The Master of Business Analytics (MBAN) provides students with sought-after analytical skills within a broader business context. Students will be trained to apply advanced analytical tools and methods to address management challenges in today’s business world.
Program Overview
In the MBAN, all students progress through the program together as a cohort within a set, standard curriculum.
The structure and components of the MBAN program are described using some terms that students should become familiar with:
-
- A Period is equivalent to half a Term and is 6 weeks long (5 weeks of instruction, 1 week for evaluation). The MBAN program is made up of 5 Periods that run from September until the end of May.
- There are two courses (Business Immersion and Strategic Management) that run as week long intensive courses and do not fall within a designated Period.
- Courses are held within Periods and are worth 1.5 credits each. MBAN students are typically registered in 4-5 courses per Period.
Courses will cover a variety of key subject areas: Data Management, Data Analytics, Decision Analytics, Business Context, Business Skills, and Experiential Learning.
NOTE: Due to the set curriculum, successful completion of every course is mandatory.
In addition to regular courses, the program includes a number of unique elements that support career development that are applied to learning:
Career Development
In partnership with the Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre, the Career Development course provides students with the tools and resources to guide the transition from student to professional. Career Development Course curriculum includes a self-assessment, career research techniques, skill development sessions, resume and cover letter writing tips, interview preparation, and networking opportunities with industry experts – all tailored to individual professional experiences and opportunities as an MBAN student.
Internship
The MBAN internship is a 3.0 credit course that enables students to apply the analytical and practical skills learned in their coursework and create connections with other analytics leaders in the industry.
- Link to Recording (updated December 15, 2020)
- Slides (updated December 15, 2020)
- BA 509 Course Outline (updated March 24, 2021)
- Personal Research Projects (updated May 31, 2021)
- Internship Handbook 2021 (updated June 28, 2021)
Schedules
Program Schedule
- Period 1 to 5 Program Schedule (updated Apr 13, 2021)
- MBAN Program Dates (updated October 30, 2020)
Exam Schedule
- Winter Period 1 Exam Schedule (updated Nov 20, 2020)
- Winter Period 2 Exam Schedule (updated January 14, 2021)
- Winter Period 3 Exam Schedule (updated March 24, 2021)
- Winter Period 4 Exam Schedule (posted April 22, 2021)
- Winter Period 5 Exam Schedule (posted June 21, 2021)
NOTES:
- Students are required to attend all classes and mandatory career professional development sessions during each Period.
- Dates for workshops, info sessions, make-up classes, and exams can change with limited notice. As such, it is expected that students do not book any travel to occur until after each Period's exam week is completely finished.
- Exam schedules are subject to change so students are not to book any travel, appointments, interviews, etc. during exam week so time is reserved in case of emergency modifications.
Course Outlines & Canvas Sites
Students should review the course outlines carefully before classes begin each period. Students are expected to do any pre-readings and/or preparation as noted on outlines and come prepared to the first lecture of each course.
Canvas Sites for Courses
Please note that outlines are posted prior to the start of each period.
Students should review the course outlines carefully before classes begin each period. Students are expected to do any pre-readings and/or preparation as noted on outlines and come prepared to the first lecture of each course.
Canvas Sites for Courses
This 2021 MBAN Program site is the overall program site and is the main information source as an MBAN student. It contains general information about the program but not about specific courses students are enrolled in. If you are not familiar with Canvas, please watch this tutorial video.
Individual Canvas sites for courses are developed and maintained by instructors. Instructors may or may not use Canvas and will usually indicate on their course outline as to whether they will have a site. Individual sites will begin to appear on the Canvas Homepage under "Dashboard" as instructors populate and release them closer to the start of each Period.
