In the era of Big Data, analytics is becoming a strategic necessity in virtually all areas of business and is an essential tool to drive real-time decisions, foster evidence-based decision-making and sustain competitive advantage. According to a recent ranking by Glassdoor.com, one of the world’s largest job and recruiting sites, Data Scientist has been named as the best job in the US for three years running. Harvard Business Review claims the 'sexiest job of the 21st century' with practitioners having rare and highly sought-after skills.
Learn how to apply descriptive, predictive and prescriptive modelling techniques to help organisations improve performance, explore alternatives, and anticipate and shape business outcomes in a rapidly changing environment. You also develop an understanding of fundamental analytics techniques, such as statistical analysis, machine learning, optimisation, simulation, and spreadsheet modelling.
This programme is ideal for graduates with a quantitative background who are seeking to gain an in-depth knowledge of quantitative and analytical skills as well as management, communication and research skills. Upon graduation, you will be ready to start a career in a variety of industries and sectors including airline, manufacturing, energy, healthcare, banking, marketing and government.
While enrolled on the programme you have the opportunity to work for real organisations, improve your consultancy skills and enhance your employability through the Student In-company Scheme, which bridges the gap between classroom learning and workplace experience. As part of the Student In-company Scheme, students undertook a project to aid BMI The Chaucer Hospital in improving efficiency - read the full blog post to learn more.
Students are also involved in a variety of activities, including case studies, team project work, guest lectures and industry visits.
The state-of-the-art analytics packages including R, SPSS, Weka, and MS Excel, as well as optimisation packages (IBM ILOG CPLEX and OPL), simulation packages (SIMUL8) and programming languages (VBA), are taught in the programme.
Students have the option to undertake the MSc Business Analytics programme in two further specialist pathways - Business Analytics (Smart Logistics) or Business Analytics (Finance). Students can choose either pathway or remain on the main MSc Business Analytics programme following enrolment in September. Details of the specialist modules to be undertaken for either pathway are listed under the course structure section.
Kent Business School has a wide range of funding opportunities for postgraduate students, which include Scholarships, Bursaries, Kent Business School Loyalty Award for University of Kent undergraduates and the KBS Early Bird Scheme. The Early Bird equates to a 10% discount on tuition fees.
For more information on funding available from the University of Kent, please visit the Student Funding page.
With over 25 years’ experience delivering business education, Kent Business School is a leading UK business school, both for the standard of our teaching and student satisfaction. Our portfolio of postgraduate programmes demonstrates the breadth and depth of our expertise. Academic research and links with global business inform our teaching, ensuring a curriculum that is relevant and current. We also hold a number of accreditations by professional bodies.
Studying at Kent Business School (KBS) gives you the opportunity to increase your employability with real-life case studies, a student council and a business society. We have strong links to local and national organisations providing opportunities for projects, internships and graduate placements. The School attracts many high-profile speakers from industry and last year included visits and lectures from staff of the Bank of England, BAE Systems, Barclays, Lloyds Insurance, Cummins, Delphi and Kent County Council.
The School currently has 60 PhD students, who form a dynamic and close-knit research community.
A good honours degree (minimum 2:2) from the UK or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification in a quantitative discipline, such as statistics, logistics, mathematics, engineering or any other mathematically based natural science discipline.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, international fee-paying students cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree.
For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.
Applicants who are required to meet an English language condition may be able to study a pre-sessional course in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
The MSc Business Analytics programme is studied over one year full-time. It consists of nine compulsory modules and two optional modules. The optional modules allow students to further specialise in a business analytics application area of their choice, such as marketing, or choose to undertake one of the two new pathways options: Smart Logistics or Finance.
The following modules are offered to our current students. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
Duration: 1 year full-time
The course structure provides a sample of the modules available for this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University so that you may customise your programme, explore other subject areas that interest you and further enhance your employability.
Listed below are the modules required to be undertaken for the main MSc Business Analytics programme. Students also have the opportunity to transfer onto a specialist pathway within Business Analytics or remain with the overarching MSc Business Analytics degree. The pathway choices available are MSc Business Analytics (Smart Logistics) or MSc Business Analytics (Finance). Students can transfer to either of these in the autumn term. Details of the compulsory modules for these pathways are listed below.
Pathway: MSc Business Analytics (Smart Logistics) compulsory modules may include:
CB921 - Advanced Spreadsheets and Decision Support Systems (15 credits)
CB969 - Business Statistics with R (15 credits)
CB996 - Logistics and Supply Chain Planning (15 credits)
CB932 - Operations Management and Digital Transformation (15 credits)
CB9165 - Big Data Analytics and Visualisation (15 credits)
CB9040 - Machine Learning and Forecasting (15 credits)
CB9058 - Warehousing and Global Transportation Management (15 credits)
CB966 - Simulation Modelling (15 credits)
CB8005* - Consultancy, Negotiation, and Research Skills* (15 credits)
* Note: all modules where an asterisk is placed beside the module code in the modules table below cannot be compensated.
