The University of Connecticut School Of Business is pleased to announce a new and innovative master’s degree program from the Department of Operations and Information Management (OPIM).  The Master of Science in Business Analytics and Project Management (MSBAPM) is designed to meet the growing demand for professionals who can analyze, organize and manage high-value business solutions in today’s complex business environments. This 33-credit program, offered in Hartford, Connecticut, allows students to pursue the program either full or part-time beginning in any regular semester.  Applications are now being accepted for the program kickoff in Fall 2011.

“This innovative program is designed to provide critical skills to address existing business problems and create new opportunities for small to global enterprises in today’s information-rich environments” said Ram Gopal, GE Endowed Professor and Department Head of OPIM. “Our intense and close collaboration with industry partners through centers such as Connecticut Information Technology Institute and the national award winning experiential learning center, edgelab, provided the key impetus to design this program to meet emerging needs of corporations small and large,” notes Professor James Marsden who was the founding member and Executive Director for both these successful initiatives. “This program is unique as it provides an in-depth and integrated curriculum of two critical business skill sets, combines theory with hands-on application, and helps prepare professionals with skill sets highly sought after across all industry sectors,” notes Dr. Sudip Bhattacharjee who was instrumental in designing the curriculum for the program. “MSBAPM is the latest initiative in a continuation of our mission to deliver a pipeline of talented and energized professionals” said Dr. John Zhang who is leading the recruiting activities for the program.

“In today’s business environment, business professionals who are technically competent in project management and successful in working with diverse teams to drive project deliverables are in great demand across the industry spectrum from financial services to engineering-focused enterprises” notes Professor Jose Cruz whose specialization is in supply chain management and complex business decision making.

“The compelling value proposition is the innovative pedagogy that combines scheduling flexibility and convenience, supported by flex mode course times and hybrid delivery of an asynchronous in-class and online curriculum,” says Professor Alex Tung. Professor Robert Johnson notes that companies are increasingly in need of professionals who can discover, analyze, coordinate and manage mission-critical activities to drive business value and the MSBAPM program is designed to do just that. Further, experiential learning opportunities offer students the chance to immediately apply and test their advanced skills to challenging real-world business problems.  The program design and implementation have benefitted greatly from the Project Management Institute (PMI) and SAS, Inc., a leading developer and supplier of frontier statistical and enterprise analytics software.   The final cog is, of course, provided by a committed and talented faculty group who consistently rank in the top 25 in information systems graduate education (US News) and among the most productive and impactful research departments in the world (OR/MS Today, Communications of the ACM, Communications of the AIS, and AISNET), providing MSBAPM with an exceptional blend of educational experience and talent.