Business Analytics with Study Abroad Year

Business analytics is the discipline that applies quantitative and statistical methods to organisational data in order to improve decision-making. Where traditional business study has emphasised strategy, finance and management theory, business analytics adds the rigour and tools to work systematically with data: identifying patterns in customer behaviour, modelling the likely outcomes of different decisions, predicting demand, optimising pricing and evaluating the effectiveness of marketing spend. As data has become the raw material of competitive advantage for organisations across every sector, the ability to work with it analytically has become one of the most sought-after graduate capabilities.

At the University of Southampton, this four-year degree includes a year studying abroad at one of the university's international partner institutions, giving you the opportunity to broaden your education in a different academic and cultural environment. You will develop skills in data analysis, statistical modelling, forecasting, machine learning applications for business, database management and data visualisation, as well as the business knowledge to understand which analytical questions matter and how to communicate findings to decision-makers. Southampton's own description emphasises that the degree develops the specialist skills needed to help organisations understand their customers and use data to make effective business decisions.

The combination of quantitative technical skill and business understanding is what makes business analytics graduates particularly valuable: data scientists who do not understand business context and business managers who cannot work with data are both in some ways incomplete, and this degree develops both sides.

Graduates go on to careers as business analysts, data analysts, marketing analysts, operations analysts, management consultants, strategy analysts and data science practitioners across financial services, retail, healthcare, technology, energy and many other sectors. Further study in data science, business analytics or management science is also a well-established route.