Big data could be master's focus at Wayne State
Wayne State University could offer a master's degree in big data and business analytics, offered jointly by the College of Engineering and School of Business, by the fall of 2016. It will be unique because of its equal emphasis on both data analytics as well as business, said Ratna Babu Chinnam, a professor and graduate chairman of the engineering school who is leading the 30-credit-hour program's development. It would offer three concentrations: big data engineering, big data analytics and big data business. "The vast majority of the programs either completely focus on the data science piece of it, meaning these programs are coming out of computer science departments, or they tend to come purely from business schools with a lot more emphasis on business," Chinnam said. "We came to the conclusion that's not going to really work. ... The program has to be balanced." Heather Dillaway, associate dean of master's programs for the WSU graduate school and an associate professor in the department of sociology, said the program is in its beginning stages of development and still needs graduate school and Board of Governors approval.
