Professional Studies and Advanced Certificate in Business Analytics, B.A./B.S.

EITEL LAURIA, Ph.D., Director of Graduate Programs

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

In addition to its undergraduate major in Professional Studies, Marist College also offers an Advanced Certificate in Business Analytics, a four-course, graduate level program that focuses on modern day data management and data analysis, predictive analytics, and business intelligence. Students in this advanced certificate program will acquire experience with cutting-edge software and analytics tools for harnessing data and improving the decision-making process.

The Advanced Certificate in Business Analytics does not require a computer science or technology background and may be of strong interest to those students working in advertising and marketing, health care administration, business strategy, research, or finance. Individuals working in these employment sectors who wish to stay competitive in their field can do so by deepening their knowledge of Business Analytics.

Marist College recognizes that for some outstanding undergraduate Professional Studies students, certain courses within their undergraduate work might well be reflective of both the content and quality of what is typically expected at the graduate level. The College further recognizes that certain outstanding undergraduate students could participate successfully in graduate classes. For these reasons Marist College offers a dual-program, or pathway, in which the student will earn both a B.A./B.S. undergraduate degree and an advanced certificate.

This dual-program offers Professional Studies undergraduate students an opportunity to embed the four graduate-level courses that comprise the Advanced Certificate in Business Analytics within their undergraduate study plan by using a portion of the courses allocated as electives. In this way, students who are admitted to this dual-program will be able to earn both credentials by completing 120 credits. A completed Advanced Certificate in Business Analytics can be applied towards a Master of Science in Information Systems.

The dual-program is not appropriate for all Professional Studies students. Qualification occurs in the equivalent point of late in the junior year of the Professional Studies program. A cumulative GPA of 3.3 is required for acceptance into the dual-program. A cumulative 3.0 GPA is required to obtain the certificate. Students interested in entering the dual-program should speak to any School of Professional Programs advisor or the Graduate Programs Director in the School of Computer Science and Mathematics early in their studies at Marist.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

Admission is based on prior academic performance and potential, a commitment to professional development, and demonstrated professional/leadership growth, as determined from the various documents submitted.

In addition to the application materials addressed in the Admission to Graduate Programs section of the General Information section of the Graduate Studies catalog, applicants to the graduate Advanced Certificate in Business Analytics must submit the following:

Current résumé;
A written summary of technical or professional non-credit course training;
A written statement which outlines the applicant’s career objective(s), the reason(s) for selecting Marist’s Advanced Certificate in Business Analytics, and the applicant’s personal and professional expectations from the program;
Optionally, at the Graduate Director’s discretion, two letters of recommendation may be required;
Completed application for the Advanced Certificate in Business Analytics.

Students admitted on a non-matriculated basis are permitted to take three credits of course work. Upon completion of three credits, they will receive matriculated status if they have achieved at least a 3.3 GPA. All other prerequisites for matriculation must be met prior to receiving matriculated status. A cumulative 3.0 GPA in the graduate courses is required to obtain the certificate.

Requirements for a Dual-program B.A/B.S. In Professional Studies and Advanced Certificate in Business Analytics

1.0 Professional Studies Major Credit Component: 45 cr

A minimum of forty-five (45) credits must be selected from a minimum of two different academic concentrations/areas of study. If a student chooses 3 concentrations/areas of study, each must have a minimum of 12 credits. If a student chooses 2 concentrations/areas of study, then each must have a minimum of 21 credits. Of the total 45 credits, at least 21 of those credits must be upper-level courses, usually designated as 300-400 level courses, 12 of which must be taken at Marist.

Professional Studies Capping: 3 cr

Total Credit requirement in Professional Studies: 48 cr

2.0 Core/Liberal Studies Requirements

2.1 Foundation

FYS 101L - First Year Seminar 4 Credit(s) **
ENG 120L - Writing for College 3 Credit(s)

2.2 Distribution

Breadth: 24 cr

PHIL 101L - Philosophical Perspectives 3 Credit(s)
Ethics, Applied Ethics, or Religious Studies 3 Credit(s)
Fine Arts 3 Credit(s)
History 3 Credit(s)
Literature 3 Credit(s)
Mathematics - MATH 130L - Introductory Statistics I 3 Credit(s)
Natural Science 3 Credit(s)
Social Science 3 Credit(s)

Pathway: 12 cr

Students who transfer in 36 or more earned credits are exempt from the Pathway requirement.

Courses addressing an interdisciplinary topic.

Total Credit Requirements for Core/Liberal Studies: 43 cr

** Students who transfer in 24 or more earned credits are exempt from the First Year Seminar.

3.0 Additional undergraduate electives for graduation: 17 cr

3.1 MSIS courses count towards the B.A./B.S. in Professional Studies, but credits/grades only apply to the graduate program: 17 cr

MSIS 537 - Data Management I 3 Credit(s) Count toward graduate credits
MSIS 545 - Intro. to Data Analysis & Comp. Statistics 3 Credit(s) Count toward graduate credits
MSIS 637 - Decision Support Systems 3 Credit(s) Count toward graduate credits
MSIS 645 - Data Mining & Predictive Analytics 3 Credit(s) Count toward graduate credits