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Four Reasons To Study Supply Chain In California

ilseu — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 23:33:05 +0000

Four Reasons To Study Supply Chain In California ilseu Mon, 04/15/2024 - 16:33 More Blog Posts Almha Murphy, BusinessBecause April 10, 2024

This story was originally published on BusinessBecause.

There’s more to California than leafy palm trees, golden-sand beaches, and the Kardashians. It’s also a major supply chain hub. California is home to two of the US’s largest ports in LA and Long Beach and a key operations base for delivery companies such as UPS and Amazon.

Aniedi Effiong ’21 MBA

It was a location that appealed to Nigerian-born Aniedi Effiong (pictured right), who had spent five years working in various telecommunication roles across Africa before feeling the need for a career change.

In order to switch paths, Aniedi began to search for the right business program that could provide him with the necessary tools to upskill.

So, when his brother suggested the STEM-designated MBA program at the University of California, Riverside—which offers a specialization in Operations and Supply Chain Management—he leapt at the opportunity.

“[Riverside] is one hour away from Los Angeles, which coming from Nigeria, it's like the City of Angels,” he jokes. “So, it was just a dream location.”

Now an operations manager for the multi-billion-dollar tech conglomerate Amazon, his supply chain-focused MBA at Riverside has indeed proved to be a career blessing.

But what are the four ways that studying in California helped him get there?

1. Experience a campus catered for international students

Moving halfway around the world is no easy feat. Finding accommodation, organizing travel, and preparing to leave your home are all stressful endeavors. But when Aniedi stepped off his 11-hour flight from Nigeria to LAX, he was met with a more-than pleasant surprise.

“An associate director of admissions actually came to the airport to pick me up,” he says.

Having driven over an hour and a half to collect him and taxi him to his new room on-campus, the UCR faculty and staff immediately made clear their dedication to making each student feel at home.

It’s an ethos that is maintained within the MBA program, where about half of the cohort are international. While at UCR, students can receive counseling from student advisors on everything from adjusting to US culture to improving their English.

“[UCR] was a family for me,” Aniedi says.

Plus, the university also provides over 450 clubs for students to get involved with, from hiking, to art, to organizations for underrepresented groups. These provide a great way to build friendships.

2. Learn from state-of-the-art experiential teaching

During the program, one aspect that really impressed Aniedi was the high quality of the UCR teaching staff, which consists of renowned business professors from fields such as finance and management.

Since students don’t specialize until their second year, attending a diverse range of classes helps broaden their career outlook.

“Just hearing my professors talk exposed me to different areas of business,” Aniedi says.

High quality teaching is compounded upon by practical core courses, such as a professional development workshop requiring students to learn key skills that include networking, interviewing, and salary negotiation.

They are then able to put this into practice by participating in a summer internship of their choosing, helping to prepare them for a chosen career path.

Aniedi was offered the opportunity to work with one of his professors in program management for the World Food Organization. Unfortunately, the opportunity fell through due to Covid travel restrictions, however, with travel now open again, students can intern with top companies such as IBM and Deloitte.

3. Explore different areas of supply chain

While to some, supply chain may seem like a niche area, the field encompasses a wide range of skillsets.

Once studying the supply chain specialization, students have the opportunity to pick from a wide selection of courses, which include Business Analytics for Management and Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

One optional course that Aniedi found particularly useful was Spreadsheet Modelling for Decision Making.

“Even today, I think of a problem and the first thing that comes to my head is how can I model this in Excel,” he says.

Equally, there are also plenty of opportunities to incorporate more innovative sustainability practices, such as ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) principles, into supply chain.

According to the supply chain technology company Sedex, ESG practices are becoming increasingly popular in the industry in 2024—however, there is room for further innovation with regards to using data and analytics to improve companies’ environmental impact.

“It’s a field where there's a demand for talent,” Aniedi adds.

4. Access top job opportunities

Undoubtedly, one of the top benefits of studying supply chain in California is the wealth of industries that use it as a major distribution hub.

UCR endeavors to expose students to these nearby companies by hosting key industry speakers and organizing networking events, as well as offering students one-on-one career coaching through the Student Success Center.

Aniedi attributes the interview practice he was able to undergo while in the program to landing his Amazon Pathways role straight after graduation.

