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M.S. in Business Analytics Stillman School of Business Prequalification Courses

Pre-qualification courses do not bear credit and are designed to help students update and refresh their basic quantitative and excel skills. The M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA) has two prequalification courses and each course is $475. All students must complete the pre-qualification sequence as outlined below or be waived from the courses based upon prior undergraduate coursework or by opting for and passing a challenge exam. All pre-qualification courses are web-based and offered year-round during every semester in both the seven-week A and B terms.

Prequalification Sequence

Students without a background in statistics or excel will be required to complete a sequence of online prequalification courses that do not bear credit. Accepted students can be waived from these courses based on prior coursework or successfully passing a challenge exam.

The requirement to complete pre-qualification courses bears no impact on admission to the program. The pre-qualification courses include:

  • BMBA 8019 Statistics (Required for BSAN 7001 Intro to Data Analytics and Business Intelligence)
  • BMBA 8020 Information Technology Management (BSAN 7001 Intro to Data Analytics and Business Intelligence)

BMBA 8019 Statistics
The course introduces and develops an understanding of statistical concepts and methods as tools in the managerial decision -making process in the face of uncertainty. Descriptive statistics, probability and probability distributions and statistical inference will be discussed. Linear regression and correlation also will be introduced. Emphasis will be placed on the student’s ability to identify appropriate statistical tools for analysis in a variety of business-related problems.

BMBA 8020 Information Technology Management
This course familiarizes students with the software productivity tools used in business today. The class focuses on the use of Microsoft Excel. Topics covered include worksheet construction, use of simple equations, creation of graphs and charts and sorting/filtering of data.

Pre-qualification Waiver Procedure

  • Statistics PQ BMBA 8019- A waiver will be granted by completing one undergraduate course in statistics with a grade of B or better. Alternatively, a waiver will be granted by successfully completing the challenge exam.
  • Info. Tech. Management PQ BMBA 8020- A waiver will be granted by successfully completing the IT PQ challenge exam.

Challenge Exam Procedure

In the event that a new student does not qualify for waivers of Pre-Qualifier requirements, but believes that he/she is proficient in a particular discipline, the Stillman School offers a Challenge Exam option. Challenge Exams are designed to test a student’s proficiency in a given core curriculum area. If a student passes the Challenge Exam, he/she will earn a waiver of the requirement to take the related Pre-Qualifier course.

  1. Challenge exams are proficiency tests. A student taking a challenge exam with the goal of waiving out of the related Pre-Qualifier course should have a comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter.
     
  2. Students may register for Challenge Exams either in person at the Student Information Office (Jubilee Hall Room 526) or by mailing in a reservation form with a check. All Students can request to have a copy of the Challenge Exam study guide mailed to them.
     
  3. Study guides are not test-specific; they are a broad-based overview of the topics that would reasonably appear on a proficiency exam for each particular course. Each study guide is an outline of the material presented in the actual Pre-Qualifier course. Challenge Exam coverage will not be identical to the material presented on the study guide; instead, challenge coverage reflects a reasonable sampling of Pre-Qualifier course content.
     
  4. The fee for all Challenge Exams is $60 per exam. Challenge Exam fees are NOT refunded to students who do not pass. Challenge Exams may be attempted one time each. Students who do not pass a Challenge Exam will be required to take the corresponding Pre-Qualifier course. In addition, students who have already attempted a Pre-Qualifier course are not eligible to take the Challenge Exam. Please note:
  • The Statistics Exam is open book. Students may bring any materials that they feel would help them pass the exam, except for a computer.
     
  • The IT Management Challenge Exam is computer-based and available online and on-campus.