Why Data Skills Are Vital For MBA Students

Big data is one of the big buzzwords circulating the business world today, and with good reason. Companies are spending millions to organize their data so it can be connected, analyzed, and monetized. What is often overlooked in the midst of this hype, however, are the underlying data literacy and analytical skills required to turn any data - big or small - into useable information.

The QS Intelligence Unit (QSIU) and Clear Admit recently teamed up to quantify the data skills that prospective business school students hope to develop during their graduate education, and the response was clear.

Nearly all b-school candidates, regardless of the type of program they plan to pursue, expect to learn analytics skills during their programs. 73 percent of MBA applicants expect to learn a lot or a great deal. Not surprisingly, this figure is even higher (84 percent) for those applying to master’s in business analytics programs.

The study found the top reason for strengthening data skills is to better identify strategic implications of how organizations can leverage data. In addition, respondents want to apply real data to sophisticated models and widen their data understanding so they can more effectively - and credibly - manage technical employees.

Speaking the language

Worried you don’t have enough coding experience? Don’t be, you’re not alone. Around half of candidates report little to no existing computer programming experience. Yet the majority (60 percent) noted learning to code during their programs is either very or extremely important, slightly higher for those interested in Business Analytics (69 percent) and slightly lower for MBA candidates (52 percent). SQL, R, and Python are the top languages that prospective students want exposure to within the business school experience.

The survey found candidates want to develop business intelligence dashboarding and visualization techniques first and foremost. And further down the list come more advanced techniques such as regression analysis, predictive analytics, and machine/deep learning.

Candidates are seeking opportunities to pick up these skills by leveraging cross-campus resources. Around 50 percent of the prospective business school students spoken to - both MBA and Business Analytics focused - expect to take courses in statistics and computer science departments. This multi-disciplinary approach was echoed throughout the survey results. In fact, business school candidates believe the best data minds of tomorrow must develop their analytical toolkit across multiple schools and departments.

A well-rounded individual

Employers are increasingly targeting new hires who are data literate. Business schools have responded to this demand by incorporating more analytics training into MBA programs and building new, standalone Business Analytics programs to help address the talent shortage.

Do you want to be indispensable to your organization and lead data driven change? Check out the nearly 50 programs that we included in the QS World University Rankings: Masters in Business Analytics Rankings 2018 and stay tuned for our 2019 edition coming this September.