The Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) prepares students for the challenging task of deriving insights from vast quantities of structured and unstructured data. At the core of the MSA curriculum is the practicum: a team-based learning experience that gives students the opportunity to conduct real-world analytics projects using data from sponsoring organizations.
The practicum spans eight months (September-April) and culminates with an executive-level report and presentation to the sponsor. Students work in teams of 4-5 to understand the business problem, and then clean and analyze the data. The Institute manages each stage in the project. Student teams perform their work under confidentiality agreements and the results are the sole property of the respective sponsors. There is no sponsorship fee.
| SELECTED PRACTICUM SPONSORS | ||||
| AAA Carolinas Academic Programs International Advance Auto Parts Align Technology Allscripts Ally Bank AMC Theatres Antares Audio Technologies Artemis by Novi Health Asurion AT&T Atrium Health averhealth Axios Baltimore Ravens Bank of America bioMérieux BCBS Minnesota BCBS NC Cape Fear Collective Cargill Caterpillar Chick-fil-A Church & Dwight Cigna Cisco Coldwell Banker HPW Credit Suisse Crete Carrier Cymantix Daimler Trucks Deloitte Consulting Direct ChassisLink Dude Solutions Duke Health Eastman Chemical eBay Elder Research Elevate Enact Estée Lauder |
FCC Fifth Third Bank Firstleaf General Mills General Motors GlaxoSmithKline GoDaddy Golden Set Analytics H&R Block Hallmark Hanesbrands Hitachi Energy Houston Astros IBM Jacksonville Jaguars JM Smucker & Co. John Deere LendingTree Liberty Mutual Live Oak Bank Lowe’s Companies M&T Bank Marriott International MetLife Microsoft Monsanto Museum of Fine Arts Boston Museum of Fine Arts Houston NC Dept. of Health & Human Services NC Dept. of Public Safety NC Dept. of State Treasurer NC Joint Underwriting Association NC Museum of Art NC Office of State Budget & Management NC State University Athletics NDustrial Northrop Grumman OneMain Financial Primrose Schools |
Procter & Gamble Putnam Investments Railinc Raleigh Water Raytheon RBC Bank Red Hat Revenue Management Solutions Rex Healthcare Richard Childress Racing RTI International Ryerson SAS / Building Clarity Siemens Medical Solutions USA Skin Laundry Speedway Motorsports Stride Learning Terminix The Home Depot Travelocity Trillium Health UNC Health United Airlines United Network for Organ Sharing USAF Safety Center US CIA US Dept. of Education US Postal Service USA Baseball Verizon Vertical IQ Visionist Volvo Trucks North America Wake Forest Baptist Health Walgreens Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Wells Fargo Wounded Warrior Project Zencos |
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| Bold denotes current (MSA ’26) sponsors. | ||||
Practicum Sponsorship – Call for Proposals
The Institute seeks organizations that are interested in sponsoring a team project for the coming academic year. The sponsor will identify a challenging business problem and provide data for the team to analyze. Below are guidelines for organizations that wish to submit a proposal.
Basic Requirements
The proposal consists of three components: (1) a concise description of the problem to be addressed and the goal of the project; (2) the nature and size of the data set to be analyzed; and (3) the names of the key contacts within the sponsoring organizations.
MSA students are equipped with a variety of skills and professional experience. Each team will have skills in statistics, data cleaning, data modeling and visualization, computer programming, and with using industry-standard analytical software tools. Students also receive instruction in teamwork, project management and communication skills.
Team Assignments
Students are assigned to teams based on their skills, experience, and compatibility, to achieve the necessary balance given the needs of the project. The team leader is appointed by the Institute. Team members assign specific roles for themselves.
Project Selection
Projects are selected based on the proposal’s fit with the overall educational goals of the MSA program. It is helpful, but not required, for organizations to have experience working with universities and specifically with sponsoring student projects. The main criteria used to select projects include:
- Educational value
- Likelihood of success
- Level of challenge and complexity
- Clarity of project goals
- Sponsor motivation and commitment
- Kind and amount of data
- Accessibility to specialized software tools, if needed
We aim to select a variety of projects each year and typically evaluate over 60 proposals. A viable proposal not selected in the current round can be placed in a queue for future assignment. We continually look for opportunities to work with new sponsors and in new industry segments.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is a key element of how the projects are conducted. Unlike a master’s thesis, which is published, the practicum does not have a public disclosure requirement. Only members of the team have access to their sponsor’s data. Sponsors do not under any circumstance provide personally identifiable information (PII), and will only share data in a manner that is consistent with their third-party data transfer governance rules.
Students receive instruction in data privacy and security, and the law with respect to non-disclosure agreements. Because students are not employees of the university, they must individually consent to the sponsor’s NDA before being assigned to a project.
Sponsor Commitments
Each sponsor is required to:
- provide the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to be signed by student team;
- securely transfer the promised data on the specified timetable;
- assign a liaison, who will be the team’s primary point of contact to resolve issues as they may arise;
- provide technical and strategic guidance, as needed, to ensure the project remains on the desired course;
- host the team for the kick-off and/or final presentation on-site, if possible.
The sponsor is not expected to provide ongoing project management and oversight — this is done by the Institute.
Sponsorship Fees
There is no fee charged to sponsor a practicum project. However, we recognize there is a cost involved to participate in terms of the time and effort required by individuals sponsoring a project.
We would be grateful to the sponsor for deferring all or part of the travel expenses, if any, to have the student team visit the sponsor location for the kick-off meeting and/or final presentation.
Timetable
- First round proposal review: April 1
- Second round proposal review: July 1
- Sponsors for current year selected by August 1
- All arrangements including NDA and secure data transfer completed by September 1
- Project kick-off meetings held between September 15-30
- Midpoint review meeting ~December 1
- Final presentation to sponsor: late April
More Information
For more information about sponsoring a practicum project, please contact Dr. Chris West, the Institute’s practicum manager. We will be glad to work with you in formulating your proposal. Proposals submitted early in the annual cycle have the best chance of acceptance. An organization may submit more than one proposal.