Georgetown M.S. in Business Analytics Advances to Second in Fortune Ranking
The M.S. in Business Analytics program (MSBA) at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business is ranked second in the nation in the 2024 Fortune Education Best Online Master’s in Business Analytics Programs, up four spots from 2023.
“Through the use of the latest tools and emerging technologies, innovative teaching methods, and hands-on experiential learning opportunities, Georgetown’s MSBA program prepares students to generate insights and drive value-based decisions for any organization,” said Babak Zafari, academic director of the MSBA program. “We are proud to be recognized as one of the top online programs in the nation by Fortune for delivering on metrics such as the quality of support, career outcomes, and the strength of our student body as we equip professionals to lead change in a dynamic industry.”
The MSBA is a premier program designed specifically for technology-enhanced learning, characterized by close-knit cohorts, a dedicated career services team, and flexibility for working professionals seeking to balance their education with work and personal commitments. The 16-month program includes a combination of synchronous and asynchronous coursework with two seven-day, campus-based residencies that provide integrated, hands-on activities, a capstone project, as well as collaborations with industry leaders such as Amazon and Google to educate students about cloud computing platforms.
The curriculum integrates the technical aspects of data analytics such as machine learning and predictive modeling with managerial business functions so students learn to “speak the language of data.” Students gain insights from expert faculty who provide foundational skills in finance, economics, marketing, and operations through both research-based and applied solutions to real business problems. The program concludes with an integrated capstone project that applies the concepts, methods, and tools learned in the program to a business analytics challenge with a local, national, or global sponsor.
The MSBA program continues to see success in admissions and career outcomes. In fall 2023, the program increased the representation of women, U.S. diversity, and military affiliation across a wide variety of industries and backgrounds. Within six months of graduation, 82% of the Class of 2022 landed a new career opportunity. The full graduating class achieved an average salary increase of 33% with an average salary of $119,106.
Fortune launched the online business analytics ranking in 2022 as a response to the rising demand for business analytics and data-savvy professionals in business. Fortune produces the ranking through a survey of business schools. Programs are evaluated on the following criteria: strength of the incoming class and selectivity, program demand, career outcomes, and student success.