Big data leads to big career opportunities in PSU’s business analytics program.
The data revolution is generating enormous demand for business analytics in every industry. Portland State University’s Business Intelligence and Analytics Certificate equips you with high-impact data skills that enhance your value and qualify you for more strategic professional roles.
Designed for technical professionals, the business intelligence program offers advanced data analytics training you can use immediately. You’ll learn the most current tools and techniques in business analytics for gathering, analyzing, organizing, and interpreting large-scale data. In addition, you’ll acquire the expertise to apply data analytics in market research, risk management, financial analysis, trend forecasting, and other areas of business intelligence.
You can earn the Business Intelligence and Analytics Certificate as a stand-alone credential. It also pairs with the Master of Science in Applied Data Science for Business, and can also be combined with The Portland MBA, Master of Science in Finance, or Master of Science in Global Supply Chain Management.
Whether you seek to switch careers, earn a promotion, or become more effective in your current role, PSU’s Business Intelligence and Analytics certificate can help raise your professional trajectory and increase your earning power.
- Results-oriented. Our business analytics program emphasizes practical, relevant skills designed to improve your performance and help you achieve better outcomes. We developed the curriculum with input from the business community, so you’ll acquire expertise that has value to employers.
- Forward-looking. The field of data analytics is constantly evolving, and PSU can keep you ahead of the curve. We’ve made U.S. News & World Report’s “Most Innovative Universities” list four consecutive years because our faculty and students are so good at adapting to—and helping to create—new trends.
- Accessible and convenient. You can earn the Business Intelligence & Analytics Certificate in nine months, taking two courses per term. We designed the program with working professionals in mind, so you can easily balance courses with a full-time work schedule.
- Academically rigorous. Data analytics sits at the intersection of business, math, information technology, and engineering. Our business intelligence program draws on all four disciplines, providing you with a versatile and well-rounded skill set that you can apply in almost any industry.
Business Intelligence and Analytics Certificate Highlights
- Offered by PSU’s nationally-ranked School of Business in collaboration with Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science, Systems Science and Fariborz Maseeh Department of Mathematics and Statistics
- PSU named to “Most Innovative Universities” list four consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report
- The School of Business holds elite dual accreditation in accounting and business from Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
- Convenient part-time schedule
- Designed for working professionals
- Hands-on project work in R and Tableau
- Relevant, practical training that you can apply immediately in your current job
Preferred Qualifications
This program is designed for technical professionals.
- At least 1 year of professional or educational experience in data analytics, data reporting, and/or advanced statistics.
- If you do not have experience in these areas, please consider the Data Analytics Certificate delivered by the Center for Executive and Professional Education.
- This certificate teaches the fundamentals of data analytics and is ideal for students new to the field and professionals seeking to understand the context and implications of data on business decisions and outcomes.
Demand for data analytics expertise is rapidly growing throughout the business world, as well as in the government and nonprofit sectors. The business intelligence certificate can open new opportunities in all of those fields. It can also help you become more effective in your current job, play a higher-impact role, or advance into senior positions with greater decision-making authority.
Participants in the business analytics program come from many professional disciplines, including:
- Marketing
- Finance
- Risk assessment
- Operations
- Accounting
- Retail
- Supply and logistics
- Manufacturing
- Small business ownership
CURRICULUM
The business analytics program consists of a six-course sequence. You’ll combine analytical skills with sound intuition as you distill insights and strategies from large-scale data sets.
Fall Term
- ETM 540 (4 credits): Operations Research Management Science
- Students are required to take ONE of the following two courses. These courses have varying prerequisites.
- BTA 516 (3 Credits): Applied Regression Analysis (Online)
- Prerequisites: Statistics Primer* (Online, No Credit, Pass/No Pass)
- STAT 564 (3 Credits): Regression Analysis
- Prerequisites: MTH 261: Linear Algebra and either STAT 451/551: Applied Statistics or STAT 461/561: Intro to Mathematical Statistics
Winter Term
- ETM 538 (4 credits): Decision Support Systems: Data Warehousing
- ETM 527 (4 Credits:) Data Mining Techniques for Business (SYSC-531 - Data Mining with Information Theory can substitute.)
Spring Term
- BTA 521 (2 credits) (Online): Data Visualization
*The primer course is a series of undergraduate-level video modules and assessments designed to prepare students with knowledge in Statistics. The course will be available to all students admitted to the BIA Certificate.
ACCREDITATION AND RANKINGS
Portland State University is fully accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).
One of fewer than 200 business schools worldwide — top 1% — to be accredited in both business and accounting by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). AACSB is the elite business school accreditation known internationally.
Learn more about how to be successful in graduate programs.