Business Administration BS - Data Analytics Concentration

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

University at Buffalo SUNY

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Data Analytics concentration at the University at Buffalo combines a broad business education with advanced analytical skills for working with large datasets and solving real business problems. It is well suited to students who want to connect data-driven decision-making with areas such as finance, marketing, information systems, human resources, entrepreneurship, or operations and supply chain management.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: Students establish the quantitative, analytical and business foundations needed for later data-focused study, building knowledge across areas such as economics, accounting, statistics and business communication. Courses such as Statistical Decisions in Management (MGQ 201) and introductory business coursework help students develop the ability to interpret quantitative information and make evidence-based business decisions.

Year 2: Students move into the core business curriculum while strengthening their understanding of management, finance, marketing, operations and information systems. Coursework such as Statistical Decisions in Management (MGQ 301) and Introduction to Information Systems and Technology (MGS 351) develops analytical thinking alongside the functional business knowledge needed to understand how data supports organizational decisions.

Year 3: Students begin applying more specialized analytics knowledge to business problems while progressing through their selected primary concentration. Data analytics study emphasizes using quantitative methods and models to analyze business information, while courses in areas such as Management Science and Systems and Marketing allow students to connect analytical techniques with specific business functions.

Year 4: Students consolidate their analytical and managerial knowledge through advanced concentration coursework, upper-level business electives and applied projects. The combination of Data Analytics with a primary concentration enables students to demonstrate how data can be transformed into insights for areas such as financial analysis, marketing, information systems or supply chain management.

Focus areas: Business data analytics, statistical analysis, quantitative decision-making, data interpretation, business intelligence, analytical modeling, critical thinking, communication, finance analytics, marketing analytics, information systems, operations and supply chain analytics

Learning outcomes: Analyze and interpret business data, apply quantitative methods and analytical models to business problems, draw meaningful inferences from large datasets, communicate data-driven conclusions, integrate analytics with functional business knowledge, and use evidence to support managerial decision-making.

Professional alignment (accreditation): All academic programs in the University at Buffalo School of Management are accredited by AACSB International, a globally recognized business-school accreditation body. UB states that the School of Management has maintained AACSB accreditation since 1930.

Reputation (employability rankings): UB School of Management reports that its undergraduate programs are ranked among the top 10% of AACSB-accredited business schools by Businessweek and U.S. News & World Report, and its undergraduate page reports that 97% of graduates are employed or in graduate school within six months. For the BS Business Administration Class of 2025 specifically, UB reports a 94% outcome rate among 569 graduates.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

The Data Analytics concentration is designed to combine theoretical and practical knowledge, giving students opportunities to apply advanced business data analytics methods and models to challenges across their selected functional concentration. UB's School of Management also provides hands-on experiences through internships, career preparation, quantitative coursework, business projects and specialized student resources, allowing students to connect classroom analysis with real organizational decisions.

Students can build practical analytics capability through:

Business data analysis: The concentration specifically focuses on analyzing, manipulating and drawing inferences from large datasets and applying advanced analytics methods to business topics.
Statistical analysis: UB's quantitative management curriculum develops skills in statistical decision-making, including analysis of datasets, descriptive statistics, probability, confidence intervals and regression analysis.
Analytics tools and technologies: UB's School of Management identifies Python, SQL and R as important analytics skills, alongside Tableau and Power BI for data visualization.
Functional business application: Students must pair Data Analytics with a primary concentration, allowing analytics to be applied to areas such as financial analysis, marketing, management information systems, human resources or operations and supply chain management.
Internships: UB School of Management provides undergraduate students with internship opportunities and career resources to help connect their academic preparation with professional experience.
Career preparation: The School's Career Resource Center provides job and internship resources, functional-area research and career preparation specifically for business students.
Business analytics environments: Students interested in analytics can explore applications across financial services and FinTech, healthcare and life sciences, supply chain and logistics, retail and e-commerce, technology and science, government and other industries identified by UB.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The Data Analytics concentration prepares students to use quantitative information to support business decisions across multiple functional areas rather than limiting them to a single industry. UB's 2025 BS employment data shows that Business Administration graduates had a 94% employment-or-graduate-school outcome within six months, while the overall BS class reported an average base salary of $63,061 and median base salary of $65,000.

Typical career roles include:

Business Analyst
Data Analyst
Business Intelligence Analyst
Marketing Analyst

Key progression and career opportunities include:

Career Resource Center: UB's Frank L. Ciminelli Family Career Resource Center provides School of Management students with career preparation, job and internship opportunities, employment statistics and functional-area career research.
Employment outcomes: For the BS Business Administration Class of 2025, 94% of graduates were employed or in graduate school within six months.
Salary outcomes: The 2025 BS class reported an average base salary of $63,061 and a median of $65,000. Within reported employment functions, Management Information Systems averaged $65,900, while Operations and Production averaged $71,000 and Finance averaged $71,103.
Industry opportunities: UB reports employment across financial services, technology and science, healthcare/pharmaceuticals/biotechnology, consumer products and retail, manufacturing, transportation, government and education, and other sectors.
Data analytics career preparation: UB identifies career areas including business analytics, real-time analytics, machine learning and AI, predictive analytics, cybersecurity and risk management, supply chain and logistics, retail and e-commerce, and technology-related analytics.
AACSB accreditation: The School of Management's AACSB accreditation provides an established quality framework for its business programs and has been maintained continuously since 1930.
Concentration flexibility: Because Data Analytics is paired with a primary concentration, graduates can position their analytics skills around a specific business area such as finance, marketing, MIS, HR, entrepreneurship, or operations and supply chain management.

Further Academic Progression: Graduates can continue into advanced study in areas such as business analytics, management information systems, finance, marketing analytics, operations and supply chain management, or an MBA. UB's School of Management also offers graduate programs including the MS in Business Analytics and Applied AI, providing a direct route for students who want to deepen their analytical, technical and managerial expertise.