As demand for AI and quantitative skills continues to grow, graduate business programs are popping up to meet this need. Some of these programs directly target AI, such as the MS in AI in Business from Arizona State University. Similarly, Business Analytics and Data Science programs offer quantitative education and experience to those who want to target analyst, data engineer, and consulting roles. However, people who have been working for four or more years or those who are seeking to make a career pivot might be better suited for an MBA. To keep pace with this trend, many top MBA programs have added tracks and specializations that integrate analytical studies alongside traditional strategy– and leadership-focused education. Let’s take a look at top-20 ranked US MBA programs that have analytics-focused study options.
- Penn Wharton MBA Major in Business Analytics – Wharton students can choose from more than 40 analytics-focused courses to customize their MBA. Courses span industry-specific topics including healthcare, finance, marketing, and sports, as well as general skills topics like Business Analytics with Data for Non-Coders.
- Chicago Booth MBA Concentrations – Among Booth’s 16 different optional concentrations, Analytical Finance, Applied AI, Business Analytics, and Econometrics and Statistics offer a quantitative focus.
- Northwestern Kellogg MBA Analytics and AI Specialization – This specialization aims to develop “MBAs who have a passion for business problems but are fluent in analytics, ML, and AI, such that they can easily converse with and manage teams of data scientists.” Students can choose from 25 analytical courses.
- MIT Sloan Business Analytics Certificate – This certificate gives students the choice between two study paths as well as several electives across several professional topics, including behavioral policy sciences, economics, finance, IT, law, and more.
- Columbia Business School Pathways – Columbia’s 17 optional Curriculum Pathways are sequences of electives, tailored to help MBA…students choose courses that align with career goals in product management, consulting, and investment banking.
- NYU Stern MBA Specializations – Stern offers several optional specializations, including AI, Business Analytics, Financial Systems and Analytics, Fintech, Quantitative Finance, and Tech Product Management.
- Virginia Darden AI, Data Analytics and Decision Sciences Concentration – This interdisciplinary option “prepares students to contribute to and lead organizations that use data, data science, and artificial intelligence as part of their core business processes.”
- Michigan Ross Data and Business Analytics Concentration – Students who choose this concentration will complete at least 12 elective credits to hone their ability to analyze complex data and generate managerial insights.
- Duke Fuqua Decision Sciences Concentration – Because of its flexibility, the Decision Sciences concentration is an ideal complement to concentrations in finance, marketing, operations, or consulting. Gain expertise in constructing decision tree models to evaluate R&D projects, building optimization models for production, or using game theory to analyze a new product launch.
- Vanderbilt Owen MBA Operations & Analytics Concentration – The courses in this concentration focus on the design and management of the processes by which products are manufactured and services are delivered to customers. Core courses provide an overview of the field and electives examine critical processes in depth.
- UCLA Anderson MBA Specializations – With specializations in Technology Leadership & AI and Marketing Analytics, Anderson’s front-loaded curriculum allows students to take elective courses in winter quarter of the first year. This flexibility helps quickly build in-depth expertise in your chosen function and industry, strengthening your performance in the summer internship.
- UT-Austin McCombs MBA Operations & Analytics Concentrations – McCombs offers 16-credit concentrations in Business Analytics, Information Management, and Supply Chain & Operations in partnership with the Information, Risk, and Operations Management Department.
- Washington Foster MBA Marketing Analytics Specialization – This specialization trains students to use cutting edge analytics to better direct a variety of marketing decisions. The specialization consists of four courses: Customer Analytics, Analytics for Marketing Decisions, Digital Marketing Analytics, and Strategic Pricing.
- *[Bonus Program] Babson College MBA Concentrations – Babson College – regularly ranked as a top MBA program for entrepreneurship – offers Business Analytics and Business Analytics and Machine Learning Concentrations. The MBA concentrations cover topics such as data science, business intelligence, data visualization, and programming.