“The skills I gained my first year were sufficient that I was able to get a job just as I was finishing my internship,” he says.

After moving to Dallas, Texas, for his role, he was quickly promoted to a senior manager position, where he now uses several key skills that he learned during his MBA in his day-to-day—including supply management, capacity planning, and people management.

“It's multifaceted,” he says. “You use people skills, organizational behavior, your understanding of yourself, and emotional intelligence.”

Other popular companies that supply chain specialization graduates go on to work with include Walt Disney, KPMG, and eBay.

Reflecting on his decision to apply to UCR, Aniedi feels that for anyone considering a role in supply chain, California is a great place to launch their career.

“UCR, especially, is the in the heart of the Inland Empire, so you're in a prime location for keeping your options open.”

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How We Secured Careers at Red Bull & Pacific Life

ilseu — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 23:11:36 +0000

How We Secured Careers at Red Bull & Pacific Life ilseu Fri, 07/07/2023 - 16:11 More Blog Posts Laura Wise, BusinessBecause July 01, 2023

This story was originally published on BusinessBecause.

Landing a top job in a renowned company is the ambition for many MBA grads.

In fact, salary is the most important factor for job hunting b-school students. Yet landing a top job with a high salary is no easy feat—you’ll need to sharpen your skill set, build an effective network, and stand out among tough competition.

Business school grads Simon Isaac and Natalie Qaqish were ready for the challenge. After studying an MBA in California, they landed their dream jobs at Pacific Life and Red Bull, respectively.

Pursuing an MBA in California

Natalie knew her long-term career plans did not include a nine-to-five job.

Natalie Qaqish, MBA '22

“I couldn’t picture myself working a nine-to-five in an office or even from home. I knew I wanted to work a job that inspired me while also helping to gain more networking and connection opportunities.”

Before her MBA, Natalie (pictured) worked at Red Bull as the student brand manager. After a lot of consideration she decided the University of California, Riverside (UCR) School of Business was the right fit for her to grow her career and make connections.

“I took a good amount of time really diving into each different program before settling on my MBA. I appreciated the different approaches UC Riverside took in order to help their students grow,” Natalie says.

Meanwhile, business school grad Simon attended the UCR for his bachelor’s in Applied Mathematics. After graduating, however, he felt that something was missing.

Like Natalie, Simon had a clear vision of his career journey. He had always wanted to launch a career in analytics but he felt he needed a better understanding of business and a more comprehensive range of soft skills before he could do this.

“I decided to pursue the STEM MBA program at UCR, instead of a traditional analytics or data science program, because I wanted a more business-focused approach to my career. I also wanted to improve my soft skills that could complement my hard skills as I progress in my career,” he says.

Learning a mix of skills on a STEM MBA in California

One of the many reasons students want to attend business school is to gain life-long learnings that can be applied in their career.

Simon Isaac ’19, ’22 MBA

“The Management and Negotiation courses have given me skills that are hugely helpful me in my career today," says Natalie.

“I am constantly speaking with managers and owners, creating and developing contracts to each specific account, while also ensuring I'm keeping my company at the top of my priority list to ensure premium marketing and execution,” Natalie explains.

The UCR School of Business curriculum is varied and accommodates diverse interests.

Core courses include Organizational Behavior and Theory and Statistics for Management, with students able to select from 7 different concentrations, including Management, Marketing, and Business Analytics.

From his time at UC Riverside School of Business, Simon says the most valuable skills he gained related to his improvement in computer software knowledge, database management, project management, business analysis, and leadership.

As part of the compulsory internship, Simon worked as an IT business systems analyst for the Riverside County Clerk-Recorder under the supervision of his professor and mentor Kan Wang.

Similarly, the required internship is something that attracted Natalie to the UCR MBA. From her experience, she says she improved her soft skills in communication and public speaking.

“This seemed like a great challenge for me to step out of my comfort zone and I ended up choosing an internship within fashion and lifestyle public relations,” Natalie says. “I was able to communicate with my professor all the new learnings and appreciation I obtained.”

Launching a business analytics career at Pacific Life

One of the many reasons why Simon was interested in pursuing an MBA at UCR was to take advantage of the business school’s strong graduate outcomes.

