The Business & Data Analytics (BDA) Minor is the #1 minor selected by UW Tacoma undergraduate students, which is very impressive given the BDA minor was offered less than one year ago. The minor in Business Data Analytics is open to all majors on campus. It is designed to prepare undergraduate students with the skills to understand how to interpret and analyze data.
The Milgard Center for Business Analytics (CBA) led the introduction of business analytics to the University of Washington, starting with the Master of Science of Business Analytics (MSBA) degree at UW Tacoma in 2017. Given the tremendous success of the MSBA program (now in its fourth year with two cohorts to meet demand) the CBA recognized the opportunity to bring these skillsets to UW Tacoma undergraduates in a minor.
“Business and data analytics are one of the top skillsets employers are seeking in our data-driven economy and the Milgard Center for Business Analytics is excited to prepare our students at both the undergraduate level as well as in our established MSBA program” says Haluk Demirkan, Ph.D. – Assistant Dean of Analytics Innovation & Executive Director of the Milgard CBA.
The Milgard Center for Business Analytics was determined to offer this minor to all majors on campus, as skillsets in data analytics can be applied to any organization or discipline, including sports as demonstrated in “Moneyball”. In the movie, Billy Beane (Oakland Athletics General Manager) applied predictive analytics to develop a highly successful team with a budget significantly less than competing teams. All students in any major at UW Tacoma can benefit from the BDA minor by learning how to make decisions that are data-driven versus relying on conventional wisdom and intuition alone.
Students achieving a minor in Business Data Analytics will:
- Develop an appreciation of the differences between disciplines on how to approach a problem
- Analyze the innovative use of data and analytics solutions to address a problem or an opportunity
- Design a database to collect, store, analyze and manage data to make effective and efficient decisions
- Analyze structured and unstructured data using statistics, quantitative modeling and predictive analytics techniques or relevant technologies so that they can make informed decisions
- Recognize and analyze ethical dilemmas and social responsibilities
- Demonstrate effective oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills to communicate clearly and persuasively to audiences with stories
More information about the Business & Data Analytics Minor at UW Tacoma is located here.
