Master's in Business Analytics Program

The Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University’s Graduate Students of the Year for 2023-2024 exemplify the highest standards of academic excellence, leadership, and dedication to their field. Here, they explain why they chose Mason, and offer advice to others considering master’s degrees in business.  

Katie Kacher, the 2023-24 master’s in business analytics Student of the Year is proof that hard work, motivation, and organization are the key ingredients to success in graduate business school. Kacher chose the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University for her graduate degree, primarily due to George Mason’s reputation for high caliber coursework and student outcomes.

Himaja Suryadevara received her undergraduate degree in computer science engineering before moving on to pursue an MBA at one of the most reputable colleges in India before joining the Master of Science in Business Analytics program at the Costello College of Business at George Mason University in order to deepen her analytical skills.

Director of George Mason University’s Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program, Mehmet Altug, found his passion while studying industrial engineering as an undergraduate. Altug says he took classes on manufacturing management, supply chain planning, and operations research, and liked the combination of quantitative models and business problems. Fast forward to today, and Altug, in addition to bringing his expertise to the MSBA program, also serves as an associate professor of operations management at the Costello College of Business.

Data-based decisions drive businesses, and those who know how to analyze data help make their organizations more successful. George Mason University’s Costello College of Business, conveniently located in the Washington, D.C. metro area, offers two programs to help individuals effectively analyze big data through the hands-on use of modeling and other techniques with popular software tools.

George Mason University's School of Business now offers students a STEM-designated program through the newly launched Master of Science in Business Analytics. A STEM-designated program is an academic program that is classified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as having a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math topics. For international students on an F-1 visa, graduating from a STEM-designated program allows them to extend their time in Optional Practical Training from 12 to 36 months in the U.S.

After transferring to George Mason University and graduating from the Master’s in Management accelerated one-year program in 2020, Cooper Mrowka decided to take advantage of his collegiate baseball eligibility to further his education. “I started looking to sports jobs, maybe combining my sport management and business management degrees and people kept saying that the new thing is data analytics–knowing how numbers work, how to analyze them, and how to use them to your advantage,” he says. Following completion of the business analytics certificate, Mrowka found that the skills he developed were applicable to a variety of fields, giving him many careers to choose from. 

In keeping with its commitment to preparing students for the workforce of tomorrow, George Mason University School of Business recently launched a new Master of Science in Business Analytics program. Designed to provide a deeper knowledge of analytics and data-driven decision-making, the program can be completed in just one year.