86% of students are employed within three months of graduation and reach a median starting salary of $86k.

The STEM MBA in California offers a business career development course that provides students with the tools to execute a strategic career management plan, covering everything from targeting a specific career to interviewing and negotiating job offers.

Following interviews at several different companies, Simon landed a job at insurance company Pacific Life.

“The business analyst position offered the perfect opportunity to launch my career as I can gain exposure to both the analytics and supply chain side of the insurance industry.”

“The main skills and knowledge that I learned on the UCR MBA are how to work in large groups, effectively manage projects to completion, coding languages, as well as business analysis,” he says.

Building a management career at Red Bull

Business school isn't just about gaining learnings from MBA classes, there's a lot you can gain from utilizing your school's career service.

“I personally used the career service to help me understand and negotiate the right pay I deserve with an MBA. The [career experts] taught me how to professionally communicate what pay I want and help me land a comfortable salary,” Natalie says.

After gaining extensive management and negotiation skills, Natalie elevated her career at Red Bull to become an on premise manager.

“I used the tools and knowledge I gained from my professors and leaders to help better myself to gain the job I really wanted in the On Premise team.”

In this role she works across different departments with a range of different responsibilities, fulfilling her ambition of working in an atypical position.

“I work for our top nightlife and dining scene and festival industry. I use many of the skills I learned from my courses in marketing, sales, negotiation, and management.”

For both Natalie and Simon, it wasn’t just about the skills they gained, but the growing confidence they found within themselves after graduating from UC Riverside.

“It was great to observe how my classmates and I bloomed into high-functioning professionals by the end of the MBA program,” says Simon.

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Three Reasons Traditional Masters Are Valuable

ilseu — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 18:46:27 +0000

Three Reasons Traditional Masters Are Valuable ilseu Fri, 04/21/2023 - 11:46 More Blog Posts BusinessBecause April 20, 2023

This story was originally published on BusinessBecause.

The business world has undergone sizable changes in the past decade due to the ever-growing reliance on data and technology. While finance and accounting are more traditional, established career paths, career development opportunities across sectors, cutting-edge tech, and ROI make them as valuable as ever.

If you're looking for these benefits, a Master's in Accounting or Finance is a time-tested way to land a job and succeed in these fields.

Here are three reasons why a Master in Finance or Master in Accounting are still valuable:

1. You’ll gain a long lasting, sought-after skill set

A master's in accounting gives students a comprehensive, enduring skill set both in the technical specialist skills required to be an accountant and the strategic skills you'll need to succeed in the industry.

The curriculum in the University of California, Riverside's (UCR) Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc) covers accounting theory and practice while emphasizing essential management and leadership skills. It prepares students with technical knowledge, judgment, evidential reasoning, ethical and interpersonal skills, and executive presence—skills key to any accounting career.

"This degree covers all areas of professional accountancy and requires students to work together on challenging projects, participate during class discussions, and often teaches students to ponder the question, “why”." Says Jack Adams, MPAC alum and audit associate at KPMG. "At first, I was nervous to start my career at a big four accounting firm. However, I quickly discovered that I was in the perfect shape to integrate as a new audit associate at KPMG thanks to the communication skills I acquired during my Masters in Professional Accountancy."

The MPAc is a STEM-designated program, which offers the flexibility of two tracks depending on experience. For those with accounting experience, you can complete track one in nine months; if you don't have an accounting background, track two will take 15 months.

Core courses include accounting ethics and professional responsibilities, advanced taxation, and information technology auditing and assurance, in which students gain both theoretical and practical skills.

"The core courses of the MPAC program cover not just theoretical concepts but also several real-life cases which provide insights into how theory is applied in practice. The experiential and practical insights gained through these cases provide the students with the necessary tools to better navigate the professional world," says Naman Desai Assistant Professor of Teaching in Accounting.

The diverse class includes 50% women and 42% underrepresented ethnic groups, which means you can complement your technically robust knowledge with cultural sensitivity, collaborative teamwork, and leadership acumen.

The MPAc is also closely aligned with the Certified Public Accountancy (CPA) exam. This exam takes 16 hours to complete, but when you pass, you will have a globally recognized certificate allowing you to practice accounting.

