Business Analytics

Entry requirements

What do I need first

The MSc in Business Analytics programme is designed for graduates from either a business background (with evidence of strong quantitative content) or a tech background (including numerate scientific disciplines with strong computational content). You will need a UK first or upper second class honours degree or international equivalent. in one of the following:

• Business
• Computer science
• Related subject with strong quantitative component.

Staged Admissions

As there is a high demand for this programme with a finite number of places available, we operate a staged admissions process with application deadlines throughout the year for MSc Business Analytics. Due to the competition for places we give preference to applicants from high ranking institutions and with grades above our minimum entry requirements.

Application fee payment deadline

(applications must be submitted prior to this)

Decision Deadline

Round 1

13/11/2024

18/12/2024

Round 2

12/02/2025

26/03/2025

Round 3

09/04/2025

21/05/2025

Round 4

11/06/2025

23/07/2025

• Applications received after our final application deadline will be considered at our discretion if places are still available. Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the listed date, due to the high volume of applications that we receive, this may not always be possible. All deadlines are 23:59 UK time (GMT)
• Applications for each stage open immediately after the deadline for the previous stage

All offer holders will be automatically assessed for a scholarship and if successful will be notified by separate email within 14 days of receiving an offer. Please note that we may issue a small number of offers to exceptional candidates in advance of each deadline. The University is under no obligation to make an offer of a place on the programme to any applicant, nor is the University obligated to fill all spaces available on the programme.

English language requirements

Candidates whose first language is not English will normally be required to demonstrate proficiency in the English language by possessing a recent English language test score of 7.0 or above in IELTS (with no element below 6.0), or an equivalent qualification.

NB Chinese Applicants: Applications will be considered from students who have graduated from a prestigious university in China. Entry requirements may vary depending upon the reputation of the university you have graduated from and the academic programme you have applied for. As a guide, applicants are expected to have achieved an overall average of 85%.

What do I need first

The equivalent of a UK first or upper second class honours degree. Check the full list of equivalent qualifications. If you are an international student who does not meet the English language requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-sessional programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

How do I apply

You will need to complete an online application form.

Fill out the online application form

To support your online application form, you will need to provide the following documents.

• Official transcript of marks
• Copy of degree certificate (if available)
• Copy of English test results (if available).

You can either upload your supporting documents with your online application or email or fax them to the Postgraduate Admissions Office using the contact details below.

Note:

Only files of type .doc, .docx, .gif, .jpg, .pdf, .png, .rtf are permitted to be uploaded.

The maximum file size is 5MB.

Application fee

Once we receive your online application form, you’ll get an automatic email within 48 hours asking you to pay the £60 application fee* which is required to progress your application.

You’ll need to follow the link in the email to the webpage where you can confirm your details and make the payment using a debit or credit card. This is a secure website operated by Secpay, which will send you an automatic receipt of payment.

Once we receive confirmation that your application fee has been paid, we’ll be able to progress your application. If you do not pay the application fee your application will be automatically withdrawn.

*Please note you will only be able to make a payment for one programme in each suite i.e. one MSc Finance programme, one MSc Management programme, one MSc Marketing programme.

College membership

All students of Durham University will become a member of one of our Colleges. Here is more information about what college membership means to our students. Once you have accepted your postgraduate offer, the Accommodation and Allocations Office will contact you with further information regarding how to express college preferences. You can also apply for college accommodation if you wish to.

Admissions process

Here are the steps in the admissions process:

1. We will let you know when we’ve received your application.
2. Once we’ve received all of your supporting documents, we will email you to let you know our decision.
3. If the decision is to make you an offer of a place on the programme we will let you know by email shortly after the deadlines mentioned above. Please note we do not issue hard copy offer letters as these are not required to obtain a student visa.
4. You should confirm the acceptance of your offer as soon as possible. In order to secure your place, you are required to pay a deposit within six weeks of the date of your original offer (check your offer documents for details of payment methods).

International students requiring a student visa will receive a CAS (Certificate of Acceptance of Studies) via email once all offer conditions are met, acceptance and deposit have been received and you are within five months of the start date of your programme.

Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the relevant deadline date, due to the high volume of applications that we receive, this may not always be possible. In some instances, it may be necessary for us to roll your application forward to the next deadline date.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Our MSc in Business Analytics will enable you to play a key role in modern business by giving you the skills and knowledge to gain competitive business insight from big data.

