Business Analytics Fast Track

Better decisions. Better career options. Learn how big data can work for you.

The first cohort of this program began in September 2020. Request more information to be notified when the next cohort start date is announced!

Overview

Make this the year you advance your career – or take the leap toward a rewarding new one. Oglethorpe’s fast-track Business Analytics Certificate offers professionals an affordable and accessible way to develop sought-after skills in data analytics, all in just 12 weeks

Here are a few quick facts about the fast-track Business Analytics Certificate:

  • Offered through the Hammack School of Business
  • Includes three consecutive courses; each lasts four weeks
  • Available at one flat discounted rate for the full program (Oglethorpe alumni receive an additional 20% tuition discount!)
  • Fully online, so you can learn from anywhere
  • Earn 12 transcripted undergraduate credits
  • The Fast Track Certificate Program is for students new to Oglethorpe. If you are a current OU student, see information here about how you can earn the Business Analytics Certificate.

Why Business Analytics?

What is business analytics? And how can it help you make big strides in your career?

Business analytics draws on the increasingly massive quantities of data generated by our everyday interactions with our connected world. If that data is deployed effectively, it can help organizations identify their strengths and weaknesses, figure out what works and what doesn’t, and improve results while spending less. In other words, data helps businesses and governments make better decisions about how to serve their customers and constituents.

In fact, business analytics guides decision-making in most industries: finance, government, manufacturing, retail, science, medicine and more.

With the Certificate in Business Analytics, you’ll better understand the role that big data plays in your own field, and develop the skills to deploy the data for better decision-making yourself. You’ll enhance your resume for faster promotions and higher earnings. And with Oglethorpe’s connections to Atlanta’s thriving business community, you’ll find even more opportunities to get your foot in the door at a new company or in a new career.

Professionals with expertise in data management are in high demand. According to the the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth in data-related occupations is much higher than average. The number of jobs is projected to increase 12 percent by 2028 (that’s almost 550,000 new jobs!). Relevant job titles include roles like business intelligence analyst, data analyst, data architect, and data engineer.

Professionals with expertise in data management are in high demand.

What you’ll learn

Through the certificate program’s three required courses, you’ll learn everything you need to get started with Big Data:

  • Discover how to ask the right questions, create a hypothesis and frame your queries.
  • Make the most of Microsoft Excel’s data-wrangling features, including tables, pivot tables and graphs.
  • Master the fundamentals of business statistics: descriptive statistics, modeling basics, statistical interference.
  • Get to know essential Big Data tools such as Statistical Analysis Software (SAS), a data management software suite, and R, a data-focused programming language.
  • Combine art and science to transform data into compelling and accessible visualizations.

The program is offered 100 percent online, making it simple to upgrade your skills and earn this valuable credential, no matter where you’re located. And through live interactions with your professors and classmates, you’ll still experience the benefits of Oglethorpe’s one-of-a-kind culture and community.

Tuition: $3,000

$100 Technology Fee

Oglethorpe Alumni receive a 20% tuition discount


Offered as…

Certificate in Business Analytics

Course Descriptions

BUS 275 Business Analytics
September 8 – October 2

This course develops the principles and techniques that are required to enable you to turn data into actionable intelligence. The course addresses how to ask a proper research question; how to formulate a hypothesis; how to gather the data needed to test your hypothesis; how to conduct a preliminary analysis of your data; how to create a predictive model; and how to communicate the results of your analysis.

BUS 355 Data Visualization
October 12 – November 6

This course focuses on how to use art and science to turn data into easily consumable information by exploring how to design and create data visualizations. This involves evaluating the effectiveness of visualizations in order to develop best practices with regard to design, organizing raw data, and creating data visualizations.

BUS 325 Advanced Business Analytics
November 16 – December 18

This course provides the foundations for true quantitative business analysis.  We will learn to use a proper analytical workflow; get real data into an analytical program; transform and wrangle the data into usable form; exploring the data with visualization and predictive modeling; and communicate the results.

Upon completion of the certificate program, all three courses can be applied to a bachelor’s degree through Oglethorpe’s Adult Degree Program.


Ethan

Questions?

Ethan Hawkland
Admission Counselor
[email protected]