2. You’ll experience a curriculum that blends theory and real-world experience

The UCR Master of Finance, another STEM-designated program, emphasizes practical experience alongside theoretical knowledge. It helps students to build financial analysis skills that can be applied to national and international corporate finance, investment banking, and risk management careers.

The curriculum has a firm grounding in the essential skills that still underpin the finance sector, such as asset pricing, stock valuation, and capital budgeting, and includes modern elements such as Python.

"The required courses prepare students for the two main specialties, investments and corporate finance,” says Greg Richey, assistant professor of finance, “students need a good foundation in these skills to make themselves more hirable."

The Master of Finance emphasizes practical experience. In Greg's classes, he teaches a stock trading game, where students play at managing stocks of different companies.

Students can also deal with real money outside of the classroom.

At UCR, a team of students manage The Hylander Student Investment Fund (HSIF). The goal is to learn about managing a financial portfolio, emphasizing obtaining a good return without taking on unreasonable risk.

"Master in Finance students manage a portfolio of real money, and this is something they can put on their resume or their LinkedIn," Greg explains.

3. You can gain top career outcomes

The career outcomes are arguably at the top of the benefits of a Master in Finance or Master in Accounting. These business master’s degrees help to show employers the capability and expertise they can expect from any new hires.

The Career Development Center at UCR prepares graduate-level students for their intended careers, arranging career fairs, an executive mentor program, workshops, career panels, and peer-to-peer support.

"The Accounting Society, at least a couple of times a month will invite well known practitioners from surrounding areas to come and visit campus. Then there will be a small reception or an interaction session where the students can go up and talk to them," Naman says.

Typical career paths for those enrolling in the Master of Finance program include investment banking, corporate finance, asset management, and consulting.

Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs are top recruiters of Master in Finance grads, and graduates can get a weighty starting salary. In California, the average base salary for an investment banker is $150k. At the same time, Master’s level consultants earn base salaries of up to $105,000 at Deloitte Consulting and around $26,000 in performance bonuses.

Potential career paths for Master of Accounting graduates include senior accountants, auditors, financial managers, or even a chief financial officer (CFO).

"This degree demonstrates a professional’s commitment to understanding more about accounting than what is required to become a CPA certificate holder," Jack says.

As a senior accountant, the average US salary is around $80k, and a financial controller’s average salary is around $100k. At the Big Four accountancy firm PwC, senior accountants can expect to earn around $80k per year, while Google offers a salary of about $124k.

"Our Master of Finance and Master of Accountancy are professional degrees. These master’s degrees are preparing students for a mid-level management career, not an entry-level position," Greg explains.

For those looking at lucrative top companies, a Master in Finance or Master in Accounting can prove your commitment and capabilities to jobs within these areas, but be prepared to put in the effort to reap the rewards.

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Why Is Learning Business Innovation So Important?

clin246 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 22:41:07 +0000

Why Is Learning Business Innovation So Important? clin246 Tue, 04/12/2022 - 15:41 More Blog Posts May 23, 2022

This story was originally published on BusinessBecause.

Business innovation is at the heart of the success of tech giants like Apple and Amazon. Meanwhile, companies that have failed to innovate in the face of rapid digitalization, like Blockbuster and Kodak, have failed.

So what is business innovation?

Business innovation is an organization’s process for introducing new ideas and driving change. It’s about spotting gaps in the market or creating new products to address a business issue.

Learning the fundamentals of business innovation is also helpful if you see yourself leading a startup or launching an entrepreneurial venture one day.

Whatever your path, here are four reasons why learning about business innovation is important for your career—and how an MBA degree can help you master it.

1. Learning about business model innovation sets you up for the real business world

Business model innovation is when a company adjusts their business model to meet customer or market needs—it’s something that happens every day as companies adapt to a fast-changing environment.

On MBA programs, you learn the theory behind business model innovation while getting the chance to put these new-found skills into practice.

Val Salomaki, University of California, Riverside MBA alumnus

In fact, gaining practical business experience was what Val Salomaki (pictured), University of California, Riverside (UCR) MBA alum and co-founder of tech startups EDGE Sound Research and Free Logic Inc., valued most about his MBA degree.

