Business Analytics

The course is taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars and practicals as well as the requirement to complete a major dissertation.

There is also a major International Field trip, which takes place in the third term.

Lectures provide key contents on a subject and may be given by guest speakers who are recognised experts in a relevant area. Then small-group seminars will provide you with the opportunity to discuss and debate topics further using information acquired through independent study that you will be expected to carry out.

Practicals are medium sized group sessions, where you will practice computer software, applying topics from lectures and seminars.

Assessment

Assessment is thorough and ongoing on this exciting programme. A number of modules are assessed through written assignments and others use a combination of written assignments and presentations, that are both individual and group based.

The Business Analytics Project, makes up one-third of your marks and is assessed through a 15,000-word document that tests your acquisition of relevant subject-specific knowledge and skills and your ability to apply these, and appropriate key skills, in the context of a Masters-level research project.

What do I need first?

The MSc in Business Analytics programme is designed for graduates from either a business background (with evidence of strong quantitative content) or a tech background (including numerate scientific disciplines with strong computational content). You will need a UK first or upper second class honours degree or international equivalent. in one of the following:

• Business
• Computer science
• Related subject with strong quantitative component.

Staged Admissions

As there is a high demand for this programme with a finite number of places available, we operate a staged admissions process with application deadlines throughout the year for MSc Business Analytics. Due to the competition for places we give preference to applicants from high ranking institutions and with grades above our minimum entry requirements.

• Applications received after our final application deadline will be considered at our discretion if places are still available. Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the listed date, due to the high volume of applications that we receive, this may not always be possible. All deadlines are 23:59 UK time (GMT)

• Applications for each stage open immediately after the deadline for the previous stage

All offer holders will be automatically assessed for a scholarship and if successful will be notified by separate email within 14 days of receiving an offer. Please note that we may issue a small number of offers to exceptional candidates in advance of each deadline. The University is under no obligation to make an offer of a place on the programme to any applicant, nor is the University obligated to fill all spaces available on the programme.

English language requirements

Candidates whose first language is not English will normally be required to demonstrate proficiency in the English language by possessing a recent English language test score of 7.0 or above in IELTS (with no element below 6.0), or an equivalent qualification.

NB Chinese Applicants: Applications will be considered from students who have graduated from a prestigious university in China. Entry requirements may vary depending upon the reputation of the university you have graduated from and the academic programme you have applied for. As a guide, applicants are expected to have achieved an overall average of 85%.

What do I need first?

The equivalent of a UK first or upper second class honours degree. Check the full list of equivalent qualifications. If you are an international student who does not meet the English language requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-sessional programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

How do I apply?

You will need to complete an online application form.

Fill out the online application form

To support your online application form, you will need to provide the following documents.

• Official transcript of marks
• Copy of degree certificate (if available)
• Copy of English test results (if available).

You can either upload your supporting documents with your online application or email or fax them to the Postgraduate Admissions Office using the contact details below.

Note:

Only files of type .doc, .docx, .gif, .jpg, .pdf, .png, .rtf are permitted to be uploaded.

The maximum file size is 5MB.

Application fee

Once we receive your online application form, you’ll get an automatic email within 48 hours asking you to pay the £60 application fee* which is required to progress your application.

You’ll need to follow the link in the email to the webpage where you can confirm your details and make the payment using a debit or credit card. This is a secure website operated by Secpay, which will send you an automatic receipt of payment.

Once we receive confirmation that your application fee has been paid, we’ll be able to progress your application. If you do not pay the application fee your application will be automatically withdrawn.

*Please note you will only be able to make a payment for one programme in each suite i.e. one MSc Finance programme, one MSc Management programme, one MSc Marketing programme.

College membership

All students of Durham University will become a member of one of our Colleges. Here is more information about what college membership means to our students. Once you have accepted your postgraduate offer, the Accommodation and Allocations Office will contact you with further information regarding how to express college preferences. You can also apply for college accommodation if you wish to.

Admissions process

Here are the steps in the admissions process:

1. We will let you know when we’ve received your application.
2. Once we’ve received all of your supporting documents, we will email you to let you know our decision.If the decision is to make you an offer of a place on the programme we will let you know by email shortly after the deadlines mentioned above. Please note we do not issue hard copy offer letters as these are not required to obtain a student visa.
3. You should confirm the acceptance of your offer as soon as possible. In order to secure your place, you are required to pay a deposit within six weeks of the date of your original offer (check your offer documents for details of payment methods).
4. International students requiring a student visa will receive a CAS (Certificate of Acceptance of Studies) via email once all offer conditions are met, acceptance and deposit have been received and you are within five months of the start date of your programme.

Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the relevant deadline date, due to the high volume of applications that we receive, this may not always be possible. In some instances, it may be necessary for us to roll your application forward to the next deadline date.

English language requirements

Full Time Fees

The tuition fees shown are for one complete academic year of study and are set according to the academic year of entry. Fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase and are expected to rise throughout the programme of study. The fee listed above is for the first year of the course only. More information is available here: Tuition fees - how much are they - Durham University

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Qualifications in computer science are highly sought after by employers across the globe and an award from our Department provides the academic skills, industry insight and research-informed approach that sets postgraduates up for careers in a broad range of sectors.

Many postgraduates have gone on to work as software engineers, analysts, consultants, programmers and developers. Some have founded their own start-ups or work in leading software companies, high-technology consultancies, banking and finance, retail, engineering, the communications and IT industry.

The Department has strong research links, spanning both industry and government, including the automotive sector with Jaguar Land Rover and Renault, the defence and security sector with QinetiQ and Boeing, with government in the Civil Service and at GCHQ and in the manufacturing sector with Procter & Gamble. Other high-profile employers include BAE Systems, Google and BT.

Our postgraduate programmes with a focus on employability fully equip you with the skills and industry insight to embark on a successful and rewarding business career.

The knowledge and understanding you develop reflect the Department’s values of sustainability, wellbeing and equality of opportunity across the globe.

You gain a combination of analytical and practical skills that employers value, such as independent thinking and problem-solving, and are able to enhance your people skills that are essential in business and much sought after by employers.

The Department is at the heart of the fast-paced world of applications and algorithms. We maintain an in-depth understanding of the fundamentals of computation and are fully up to speed with the latest technologies that emerge at an ever-increasing rate.

Learning from academics who lead cutting-edge research provides valuable insight into high quality projects, and gives our postgraduate community the opportunity to play a role in shaping a future in which crucial developments in society are supported by technological innovation.

Taught courses balance fundamental knowledge and an emphasis on programming and mathematical skills with practical applications. The content and structure are such that they suit postgraduates who already have experience in the industry or other employment and want to add a formal qualification to their achievements.  

Researchers in the Department offer a range of expertise across the computer science spectrum in areas such as artificial intelligence, data science, bioinformatics, high-performance computing, graphics and fundamental algorithms.

We ensure our research-led activity does not function in isolation and keep close links with local high-technology industries as well as national and international employers. Those relationships ensure we are at the leading edge of developments across the sector and can revise and adapt the Department’s curriculum to reflect the changes.

Facilities

The Department is located in a £40 million purpose-built building in the heart of Durham at Upper Mountjoy and features open-plan work areas, breakout spaces for collaboration projects, laboratories and computer rooms.

We are fortunate to have supercomputers for High-Performance Computing and for data analysis and machine learning as well as access to several visualisation and data postprocessing laboratories.

We are also able to host local computer hardware which give postgraduate researchers a safe environment to test prototype solutions, explore innovative technologies they are developing or to actually design new solutions.

Our Business, Management and Marketing programmes are delivered by the Department of Management and Marketing, one of four departments at Durham University Business School (alongside the Department of Accounting, Department of Economics and Department of Finance).

The School is one of the UK’s longest established business schools and one of an elite group of institutions in the UK to be accredited by all three major bodies – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).

We consistently rank highly in independent league tables for both the quality and reputation of our Department, with teaching delivered by a world-class academic community that includes experienced business professionals and researchers who work across a wide variety of business disciplines.

We recruit students from around the world onto our postgraduate programmes. Our students take part in live business projects, internships and placements as part of their studies, enabling them to apply their knowledge to practical challenges in the most forward thinking companies. We have an active alumni network of more than 36,000 graduates in over 140 countries.

Facilities

You’ll be taught across the university campus by world leading academics from the Business School. You’ll have access to the Business Schools modern, spacious meeting rooms and study areas.

The university campus is within walking distance of the historic centre of Durham, a city with UNESCO World Heritage Status. Resources include up-to-date financial information and online databases. In addition, you’ll have access to Durham University’s prestigious libraries and archives.

Start your application now.