5 Best Master’s Degrees for Big Data

The state of business technology has improved dramatically in the past decade. Today businesses have the ability to collect massive amount of data, or big data, that can be used to drive business decisions. But to make effective use of the data, business professionals need to be skilled in how to manipulate Big Data and use it for better business insights and decisions.

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As a business owner or executive in a company, the better you are able to organize and analyze data, the better your business decisions will be. You can learn how to handle Big Data better for your company by earning one of the master’s degrees below.

Featured Online Programs

• Data Analytics (Masters) – Southern New Hampshire University
• Business Analytics (Bachelors & Masters) – Arizona State University

#1 Master of Business Analytics

A master of science in business analytics is a critical degree for business owners to earn who want to handle the crush of Big Data. The McKinsey Global Institute reports the US could see a shortage of more than one million managers who know how to use big data analytics to make business decisions. See 5+ best online business analytics degree programs.

Three big reasons to earn this Big Data degree are:

1. In depth training in vital business analytics and big data topics. Want to make better decisions with your data? This degree program will teach you statistical modeling, data management, visualization, information security, optimization, and decision making under uncertainty.
2. Learn critical programming tools. These tools you will need to accurately analyze large and unstructured datasets that will enhance your company’s business performance, as well as how to present complex data to laymen in your organization.
3. Applied towards important industries. A master’s in business analytics degree can be applied to the most popular industries and functions, including marketing, finance, operations management, retail, manufacturing, healthcare and banking.

#2 Master of Data Science

The data landscape is changing quickly and is transforming every industry. A master’s degree in data science will hone the skills you need to analyze, discover and innovate in a world that is full of data. See 5+ best masters of data science degree programs.

Why earn a master’s degree in data science as the leader of your company? Consider:

• Develop an innate understanding of vital data science methods, such as data mining, predictive modeling, machine learning, artificial intelligence and data visualization.
• Build the skills you need in your company to analyze, explore, manage and visualize huge data sets that can help you to make more efficient business decisions.
• Develop important skills for quantitative thought leadership that are important for leading companies in all industries today. You also will understand the legal and ethical dimensions of data analytics.

#3 Master of Data Analytics

A master’s degree in data analytics combines the critical aspects of business, information technology and mathematics with mining data, optimization and simulation. As a business owner, you will learn how to dissect information and put it in the context of the highly competitive global marketplace you face today. Also, you will increase your understanding of big data and develop a high level of information analysis expertise. See 5+ best data analytics degree programs.

Benefits of earning a master’s degree in data analytics include:

1. Be able to identify and collect data challenges in virtually any industry, as well as collect and organize large amounts of information quickly and from many sources
2. Learn how to examine your company’s sales data and determine what is the most relevant and how to analyze it for better decision making
3. Become skilled in advanced statistical analysis, simulation and optimization to analyze your data and to develop solutions in the real world that will lead to a more profitable company

#4 Master of Statistics

As the amount of Big Data and statistical information increases with more and more technological innovation driving business, a master’s degree in statistics could be the key to understanding all of the data that your company produces. A statistics degree can be a useful tool in almost any industry: education, technology, healthcare, government or general business. See 5+ best statistics degree programs.

Why should you earn a degree in statistics? Here are three good reasons:

1. Develop skills in probability theory that can be applied to your company’s sales and finances. Focus on areas including probability spaces, discrete and continuous random variables, expectations, transformations, law of large numbers and central limit theorems.
2. Master variance and design of experiments. A master’s in statistics course will also teach you about design and variation concepts; unbalanced, nested and factorial data; ANCOVA, and repeated measure designs.
3. Greater use of statistical analysis to make informed business decisions in all industries. Also, the amount of digitally stored data will grow in the next decade. Having a firm grasp of statistical concepts can make you a very effective company leader.

#5 Master’s of Mathematics

A master’s degree in mathematics can be a good fit for some business leaders because it will teach you problem solving and analytical skills that you can apply in virtually any field. Some of the benefits of earning this graduate degree as a business owner include:

1. Learn how to assess risk. If you run a company that is focused on risk assessment, such as insurance, you can reap a lot of benefits from a master’s degree in mathematics. For example, many actuaries have a master’s degree in this field because the entire occupation is about weighing what the potential risk of a negative event is. With this degree, a business owner in the insurance industry will be able to determine whether to provide coverage or not.
2. Learn advanced mathematical subjects that can apply to many financial related companies, including mathematical analysis, modern algebra, general topology, metric spaces and theory of functions of real variables.
3. A master of science in mathematics is most appropriate for business owners in computing, technology or finances, while a master of arts may be the best choice in an education-related company.

To find new and innovative graduate degrees online, look at the latest report ranking online graduate programs with no GRE requirements. Many schools and colleges today make it easy for mid-level career professionals seeking a graduate degree conveniently online.

References

• What Is Big Data? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/big-data/what-is-big-data.html
• Master of Science in Business Analytics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.marshall.usc.edu/programs/specialized-masters-programs/master-science-business-analytics