After learning about business model innovation in MBA elective courses like Entrepreneurial Management at UCR, he was able to experience it for himself during the International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition (ICBSC), where teams of graduates from different universities are challenged to develop the best business model.

“The competition allowed me to operate as the CEO of a simulated business, making decisions on finances, operations, human resources, marketing, product positioning, pricing, and more,” says Val.

Val continued to develop his understanding of innovative business models while working as a student technician at Esri, a California-based geographic information system software company, alongside his MBA.

2. By learning about business innovation, you’ll appreciate how innovation enhances all business areas

By learning about business innovation, you’ll build a strong understanding of the different areas of a business and how they can interact to drive change. And marketing, operations, and finance—these are all core MBA courses.

Val explains that through MBA courses in Operations Management and General Management at UCR, he learned about the key elements of these areas and how business innovation can enhance operations and management of teams.

Under the supervision of his professor, he even designed two directed studies courses on blockchain application and full stack development. These courses helped Val understand emerging technologies and how to apply technology in a venture.

“When starting a business, it’s also important to understand all key business fundamentals from financial modeling, marketing, data analytics, accounting, and business development to be confident in growing from an idea to scale,” he says.

3. You can use your knowledge of business innovation to launch an innovative company of your own

Understanding how bigger organizations use business innovation methods can also help you when launching your own startup.

In fact, while most MBA grads from University of California, Riverside land jobs at bigger companies like Disney and Amazon, almost 10% of UCR MBAs become entrepreneurs launching their own businesses.

Using the UCR Launchpad service, Val was able to get mentorship and access to funding and networking events via TechStars, a world-leading startup accelerator, to help build his startup, EDGE Sound Research.

“Launchpad led to the opportunity to participate in the Blackstone Launchpad Summer Fellowship powered by the Techstars program where I gained advice from entrepreneurs in the Techstars ecosystem,” he notes.

Plus, Val works closely with UCR’s Entrepreneurial Proof of Concept and Innovation Center (EPIC) to gain funding for EDGE Sound Research.

4. By learning about business innovation, you’ll engage in innovative entrepreneurship in teams

Business innovation involves leveraging people from across an organization to work in teams and drive new ideas and processes forward. Learning about business innovation on the MBA can, in turn, help you understand how to better work in teams to drive change.

MBA programs too are centered on teamwork and collaborating with people from diverse backgrounds.

Using the networking skills learned through his MBA, Val met his EDGE Sound Research co-founder, Ethan Castro, through his wider UCR alumni network.

Ethan, who is a hard-of-hearing music PhD candidate at UCR, introduced Val to an innovative audio technology system that transforms sound into vibrations to enhance the audio experience. Conversations between Ethan and Val quickly turned into the pair presenting the business at CES, one of the largest tech shows in the world.

What’s more, both of Val’s tech startups, Free Logic Inc. and EDGE Sound Research, are mainly comprised of UCR alumni.

Whether it’s launching a venture or practicing intrapreneurship, understanding business innovation will help you reap success in your future career.

MBA programs offer a great route to understanding how business models and operations work, while providing access to real-life learning experiences where you can see for yourself how important business innovation is for any organization.

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UCR's MBAs Are Landing Top Jobs—Here’s How

clin246 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 22:20:09 +0000

UCR's MBAs Are Landing Top Jobs—Here’s How clin246 Tue, 04/12/2022 - 15:20 More Blog Posts May 27, 2022

This story was originally published on BusinessBecause.

The business world has long had a social mobility problem. US workers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are 32% less likely to become managers than those from more privileged backgrounds.

So how can students from low-income backgrounds stand out and accelerate their careers?

The University of California, Riverside (UCR) has ranked first in the United States for social mobility for the past three years.

Through its STEM-designated MBA program, the school is opening doors, helping UC Riverside grads land jobs at top companies like Disney and Amazon.

Going from a STEM MBA to the Walt Disney Company

For Octavio Davila (pictured), a graduate from the UCR MBA and product engineer at Walt Disney Company, the welcoming environment and strong career support on offer made UCR stand out.

After completing his bachelor’s degree at UCR, he chose to stay there for his MBA despite receiving offers from other business schools.

