Live classes, once a week
Your data analytics program begins in September with a 2.5-day launch experience where you’ll meet your professors, network with classmates, and build relationships with the members of your learning team. This weekend residency requires you to be physically present on Duke University’s campus in Durham, North Carolina. From there, your program moves online. Over the next 19 months, you’ll work through course modules--including online readings and pre-recorded video lectures--on your own schedule, complete individual and team assignments, and join your class in real-time video classes each week.
After two terms, you may choose to return to Duke’s campus for an optional working professional leadership intensive. This 2.5-day immersion in a framework for leading others helps you understand your leadership effectiveness and style, and provides guidance on developing solid, enduring leadership behaviors.
Throughout your business analytics degree program, you’ll be able to arrange most course assignments and deliverables around your other commitments, mastering fundamentals within online modules so that you get the most out of class discussions during scheduled sessions.
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Collaborative environment
Fuqua’s difference comes from the way we structure our working professional learning—as peer teams. You’ll be assigned to a group of three to five peer professionals with expertise in different functions and markets, and work closely together throughout your program. You’ll need to learn to trust and rely on each other’s strengths to accomplish your goals, gaining new insights and mastering the collaboration skills that will help you move any team forward. Even in an online learning environment, you are never alone because of our unique collaborative and high-touch approach.
Our Faculty
As with our other programs, the MSQM: Business Analytics program is taught by a team of world-renowned faculty—scholars recognized for excellence in their academic area and their research as well as their industry expertise, with a passion for teaching. Your professors are authorities in core business functions as well as in quantitative data analytics methodologies. They will challenge you with a rigorous curriculum and bring real-world insights that will give you new perspectives on your professional work.
Classroom Dynamics
Professors foster active in-class debates that draw insights from the range of experience in your cohort, so class discussions engage professionals from different sectors. Our learning method draws from cases and exercises that challenge you to tackle issues from multiple perspectives. The academic rigor and fast pace will ensure your time is well spent.
Over five terms, you’ll complete 16 courses: seven in core business functions and nine in data science, quantitative and analytics methods, and their applications in specialized business contexts. Each term will have a pre-reading period for you to prepare for the upcoming term. Your professors may give some reading or simple assignments to complete during the pre-reading period so you can hit the ground running once the term starts. You’ll have sufficient down time between terms and during holidays to re-energize.
While the online course sequence and timing may shift between calendar years, the MSQM: Business Analytics structure is likely to follow this format:
- Program Launch in Durham, NC (2.5 days)
- Term 1 - Online (12 weeks)
- Programming for Analysis and Visualization
- Applied Probability and Statistics
- Managerial Economics
- Term 2 - Online (12 weeks)
- Business Fundamentals: Accounting and Finance
- Business Fundamentals: Marketing and Strategy
- Data Analytics and Applications
- Optional Leadership Intensive in Durham, NC (2.5 days)
- Term 3 - Online (12 weeks)
- Advanced Data Analytics and Applications
- Operations Management
- Navigating Organizations
- Term 4 - Online (12 weeks)
- Empirical Analysis for Business Strategy
- Digital Marketing
- Decision Models
- Term 5 - Online (12 weeks)
- Financial Risk Management
- Fraud Analytics
- Ethics and Legal Issues in Health Analytics
- Business Communications
Digital Learning
Combining independent study, live classes, and collaborative assignments, the MSQM: Business Analytics curriculum is delivered in a sophisticated and user-friendly online learning environment. The online platform serves as a repository for self-study materials such as pre-recorded video lectures, readings, and interactive exercises. It also enables face-to-face interaction, discussion of business and analytics case elements, and debate of relevant data science topics with your classmates during live classes.
A balance of self-study, live classes, and teamwork
For each subject in the curriculum, you’ll work through a set of online course materials on your own schedule. In addition, you will attend live, 75-minute online class sessions with the rest of your class, during which your professor will give lectures, conduct case discussions, or ask students to give presentations. Team collaboration will also be a significant part of each course, requiring you to coordinate schedules with your learning team of working professionals to meet virtually and work through class assignments ahead of your next live class session.
The blend of the self-paced, classroom, and teamwork elements of each online course provides you the flexibility to balance program requirements with your professional and personal commitments while still allowing you to develop and maintain close connections with other students and the business analytics master's faculty. While you should expect to spend at least 15-20 hours a week on your schoolwork, you can schedule these elements of your program around other obligations.
One Platform
Throughout the program, you’ll use your digital learning platform to:
- Submit assignments
- Download business-analytics course materials
- Interact with classmates
- Read class and team online bulletin boards
- Take exams
- Contribute to course discussion boards
- Share documents
- Call your teammates
| Term 1 | |
| Orientation Residency | Sep. 4-6, 2020 in Durham |
| Reading Period* | Sep. 7-14, 2020 |
| Online Classes | Sep. 15--Dec. 7, 2020 |
| Final Exams | Dec. 8-14, 2020 |
| Break | Dec. 15, 2020--Jan. 4, 2021 |
| Term 2 | |
| Reading Period | Jan. 5-18, 2021 |
| Online Classes | Jan. 19--Apr. 12, 2021 |
| Final Exams | Apr. 13-26, 2021 |
| Break | Apr. 27--May 10, 2021 |
| Term 3 | |
| Reading Period | May 11-24, 2021 |
| Optional Leadership Intensive Residency | May 14-16, 2021 in Durham |
| Online Classes | May 25--Aug. 16, 2021 |
| Final Exams | Aug. 17-23, 2021 |
| Break | Aug. 24-30, 2021 |
| Term 4 | |
| Reading Period | Aug. 31--Sep. 13, 2021 |
| Online Classes | Sep.14--Dec. 6, 2021 |
| Final Exams | Dec. 7-20, 2021 |
| Break |
Dec. 21, 2021--Jan. 10, 2021 |
| Term 5 | |
| Reading Period | Jan. 11-17, 2022 |
| Online Classes | Jan. 18--Apr. 11, 2022 |
| Final Exams | Apr. 12-18, 2022 |
| Graduation Ceremonies | May 2022 in Durham |
*Each term includes a “reading period” for students to prepare for the upcoming term. Professors will provide reading and/or simple assignments to complete during the reading period so students hit the ground running once the term begins.