Analytics, Data & Business Graduate Courses

Prereq: AD100 Pre-Analytics Laboratory and ADR100 Introduction to R
This course presents fundamental knowledge and skills for applying business analytics to managerial decision-making in corporate environments. Topics include descriptive analytics (techniques for categorizing, characterizing, consolidating, and classifying data for conversion into useful information for the purposes of understanding and analyzing business performance), predictive analytics (techniques for detection of hidden patterns in large quantities of data to segment and group data into coherent sets in order to predict behavior and trends), prescriptive analytics (techniques for identification of best alternatives for maximizing or minimizing business objectives). Students will learn how to use data effectively to drive rapid, precise, and profitable analytics-based decisions. The framework of using interlinked data inputs, analytics models, and decision-support tools will be applied within a proprietary business analytics shell and demonstrated with examples from different functional areas of the enterprise. R, SQL, and Power BI software are used in this course.   [ 4 cr. ]

Prerequisite: PY100 (Intro to Python)
Python is a modern, high-level programming language. One of the most popular programming languages, its use has steadily increased across a large number of industries. This course introduces students to the Python environment and teaches a solid foundation in the basic syntax and structure. Structured Query Language (SQL) is the most common language globally for interacting with relational databases. Employers have indicated that knowledge of SQL is one of the most important skills for new graduates entering the workforce. Even with advances in database technologies and languages for handling heterogeneous data types, SQL remains the core skill for interacting with data. This course introduces both languages to equip students pursuing an analytics education with the skills necessary to succeed in the analytics and data visualization field. The outcome of this course will be a focused survey of Python and SQL topics designed to equip analytics professionals rather than a deep focus on technical programming topics.  [ 4 cr. ]

This course will provide students with the analytical tools to analyze, manage, and improve manufacturing, service, and business processes. Coverage includes various options to lower operational costs and improve responsiveness to customers' needs, including operating system design, product & service design, capacity analysis & buffering, waiting line optimization, and process quality analysis using statistical approaches. Quantitative methods include application of stochastic simulation, analysis of random outcomes, statistical analysis routines (confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, machine learning), system reliability analysis, and statistical process control. The Deming philosophy of management, Lean operations principles, and Six Sigma process improvement methodologies form the underlying foundation of the course coverage.  [ 4 cr. ]

Prereq: METAD571
The course offers an overview of the key current and emerging enterprise risk analytical approaches used by corporations and governmental institutions and is focused on understanding and implementing the enterprise risk management framework on how to leverage the opportunities around a firm to increase firm value. The major risk categories of the enterprise risk management such as financial risk, strategic risk, and operational risk will be discussed and risk analytics approaches for each of these risks will be covered. Students will learn how to use interlinked data inputs, analytics models, business statistics, optimization techniques, simulation, and decision-support tools. An integrated enterprise risk analytics approach will be demonstrated with examples from different functional areas of the enterprise. R, SQL, and Power BI software are used in this course.   [ 4 cr. ]

Introduction to the concepts, methods and problems of accounting and financial analysis. Includes accounting principles, measurement and disclosure issues, financial statement analysis, time value of money, cash flow projection and analysis, capital budgeting and project evaluation, bond and equity valuation, cost of capital and capital structure. 4 cr. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking.  [ 4 cr. ]

Prereq: METAD571
Become familiar with the foundations of modern marketing analytics and develop your ability to select, apply, and interpret readily available data on customer purchase behavior, new customer acquisition, current customer retention, and marketing mix optimization. This course explores approaches and techniques to support the managerial decision-making process and skills in using state-of-the- art statistical and analytics tools. Students will have an opportunity to gain a basic understanding of how transaction and descriptive data are used to construct customer segmentation schemas, build and calibrate predictive models, and quantify the incremental impact of specific marketing actions. Python, R, SQL, and Power BI software are used in this course.   [ 4 cr. ]

Prereq AD100, ADR100, AD571
Explore web analytics, text mining, web mining, and practical application domains. The web analytics part of the course studies the metrics of websites, their content, user behavior, and reporting. The Google Analytics tool is used for the collection of website data and doing the analysis. The text mining module covers the analysis of text including content extraction, string matching, clustering, classification, and recommendation systems. The web mining module presents how web crawlers process and index the content of websites, how search works, and how results are ranked. Application areas mining the social web and game metrics will be extensively investigated. R, SQL, and Power BI software are used in this course.   [ 4 cr. ]