Pathway: MSc Business Analytics (Finance) compulsory modules may include:
CB8011 - Essentials of Financial Risk Management (15 credits)
CB969 - Business Statistics with R (15 credits)
CB997 - Prescriptive Analytics for Decision Making (15 credits)
CB8021 - Foundation of Finance (15 credits)
CB9060 - Finance with Excel (15 credits)
CB9040 - Machine Learning and Forecasting (15 credits)
CB9165 - Big Data Analytics and Visualisation (15 credits)
CB8005*- Consultancy, Negotiation, and Research Skills* (15 credits)
* Note: all modules where an asterisk is placed beside the module code in the modules table below cannot be compensated.
The programme involves a taught and a project component. The taught programme is assessed by a mixture of coursework assignments throughout the year, and by examinations in May and June.
Once these are completed, you then work full-time on the project and write a dissertation based on this. This 8,000 to 10,000 word dissertation is an opportunity to apply the techniques and insights presented in the programme and apply them to a particular problem area.
For students who wish to enhance their employability further, this programme offers the opportunity to undertake work experience in the UK or overseas, through the option to undertake the programme with an additional industrial placement. Placements are self-sought and can range from an additional 12 to 50 weeks. This would extend the normal 12 month Masters programme to a maximum of 24 months.
The School offers support to those students seeking the industrial placement option, through extra-curricular engagement with our dedicated placements team. Our dedicated placement team can help you gain a suitable paid position and provide support throughout your placement. Students considering this option should be aware that they will be required to successfully complete all stage 1 modules and that there may be additional costs for students in terms of visa extensions, Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and accommodation, for example.
The programme aims to:
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
You gain the ability to:
You gain the ability to:
Once you have graduated and are in professional practice you should be able to:
You gain the ability to:
Once you have graduated and are in professional practice you should be able to:
Kent Business School currently occupies a purpose-designed building consisting of executive learning facilities with wireless provision throughout. Each postgraduate student is assigned a specific member of academic staff who acts as your first point of contact throughout your studies. There is a lively postgraduate community at the School, with plenty of space to relax and interact with your fellow students and our academic staff.
On the Canterbury Campus, Kent Business School will soon be moving into a new academic building, known as The Sibson Building, a vibrant new campus destination.New academic facilities and social spaces for Kent Business School at Medway have also recently opened. The Sail and Colour Loft features six seminar rooms, a group learning room, a computer suite, quiet study areas, student social spaces and a special reference collection of core text books. Kent’s libraries offer over a million books, periodicals and journals, and we have subject-specific librarians to help you secure access to the information you need.
We also offer excellent teaching facilities with tailor-made specialist resources. Postgraduate students can access a range of specialist software packages used in quantitative analysis and in finance. Most academic schools have specific study areas for postgraduates and there is also a general postgraduate common room with work area.
Kent Business School has more than 60 internationally recognised academics from 22 different countries. Most of our teaching faculty are involved with researching the latest issues in business and management, working with organisations to provide new insight for business leaders and policymakers. Their knowledge and findings feed into the programmes to ensure they are both cutting-edge and globally relevant.
Kent Business School has close links with: ifs (Institute of Financial Services); dunnhumby, who partners the Consumer Insight Service in the Centre for Value Chain Research; Hong Kong Baptist University, with whom we offer a joint Master’s programme in Operational Research and Finance Business Statistics; University of Castellanza (Italy); Audencia Nantes Business School (France); Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences (Denmark); Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; University of Ingolstadt, Bayern (Germany); City University of Hong Kong; Renmin University of China, School of Business.
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Critical Perspectives on Accounting; Quantitative Finance; Human Resource Management Journal; Journal of Product Innovation Management; European Journal of Operational Research; and Psychology & Marketing.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
Research activities at Kent Business School are broadly organised into six areas;
Our Management Science group covers a wide range of research areas in Operational Research and Systems Thinking. These include research in the area of logistics including green logistics and network security with a special emphasis on the innovative design and analysis of heuristic and exact optimisation, DEA, operation management, multi-variate analysis, biometrics, multi-methodology and Soft OR/Systems. The group is now a member of NATCOR.
For more information, see our Applied Research Centres:
Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website.
You gain much more than an academic qualification when you graduate from Kent Business School – we enhance your student experience and accelerate your career prospects.
From the moment you start with us, our efforts are focused on helping you gain the knowledge, skills and experience you need to thrive in an increasingly competitive workplace.
In today’s business climate employers are increasingly demanding more from new employees, we are therefore proud that they continually target our graduates for their organisations across the globe. Employers respect our robust teaching and reputation for delivering international business expertise, leading global research and an outstanding international learning experience.
Recent graduates have gone on to work for Barclays Capital, British Embassy, Gray Robinson PA and Holiday Extras.
To find out more about business analytics and future career prospects, see:
Kent Business School is a member of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS); and the Kent MBA is an Association of MBAs (AMBA) accredited programme.
In addition, KBS has accredited programmes with the following professional bodies:
KBS is a signatory of the United Nation's Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), which provides a global network for academic institutions to advance corporate sustainability and social responsibility.
The 2020/21 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Full-time tuition fees for Home and EU undergraduates are £9,250.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
Next steps
This course page is for the 2020/21 academic year. Please visit the current online prospectus for a list of postgraduate courses we offer.
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Kent ranked top 50 in The Complete University Guide 2024.
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Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
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