Octavio Davila, a graduate from the UCR MBA

During the 21-month MBA program at UCR, students apply their theoretical knowledge from the degree during an internship, gaining real-world exposure to managerial roles. Within three months of graduation, 90% of UCR MBA graduates find full-time employment.

The UCR MBA is a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) designated degree, which means the program incorporates learnings from these technical fields alongside core MBA courses in management and leadership.

After graduating from a STEM-designated MBA, international students can stay in the US to work for a total of three years through the Optional Practical Training (OPT) system.

Meanwhile, there are opportunities to build a professional network through the clubs and societies on the UCR campus.

UCR offers clubs and societies for Latino students, including the Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA), which helps Latino students gain access to careers in the accounting and finance spheres by hosting networking events with Big Four accounting firms.

“Having clubs like ALPFA on campus assured me that the school was in tune with students’ diverse needs,” Octavio says. He adds that through ALPFA he had the chance to meet top MBA employers like EY.

45% of underrepresented ethnic groups make up the UCR MBA. “The program really taught us how to work with people from different backgrounds to reach a common goal, which prepares you for real-world business situations,” Octavio says.

Using these experiences of working in diverse teams, alongside the managerial and technical skills he acquired on the MBA through core courses like information systems and operations management, Octavio landed a role at Walt Disney Company as a product engineer.

He oversees the support and maintenance of operating systems and services that drive business capabilities for Disney’s platforms.

“The MBA program really allowed me to gain the theoretical knowledge to be able to map things out and create a story about how to solve any given issue,” he says.

Aside from Disney, recent employers of UCR MBAs include Amazon, T-Mobile, and Fox Corporation.

Using An MBA fellowship to access new career opportunities

After completing her bachelor’s degree in Economics at UCR, Laura Pullen (pictured) leapt into a career at Tesla as an energy products performance analyst.

However, the idea of an MBA had always played on her mind. Since leaving her role at Tesla, she’s joined the UCR MBA program full-time after receiving an MBA fellowship. As a first-generation student on the UCR MBA, she’s the first in her family to attend university.

Laura Pullen, UCR MBA Student

She says that UCR is committed to helping students from less privileged backgrounds by assisting students with their finances.

“The fellowship I received really helped me and was one of the main deciding factors as to why I pursued an MBA at UCR after my bachelor’s degree there,” she notes, “it makes things a lot more affordable, yet the quality of learning is still very high.”

Studying for an MBA can be a costly experience, forming a barrier to education for students from low-income groups.

For students entering the UCR MBA, there are a variety of scholarships and fellowships available—these range from academic excellence scholarships to the Work-Study Program, where students can work as teacher assistants in exchange for tuition fee waivers. UCR was ranked second for financial aid in the US by Business Insider in 2019.

One of the major reasons students want to attend business school is to gain access to stellar career links and opportunities. Laura says UCR ensures that every student, no matter their background, is offered career support whenever they need it.

The UCR Career Center provides career counseling, skills workshops, interview preparation, and resume advice. Laura leveraged the career guidance she received at UCR during her bachelor’s to land a role at Tesla as an energy products performance analyst, where she helped to build out the energy operations division.

Laura’s now looking forward to taking advantage of new career opportunities, across business strategy and analytics, while on the UCR MBA. The program, she says, will open doors to a new and exciting career that might not otherwise be possible.

“A lot of first-generation students sometimes lack the confidence that they can achieve what they want to achieve, but at UCR they remove all those barriers.”

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M.S. in Business Analytics: What You Will Study

ilseu — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 18:01:20 +0000

M.S. in Business Analytics: What You Will Study ilseu Fri, 04/08/2022 - 11:01 More Blog Posts April 08, 2022

This story was originally published on BusinessBecause.

If you’re someone who’s interested in digging into data and leading analytics-driven projects at a top company, then a Master’s in Business Analytics degree might just be for you.

In a world that’s undergoing digital transformation, Masters in Business Analytics are gaining traction. These programs provide a deep dive into data interpretation and visualization, storytelling, and, most crucially, how to leverage analytics to stay ahead of the game in a competitive business landscape.

But what do you actually study on a Master’s in Business Analytics?

A Master’s in Business Analytics syllabus blends theory and practice

In the business world, you’ll need to know about more than just how to analyze data.