Prereqs: AD100,ADR100,AD571
Enterprises, organizations, and individuals are creating, collecting, and using a massive amount of structured and unstructured data with the goal to convert the information into knowledge, improving the quality and the efficiency of their decision-making process, and better positioning themselves in the highly competitive marketplace. Data mining is the process of finding, extracting, visualizing, and reporting useful information and insights from both small and large datasets with the help of sophisticated data analysis methods. It is part of business analytics, which refers to the process of leveraging different forms of analytical techniques to achieve desired business outcomes through requiring business relevancy, actionable insight, performance management, and value management. The students in this course will study the fundamental principles and techniques of data mining. They will learn how to apply advanced models and software applications for data mining. Finally, students will learn how to examine the overall business process of an organization or a project with the goal to understand (i) the business context where hidden internal and external value is to be identified and captured, and (ii) exactly what the selected data mining method does. R, SQL, and Power BI software are used in this course.   [ 4 cr. ]

The purpose of this course is to help improve business problem solving and managerial decision-making through the use of quantitative and qualitative decision-making tools and techniques. This course will provide the student with an overview of how decisions are made to solve management problems in the business environment. It introduces the fundamental concepts and methodologies of the decision-making process, problem-solving, decision analysis, data collection, probability distribution, evaluation, and prediction methods. Students will learn how to apply different quantitative and qualitative analytical tools commonly used in business to provide a depth of understanding and support to various decision-making activities within each subject area of management. Through the use of case studies of decisions made by managers in various production and service industries and a business simulation package specifically prepared for this course, the scope and breadth of decision-making in business will be described.  [ 4 cr. ]

Prereq: at least three of the ABA specialization courses AD616, AD654, AD688, AD699
The Business Analytics Capstone Project provides valuable learning experiences and opportunities to apply a set of techniques, competencies, and procedures acquired after the completion of all core and specialization courses within the MS in Applied Business Analytics program. The purpose of this course is to obtain insights about a business that results in improved data-driven decision- making to create value on different levels of an enterprise. Includes application of statistical, stochastic, and dynamic modeling, data mining, forecasting, and operations research techniques to the analysis of problems of business organization and performance. R, Python, SQL, and Power BI software are used in this course. The solving of real problems facing different size companies are assigned to small teams of students and is overseen by our curriculum advisory board, ABA faculty, and business partners from a range of industries.   [ 4 cr. ]

Formerly titled CS 544 Foundations of Analytics with R.
The goal of this course is to provide students with the mathematical and practical background required in the field of data analytics. Probability and statistics concepts will be reviewed as well as the R tool for statistical computing and graphics. Different types of data are investigated along with data summarization techniques and plotting. Data populations using discrete, continuous, and multivariate distributions are explored. Errors during measurements and computations are analyzed in the course. Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing topics are also examined. The concepts covered in the course are demonstrated using R. Laboratory Course. Prereq: MET CS546 and (MET CS520 or MET CS521), or equivalent knowledge, or instructor's consent.  [ 4 cr. ]

The goal of this course is to provide students with the mathematical fundamentals required for successful quantitative analysis of problems. The first part of the course introduces the mathematical prerequisites for understanding probability and statistics. Topics include combinatorial mathematics, functions, and the fundamentals of differentiation and integration. The second part of the course concentrates on the study of elementary probability theory, discrete and continuous distributions. Prereq: Academic background that includes the material covered in a standard course on college algebra or instructor's consent. For undergraduate students: This course may not be taken in conjunction with MET MA 213, only one of these courses will count toward degree program requirements. Students who have taken MET MA 113 as well as MET MA 123 will also not be allowed to count MET CS 546 towards degree requirements.  [ 4 cr. ]

Mathematics is fundamental to data science and machine learning. This course reviews essential mathematical concepts and procedures which are fundamental. These concepts are illustrated by Python and/or R code and by many visualizations. This course discusses mathematical concepts and computational methods for data science using simple self-contained examples, intuition and visualization. These examples will help develop intuitive explanations behind mathematical concepts. Extensive visualizations will be used to illustrate core mathematical concepts. The emphasis is both on mathematics and computational algorithms that are at the heart of many algorithms for data analysis and machine learning. This course will advance students mathematical skills that can be used effectively in data analytics and machine learning. Prerequisite: Basic knowledge of Python or R. Or instructor's consent.  [ 4 cr. ]

Formerly titled CS 555 Data Analysis and Visualization with R.
This course provides an overview of the statistical tools most commonly used to process, analyze, and visualize data. Topics include simple linear regression, multiple regression, logistic regression, analysis of variance, and survival analysis. These topics are explored using the statistical package R, with a focus on understanding how to use and interpret output from this software as well as how to visualize results. In each topic area, the methodology, including underlying assumptions and the mechanics of how it all works along with appropriate interpretation of the results, are discussed. Concepts are presented in context of real world examples. Recommended Prerequisite: MET CS 544 or equivalent knowledge, or instructor's consent.  [ 4 cr. ]

