SUNY Empire State College has launched its new M.S. in Applied Analytics degree program. The degree prepares students for careers as data analysts, business analysts, data scientists, and machine learning engineers. It also teaches managers the fundamental tools for gaining insight from organizational data and moving from intuition to data-driven decision making. Graduates can achieve meaningful careers in analytics or enhance existing careers using statistical tools and cutting-edge skills in data science and machine learning. The courses use contemporary programming languages such as Python, R, SQL, and others to solve real-world data problems.

The 30-credit hour program is taught online and features six core courses, three concentration courses, and an experiential capstone course. The six core courses are designed to enhance mathematical and technology skills. For the concentration courses, students must select from one of four fields — health care, marketing, management, or education — to enhance decision making, management, and leadership skills. Students apply what they learn in their courses to a real-world capstone project, often an internship or a project at their jobs.

SUNY Empire’s new M.S. degree in applied analytics comes as modern industry is recognizing the value of its data, which is quickly becoming a commodity across all economic sectors. Data scientists and data engineers are rated among some of the best tech jobs in the U.S. At the same time, a growing number of organizations are raising the red flag over significant shortages of tech workers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts job growth in applied analytics and related fields will reach 20%, a rate that is much faster than other occupations. Professionals in applied analytics can expect a mean average wage of $103,930 per year, which is significantly higher than the national average in other roles.

Questions about the M.S. in applied analytics program can be directed to Thomas Wiese, the program coordinator at thomas.wiese@esc.edu.