Subramanian Balachander, professor of marketing

The STEM-designated Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) syllabus at the University of California Riverside (UCR) School of Business blends theory and practice, so that students learn how to apply their data-driven skills in a real-world environment.

“Working with practical business problems helps students learn to identify what data may be relevant to address a business problem, as well as how to appreciate that real-life data can often be imperfect and noisy,” says Subramanian Balachander (Bala; pictured), professor of marketing at UCR.

UCR MSBA students learn to use programming languages like Python, R, and SQL. Core modules include Business Analytics for Management, Statistical Data Mining, and Statistics for Business Analytics.

There are also two Capstone in Business Analytics projects, which see students test their knowledge while working on a data-based problem, such as forecasting future demand for a product, using social media analytics to identify business opportunities, or optimizing freight transportation using shipment data.

Florian Sterr, MSBA 2022

“The capstone course not only gives us the opportunity to work on real-life business projects but also gives us a short introduction to a broad variety of different tools that are common in business analytics across different companies,” says Florian Sterr (pictured), a student on the UCR Master’s in Business Analytics.

On the UCR master’s degree in business analytics—which can be studied full-time or part-time—there’s also a large emphasis on using business analytics for management, so students graduate from the program with the technical and managerial know-how to lead data-based projects.

Students coming into the degree are also required to take a Statistics or Business Track depending on the undergraduate degree they obtained.

Students from business and other STEM-related undergraduate degrees are required to take modules in Discrete Data Analysis, Statistical Computing, Marketing Research, and Applied Business Forecasting.

Those from statistics undergraduate degrees are required to study Financial Management, Cost and Management Accounting, Operations Management for Competitive Advantage, and Marketing Management.

Master’s in Business Analytics specializations

If you’re dreaming of a career within a specific industry, then choosing an analytics master’s degree that offers specialized tracks can be a great way to tailor your education.

The UC Riverside MSBA degree offers three career paths, in finance, marketing, or operations.

If you’re interested in a career in investing or corporate risk management, you might pursue the Finance Career Path. If you want to become a consumer behavior expert, the Marketing Career Path might be more your thing. And if driving sustainable supply chain management is your passion, you might consider the Supply Chain Career Path.

Yukta Amin, MSBA 2022

Yukta Amin (pictured), a student on the UCR MS in Business Analytics, explains that she’s interested in pursuing a career in marketing analytics, so it made sense for her to choose the marketing track, which offers modules in Market Assessment, Internet Marketing, Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy.

“I love mathematics but I'm also creative person—I wanted a mixture of both, so marketing analytics suits me perfectly,” she says.

Students of the UC Riverside Master’s in Business Analytics finance track can take modules in Fixed Income, Corporate Risk Management, Derivatives, Investments and Portfolio Management, and Empirical Methods in Finance.

The supply chain track offers modules in Spreadsheet Modeling for Decision-Making, Simulation for Business, and Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

Where can a master’s in business analytics take you?

When choosing a master’s degree in business analytics, you should target a business school, and region, that will provide access to a strong network of employers.

The STEM-designated Master’s in Business Analytics at University of California, Riverside is ideally located in Southern California. Nestled between Los Angeles and San Diego, the Riverside region is brimming with tech companies and innovative startups.

Also, California boasts the largest population of any US state.

“It really benefits me that there are more people here, which means more technologies and more companies recruiting here,” says Yukta.

UCR’s Master’s in Business Analytics is aimed at students with a quantitative aptitude and those who enjoy solving data-based problems. On average, students bring around 21 months of work experience to the cohort.

The degree provides a gateway to a variety of high-flying careers, including analytics consultant, project manager, data scientist, or chief technology officer.

“I decided to pursue a Master’s in Business Analytics to give my future career a more data-driven perspective and prepare myself for the future job market,” says Florian, who has a background in finance.

The average annual starting salary for MSBA graduates is around $75k, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

Meanwhile, data scientists can expect to earn a median base salary of around $130k.

“The MSBA program helps students gain the crucial skill sets needed to provide critical insights to companies as business analytics professionals,” says Bala.

Since data is only going to become more crucial in a technologically driven world, master’s in business analytics grads who can offer companies statistical expertise and managerial know-how are likely to be high on the list of must-have hires in a fast-changing, digitalized business sphere.

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