base Salary
Employed at Graduation
Signing Bonuses
Tuition and Fees
Indebtedness
Return on Investment


Annual Benchmark Report

The Annual Benchmark Report is updated and made available each year in April.

Practicum Team