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1. Study
2. Postgraduate
3. Taught Courses
4. Masters
5. Business Analytics

Course Fact File

Code	MSCBA
Duration	12 Months Full-time
Teaching Mode	Full-time
Qualifications	MSc
NFQ Level	Level 9
EU Fees	€12,114 See Fees and Costs for full details.
Non-EU Fees	€23,314
Closing Date	Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.
Non-EU Closing Date	Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.
Start Date	6 September 2027

Course Outline

How can organisations use data & AI to make better decisions, improve performance, respond to change and deliver business value? Our one-year, full-time MSc Business Analytics programme (offered by Cork University Business School at UCC) develops the socio-technical skills and business understanding to address these questions; enabling you to design, build and evaluate analytics solutions to real-world problems.

Across 90 credits, you will explore data analysis, visualisation, predictive modelling, forecasting and optimisation alongside business strategy, design thinking, sustainability and the responsible use of AI. You will learn to identify worthwhile business problems, select appropriate analytical approaches and communicate recommendations that others can understand and act on.

What makes this programme distinctive?

Connecting analytics with organisational change. Successful analytics depends on people, processes, technology and data. You will learn how these elements work together, using the Data Value Map to develop data and analytics strategies aligned with business priorities and facilitate shared understanding among stakeholders.

Putting AI into practice. Alongside examining AI’s disruptive potential and ethical implications, you will design, build and evaluate AI agents for organisational workflows. You will explore how to ground these solutions in data and balance autonomy with human oversight.

Designing solutions around human needs. Design thinking, service design and creative approaches to requirements gathering will help you develop solutions that address user needs. Both ethics-by-design and responsible human–AI interaction are integral to this work.

Applying analytics to sustainability. You will explore how data can support business, environmental and societal sustainability, developing performance indicators and connecting organisational activity with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Bringing your learning together in a substantial project. A 30-credit applied research project (equalling one-third of the programme) gives you the opportunity to work in a team to define a real-world business analytics problem and iteratively design, build and evaluate an innovative solution.

Programme content

Students take 90 credits as follows:  60 credits of taught modules (Part 1) and 30 credits of Research Modules (Part II)

Part I (60 credits)

• EC6011 Business Forecasting (5 credits)
• IS6017  AI as a Disruptive Technology (5 credits)
• IS6025  Design Thinking for Business Analytics (5 credits)
• IS6051  Business Data Analysis and Visualisation (5 credits)
• IS6052  Predictive Analytics (5 credits)
• IS6055  Prescriptive Analytics (5 credits)
• IS6058  Emerging Topics in Business Analytics (5 credits)
• IS6061  Python for Business Analytics (5 credits)
• IS6071  Business Analytics for Sustainability (5 credits)
• IS6072  Data Analytics for Business Enterprise (5 credits)
• IS6074  Applying Business Analytics in Practice (5 Credits)
• IS6059  Agentic AI: Unlocking the Business Value of AI Agents (5 Credits)

Part II (30 credits)

• IS6611: Applied Research in Business Analytics (30 credits)

 

Exit Award

Postgraduate Diploma in Business Analytics

In the event of a candidate failing to pass Part II, and failing to achieve a pass standard following permitted minor corrections as outlined in "Pass Standard" above, the candidate will be offered an award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Analytics (NFQ Level 9, Major Award), worth a total of 60 credits.

Course Practicalities

The course normally requires attendance at all weekly lectures and practicals (approx. 17 contact hours per week). 

Group project work continues to mid-July at the latest, while students are required to submit an individual self-reflection video by the end of July also. This concludes the formal course content.

We use a hybrid approach to assessment for this programme. Assessment methods include formal written exams, along with group and individual project work. Some modules are 100% continuous assessment, and most modules have a minimum of 50% continuous assessment. During the programme students will work both individually and in groups. A strong emphasis is placed on the oral presentation of work.

The course is taught by academic staff from the Cork University Business School and are experts in their field. These lecturers all have PhDs and/or significant industry experience. Several of the Faculty have worked previously at leading IT organisations, major banks, and research agencies. Our academic staff are also engaged in research with involvement in or leadership of research centres in UCC and publish regularly in international peer-reviewed IT/IS and business journals.

Why Choose This Course

Skills and Careers Information

The programme develops skills to equip you to contribute informed, practical and responsible recommendations. Through practical work, research and collaboration, you will develop the ability to:

• Acquire, prepare and analyse data: using Python and analytical software to explore datasets, improve data quality and generate insights.
• Explain patterns and communicate findings: applying descriptive statistics and visualisation to support clear recommendations.
• Predict outcomes and forecast trends: using machine learning and time series methods while critically evaluating their capabilities and limitations.
• Recommend courses of action: translating business problems into mathematical models and applying optimisation and decision analysis.
• Design analytics and AI solutions: combining user requirements, workflow analysis, experimentation and evaluation.
• Connect analytics with business strategy: considering organisational adoption, data culture, integrity, security and regulation.
• Work effectively with others: developing research, workshop facilitation, teamwork, presentation and professional communication skills.

 

Requirements

Applicants must have a Second Class Honours Grade 2 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8). The qualification must include one module in a quantitative area, for example, Finance, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, or other Sciences.

Consideration under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) may also be given to applicants who do not meet the above entry requirements but who have 3 years of professional experience in industry.  To demonstrate 3 years of professional experience in industry, applicants will need to provide a detailed job specification of their role(s) and an interview may also be required.

 

Fees and Costs

The EU fee for this course is €12,114.

The Non-EU fee for this course is €23,314.

How To Apply

Additional Requirements (All Applicants)

Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. This will include the following questions:

• You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.
• Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.
• Please upload your CV.

The closing date for non-EU applications is Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.

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