More reliance than ever before is being placed on analytics to help global businesses understand and predict customer behaviour, monitor their own processes and manage suppliers effectively. In a supportive and research-led learning environment, you will be able to explore this complex world and develop an understanding of the role of big data and apply the relevant analytical tools and techniques in order to gain key insight.

You will benefit from the programme's strong international connections and will have the opportunity to experience data analytics in action on the International Field Trip.

You will also be invited to attend Business School presentations by representatives of major global multinationals and leading scholars.

The programme is delivered full-time over one year and is a collaboration between the Business School and the Department of Computer Science, reflecting the high levels of expertise and knowledge that exists across the two areas.

The Business School itself is one of the longest established in the UK with a reputation for academic excellence and state-of-the-art learning facilities. It is also one of an elite group of institutions in the UK to be accredited by all three major business education accreditation bodies: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).

The Department of Computer Science is one of Durham’s newest academic departments, having rapidly grown to be a thriving home for staff, undergraduates, postgraduates, and visitors. Ranked 9th in the Complete University Guide 2025, the Department delivers high-quality teaching and research and offers a friendly and inclusive place to study and work for all.

Course structure

Core modules

You will study the following core modules:

Introduction to Business Analytics

• will provide you with an in-depth understanding at an advanced level of data structures appropriate to business analytics, how companies attempt different business and corporate strategies to achieve or maintain a competitive advantage. You'll also explore, strategy formulation and implementation under conditions of changing political, economic, sociocultural, and technological conditions, industry competition and firm resources. The module will also provide you with an appreciation of specialist techniques to aid analysis of the competitive and contextual environment.

Data Analytics in Action

• provides an appreciation and understanding of the types of techniques used in business analytics and enables you to apply analytical models and data visualisation using the appropriate software.

Learning from Data

• teaches the concept and provides practical tools in the area of machine learning, in which computer systems improve on the process and outcomes for exploring and interpreting data.

Managing Data Driven Innovation

• introduces you to data-driven Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and outlines the theories behind such technologies as well as the challenges organisations face in using them. Crucially, you will also learn about the ethical and security implications in managing such data-driven innovations.

Natural Language Analysis

• provides you an introduction to the cutting-edge techniques for automated analysis of text-based data and their applications, with a focus on preparation of such data for machine learning, advanced machine learning techniques for natural language analysis and the application of natural language analysis techniques within business analytics such as sentiment analysis and social media analysis.

Retail Analytics

• enables you to understand the role of data in the decision-making process undertaken by management in the retail and distribution industries. You will cover topics such as retail management, communication and customer relationship management and the data requirements for market segmentation.

Data Analytics for Strategic Decision-Making

• provides an appreciation of, and the ability to apply range of predictive and prescriptive business-analytics techniques. The module will also enable you to implement those predictive and prescriptive business-analytics models using appropriate software, whilst showing how business analytics can help companies make better decisions - storytelling with data to promote data-driven decision-making.

Data Analytics in Action - International Field Trip

With travel and accommodation costs fully funded by the University*, the field trip aims to provide you with the experiential learning needed to acquire an inside perspective of operating globally. You will visit a series of data-intensive participating organisations, where you will analyse each organisation using a structured learning approach and present your analysis to the representatives of the participating organisations. This activity provides an excellent opportunity to apply your academic learning to a real-world challenge, whilst enhancing your employability through exposure to new cultures and ways of working in international companies.

*Documentation will be provided by the Business School to aid your visa application, however, if you are unsuccessful in obtaining a visa for the field trip, no refund on fees will be provided.

Business Analytics Project

The Business Analytics Project requires you to conduct an in-depth investigation into an issue which is applicable and relevant to business analytics, and which will be underpinned by business analytics approach, methods and techniques covered in the other modules. You will be able to choose a project by either working with a host organisation or by producing an issue-led investigation which is not focused on just one organisation but instead examines a specific business analytics issue. This project will be supervised by a faculty member and is an opportunity for you to develop your insight and present your analysis and ideas in a scholarly and professional manner.

Detailed module information

For the latest detailed information on all of the modules currently offered on this programme please visit our Postgraduate Module Handbook pages.

Practitioner insights: Guest Speaker Programme

As part of the programme, you will be encouraged to attend presentations by leading academics and professionals who are specialists in your particular area of interest. Combining critical and progressive thinking with practical insight, past speakers have included representatives of major global multinationals and leading scholars, combining critical and progressive thinking with practical insights.

Information for international students

If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-Masters pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

Fees and funding

For further information see the course listing.