Discusses basic methods for designing and analyzing efficient algorithms emphasizing methods used in practice. Topics include sorting, searching, dynamic programming, greedy algorithms, advanced data structures, graph algorithms (shortest path, spanning trees, tree traversals), matrix operations, string matching, NP completeness. Prereq: MET CS248 and either MET CS341 or MET CS342. Or METCS 521 and METCS 526. Or instructor's consent.  [ 4 cr. ]

Students will learn major Python tools and techniques for data analysis. There are weekly assignments and mini projects on topics covered in class. These assignments will help build necessary statistical, visualization and other data science skills for effective use of data science in a variety of applications including finance, text processing, time series analysis and recommendation systems. In addition, students will choose a topic for a final project and present it on the last day of class. Prerequisite: MET CS 521 or equivalent. Or, instructor's consent.   [ 4 cr. ]

Formerly titled CS 688 Web Analytics and Mining.
The Web Mining and Graph Analytics course covers the areas of web mining, machine learning fundamentals, text mining, clustering, and graph analytics. This includes learning fundamentals of machine learning algorithms, how to evaluate algorithm performance, feature engineering, content extraction, sentiment analysis, distance metrics, fundamentals of clustering algorithms, how to evaluate clustering performance, and fundamentals of graph analysis algorithms. Laboratory Course. Prerequisites: MET CS 544, or MET CS 555 or equivalent knowledge, or instructor's consent.  [ 4 cr. ]

This course surveys state-of-the art technologies in DW and Big Data. It describes logical, physical and semantic foundation of modern DW infrastructure. Students will create a cube using OLAP and implement decision support benchmarks on Hadoop/Spark vs Vertica database. Upon successful completion, students will be familiar with tradeoffs in DW design and architecture. Prereq: MET CS 579 or MET CS 669 and either MET CS 520 or MET CS 521. Or instructor's consent.   [ 4 cr. ]

This course aims to study basic concepts and techniques of data mining. The topics include data preparation, classification, performance evaluation, association rule mining, ?regressions and clustering. We will discuss basic data mining algorithms in the class, and students will practice data mining techniques using Python or R. Prereq: CS 521, and CS 546 and either CS 579 or CS 669. Or instructor's consent.  [ 4 cr. ]

Formerly titled CS767 Machine Learning
Theories and methods for learning from data. The course covers a variety of approaches, including Supervised and Unsupervised Learning, Neural Nets and Deep Learning, Adversarial Learning, Bayesian Learning, and Genetic Algorithms. Each student focuses on two of these approaches and creates a term project. Laboratory course. Prerequisite: MET CS 521 and either MET CS 622, MET CS 673 or MET CS 682. MET CS 677 is strongly recommended. Or, instructor's consent.  [ 4 cr. ]

This course is an introduction to large-scale data analytics. Big Data analytics is the study of how to extract actionable, non-trivial knowledge from massive amount of data sets. This class will focus both on the cluster computing software tools and programming techniques used by data scientists, as well as the important mathematical and statistical models that are used in learning from large-scale data processing. On the tools side, we will cover the basics systems and techniques to store large-volumes of data, as well as modern systems for cluster computing based on Map-Reduce pattern such as Hadoop MapReduce, Apache Spark and Flink. Students will implement data mining algorithms and execute them on real cloud systems like Amazon AWS, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure by using educational accounts. On the data mining models side, this course will cover the main standard supervised and unsupervised models and will introduce improvement techniques on the model side.
Prerequisite: MET CS 521, MET CS 544 and MET CS 555. Or, MET CS 677. Or, Instructor's consent.   [ 4 cr. ]

This course covers advanced aspects of database management including normalization and denormalization, query optimization, distributed databases, data warehousing, and big data. There is extensive coverage and hands on work with SQL, and database instance tuning. Course covers various modern database architectures including relational, key value, object relational and document store models as well as various approaches to scale out, integrate and implement database systems through replication and cloud based instances. Students learn about unstructured "big data" architectures and databases, and gain hands-on experience with Spark and MongoDB. Students complete a term project exploring an advanced database technology of their choice. Prereq: MET CS 579 or MET CS 669; or instructor's consent.  [ 4 cr. ]

Interval estimation. Point estimation including sufficiency, Rao-Blackwell theorem, completeness, uniqueness, Rao-Cramer inequality, and maximum likelihood estimation. Tests of hypothesis: uniformly most powerful tests, uniformly most powerful unbiased tests, likelihood ratio test, chi-squared test, comparison of means and variances, ANOVA, regression, and some nonparametric tests.   [ 4 cr. ]