Effort to Create “Data Virtuosos” Gets Under Way

In the CBS TV show "Numb3rs,” an FBI agent relies on his math whiz brother to help solve and prevent complex crimes. In one episode, they catch a serial killer after studying patterns and trends of his earlier crimes.

In the real world, where business data doubles every three years, there’s a growing shortage of trained professionals with the analytical skills to solve complicated problems involving massive amounts of data. North Carolina State University, in collaboration with SAS, is doing something about it.

NC State is accepting applicants for its new Master of Science in Analytics (MSA), an intensive 10-month professional degree program that focuses exclusively on the tools, methods and applications of data analytics. Applications are due Tuesday, May 1, 2007. Classes start Monday, July 2 at NC State’s Centennial Campus.

Analytics ‘boot camp’
The degree consists of an integrated curriculum created specifically for students in the program, beginning with a July “boot camp” that will expose students to the same advanced analytics software tools used in industry today. The program is offered through NC State’s Institute for Advanced Analytics, a new unit set to open its doors later this spring.

Program Director Dr. Michael Rappa aims to grow NC State’s MSA degree into the largest of its kind and make the institute the destination of choice for students around the world. “We seek to become a magnet for men and women who want to fashion themselves as ‘data virtuosos,’” Rappa says. “That means an individual who thoroughly understands data, who has a mastery of state-of-the-art analytical tools and techniques, and who is passionate about yielding accurate insight with data into the major challenges that face organizations today.”

The MSA degree is intended to be an immersive and rigorous educational experience. Students study full-time and will complete in 10 months what normally stretches over two years in conventional graduate degree programs. “We want to move each student as far along the learning curve as quickly as possible with a mixture of skill-building modules and, whenever possible, the practical application of techniques to real problems,” Rappa says.

North Carolina State University is accepting applications through May 1 for the world's first advanced degree in analytics.