Courses that Span Multiple Periods
| Course Name | Instructor |
|---|---|
| BA 520 - Career Development Programming (updated October 7, 2020) |
Whitney Friesen |
Period 1
| Course Name | Instructor |
|---|---|
| BABS 506 - Analyzing and Modeling Uncertainty (updated October 7, 2020) |
Hao Zhang |
| BABS 507 - Descriptive and Predictive Business Analytics (updated October 7, 2020) |
Martha Essak |
| BAMS 506 - Optimal Decision Making I (updated October 20, 2020) |
Steven Shechter |
| BAIT 508 - Business Analytics Programming (updated October 7, 2020) |
Gene Moo Lee |
Period 2
| Course Name | Instructor |
|---|---|
| BAIT 507 - Data Management for Business Analytics (updated November 27, 2020) |
Wei Sun |
| BAMA 520 - Customer Analytics (updated December 18, 2020) |
Yanwen Wang |
| BAMS 517 - Analyzing and Modeling Uncertainty (updated November 27, 2020) |
Hao Zhang |
| BAMS 508 - Optimal Decision Making II (updated January 18, 2020) |
Steven Shechter |
BA 580C: Business Immersion
| Course Name | Instructor |
|---|---|
| BA 580C Business Immersion (updated February 22, 2021) |
Danielle van Jaarsveld Darren Dahl Mahesh Nagarajan Sima Sajjadiani |
Period 3
| Course Name | Instructor |
|---|---|
| BASC 500 Process Fundamentals (updated March 4, 2021) |
Harish Krishnan |
| BABS 508 Advanced Predictive Business Analytics (updated February 9, 2021) |
Martha Essak |
| BAIT 580A Database Applications in Business Systems (updated February 22, 2021) |
Simon Goring |
| BAMA 517 Data Driven Marketing (updated February 9, 2021) |
Yi Qian |
Period 4
| Course Name | Instructor |
|---|---|
| BASC 523 Supply Chain Management (updated April 6, 2021) |
Harish Krishnan |
| BABS 502 Forecasting and Time Series Prediction (updated April 6, 2021) |
Martha Essak |
| BAIT 509 Business Applications of Machine Learning (updated April 6, 2021) |
Hayley Boyce |
| BAMS 503 Simulation 1: Data Processing and Monte Carlo Simulation (updated April 6, 2021) |
Steven Shechter |
Period 5
| Course Name | Instructor |
|---|---|
| BAFI 580C Quantitative Investments (updated June 4, 2021) | Adlai Fisher |
| BAMA 511 Pricing Analytics (updated May 17, 2021) | So-Eun Park |
| BAMS 504 Simulation Modeling II: Queueing and Discrete Event Simulation (updated May 17, 2021) | Steven Shechter |
| BAMS 521 Analytics Leadership (updated June 7, 2021) | Harish Krishnan |
Administration & Registration
Grading Requirements
The MBAN program has strict Academic Standing & Grading Practices for all courses. Students are permitted a limited number of "failed" and/or "minimal pass" (60-67%) grades. If a student exceeds this limit, s/he will be forced to withdraw from the program. We ask all students to familiarize themselves with these requirements prior to the start of classes.
Students do not need to take any action regarding course registration! All of this will be done by the Robert H. Lee Graduate School and students will be registered in courses by the beginning of July.
NOTE: Please disregard any notices from UBC Central regarding registration for the Fall session. The MBAN program is on a different schedule than the rest of the university so the messages about registration do not apply to our students.
Student Service Centre (SSC)
Students can access a variety of administrative information related to the MBAN program through the Student Service Centre (SSC).
At this site students can:
- Check current registration
- Change mailing address and/or e-mail address information
- Look up tuition fees and due dates
- View grades
- Apply to graduate
- And much more!
To access the SSC, students need a Campus Wide Login (CWL), which is the same as the ID and Password used to log into Canvas.
Transcripts (SSC)
If students require a copy of the UBC transcript, it can be ordered online via the SSC.
Course Materials
- UBC Bookstore (course packages & textbooks)
- The Sauder School of Business Store (payment of course fees)
Rules on the Use & Distribution of Course Materials
Any materials posted on Canvas course sites will be available for you to access and download for four weeks after the final exam. As you will be using the intellectual property of external authors and/or UBC professors in your own studies, please be aware of the following rules around the handling and distribution of those materials:
- Cases and readings are protected under copyright law and therefore you must not share these documents with anyone. Any official publications that are posted on a Canvas course site have copyright clearance for students enrolled this specific course only.
