Groundbreaking Master’s Degree in Analytics at NCSU

Whether it's uncovering fraud in banking transactions, improving the quality of healthcare received by patients or predicting which customers will respond to a marketing campaign, the applications of data analytics cross all industries. Not surprisingly, data analytics experts are in high demand.

To help meet this growing need, SAS and North Carolina State University in Raleigh are collaborating to create a new graduate degree program in data analytics.

The new Analytics Initiative proposes an intensive one-year professional master's degree that will teach analytical concepts and give students hands-on experience with the same powerful tools used in industry today.

"The Analytics Initiative brings together a large, multidisciplinary group of NC State's most talented faculty and staff to work in collaboration with one of the world's leaders in analytics software. Together we will create an educational program that is truly world-class and unparalleled in addressing the needs of the 21st century work force," says NCSU Chancellor James Oblinger.

The Analytics Initiative will receive strong support from SAS in developing the curriculum over the next three years.

"Competing on analytics in corporations, government agencies and educational institutions is becoming a must," says SAS CEO Dr. Jim Goodnight. "And our customers are making it clear: They need more talent capable of leveraging world-class business intelligence systems. The NC State University Institute for Advanced Analytics will help meet this need with high-quality, domain-specific, analytics education. It's the right program at the right time, with the right leadership at the helm."

The Analytics Initiative represents the latest milestone in a long and fruitful relationship between SAS and NCSU. The earliest version of SAS software was created by Goodnight and NCSU colleagues more than 30 years ago to analyze agricultural research data. The proposed degree program will begin in 2007, pending approval of NCSU and UNC System administrators.

SAS and North Carolina State University are teaming up to develop a new graduate program in data analytics.