- Class slides are the instructor’s property and most instructors do not want their slides to be distributed. If you have questions about this, please approach your instructor directly.
- Exams/assignments/feedback must not be shared with students who may subsequently take the same course.
It is your responsibility to avoid copyright infringements and the distribution of materials that are intended for your use only.
Rules with Degree Progress
RHL students should use the designation "MBAN in progress” on resume, LinkedIn, email signature, business signature, etc. As a student in a Professional Master program, the term "candidate" should not be used because candidacy is not an officially recognized degree program status at the Master's level (it is intended for the doctoral level), based on UBC policy.
Meet Your Instructors - Period 1
We asked the instructors who are going to be leading you through the MBAN two questions. Hopefully their answers will inspire you in some way as well as get to know them better.
|
Perry Atwal |
Why did you choose business/teaching business as a career path? Perry chooses to teach business as he loves being in the classroom and making a difference in the lives of students. His passion for teaching is evident in the high-energy sessions that are delivered, and he aims to make every class challenging, stimulating, rewarding and fun. What three things a student would want to do in your class to succeed? To succeed in his classes, students should aim to be diligent, open-minded and energetic. Diligence is required to ensure readings are completed ahead of time to maximize the learning opportunities within class-time. Students should be open-minded to the value of the concepts and frameworks discussed, and willing to experiment by trying new approaches. Finally, Perry’s philosophy is that life is meant to be enjoyed, and so he asks that students reciprocate his energy by contributing and engaging fully in every class. |
|
Gene Moo Lee |
Why did you choose business/teaching business as a career path? During my industry experiences at Samsung, AT&T, Intel, and Goldman Sachs, I found that analyzing data is the core in various industry sectors. I am passionate about teaching emerging data analytics technologies so that students can solve challenging business and societal problems. And I do that by providing extensive “hands-on” projects. Besides teaching, I also enjoy exploring new research ideas in data analytics. What three things a student would want to do in your class to succeed?
|
|
Steven Shechter |
Why did you choose business/teaching business as a career path? I like to “keep it real” in both my research and teaching. It’s important for me to apply the technical materials of our field to real-world problems, and to enable students to do the same. A business school environment provides a wide variety of opportunities for students and faculty to translate their knowledge into practice. What three things a student would want to do in your class to succeed?
|
|
Hao Zhang |
Why did you choose business/teaching business as a career path? About twenty years ago, I was at a crossroads—to continue my doctorate in engineering or switch to the business school of another university. It was not an easy decision to make, as the former was covered with full financial aid while the latter meant getting out of my comfort zone and embracing an uncertain future both financially and academically. As time goes by, my appreciation of the business field has kept growing and I have never regretted that choice made years ago. There is no better time than now to start a career in business. Most exciting things are happening in today’s business world. New visions, ideas, theories, and practices are colliding, competing with, or reinforcing each other and traditional wisdoms. Pioneers and leaders are marching in full speed: sustainable supply-chain management at Apple, intelligent marketing at Amazon, machine learning at Goldman Sachs, big data in healthcare management… Many are aligned with the theme of the MBAN program. Welcome to the future of the business world! What three things a student would want to do in your class to succeed? Curiosity, practice, courage. Curiosity is the origin of learning. It is the engine of an automobile or aircraft. The best learner is someone who is motivated by the urge to know the unknown, to bridge the gaps in their knowledge space, and to explore uncharted territory. Practice is the key to mastering the skills taught in this course and linking textbook knowledge to the real world. In a short period of five weeks, it is essential to ensure timely and adequate practice, such as in-class and homework exercises. Even well-prepared students may find the subject of the course difficult at times. Courage would be your best friend. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes and don’t give up trying. Learning from errors is the fastest way, oftentimes the only way, to hone your skills. As a Chinese saying goes, “failure is the mother of success.” |
