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Quick Facts
Next Start Date:
January 6, 2025
Jobs in data analytics are predicted to grow nearly 60 percent nationwide through 2023 and will continue to grow over the next 10 years (Source: Lightcast™ – economicmodeling.com). Ball State University’s bachelor’s in data analytics with a concentration in environmental systems analytics will prepare you for this growth with high-demand skills that you can immediately apply to your current and future career.
Offered entirely online, on-campus, or a blend of both, the bachelor’s in data analytics focuses on preparing you to transform large datasets into actionable insights through a combination of statistics, computer science, mathematics, and data visualization programs.
What Skills Will I Gain?
Data analysts can mine, organize, and transform data to generate insights and drive decision making. The skills you learn in your courses are relevant to a number of careers and can be immediately applied to your line of work. A sample of those skills includes:
- Data acquisition and preparation, analysis, documentation, and reporting
- Data visualization
- ESRI software (e.g. ArcGIS)
- Pattern recognition
- Predictive analytics
- Satellite imagery and mapping
Career Opportunities
Your data analytics degree will translate to several employment sectors including government agencies, education, healthcare, non-profits, finance, athletics, environmental agencies, logistics, and manufacturing, just to name a few. Below are examples of job titles you may hold:
- Systems/data analyst
- Data architect
- Data and analytics manager
- Remote sensing engineer
- GISc specialist
- Research analyst
- Business analyst
- Environmental planner
- Environmental analyst
Grants for College
Good news for Indiana adult students! The Indiana Commission for Higher Education is offering college grants for adults returning to college, or even beginning their educational journey. The Adult Student Grant awards up to $2,000 to help pay for your college expenses and is renewable. This grant is available to Indiana residents, aged 25 and older, who are enrolled or will be enrolled in an undergraduate program.* Review the requirements below and learn if you qualify for the Adult Student Grant.
Learn More about the Adult Student Grant
*Additional requirements are listed on the Indiana Commission for Higher Education Adult Student Grant website.
An Interdisciplinary Program for a High-Demand Career
The data analytics program is committed to providing its students with high-demand skills, experience in various fields, and real-world experience, preparing them for a broad range of job opportunities.
Read His Story
Data Analytics is a Field for the Perpetual Learner
Munni Begum, Director of the Data Science and Data Analytics programs at Ball State, explains the program and its history.
Read Her Story
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Courses You Will Take
Ball State focuses on the student experience, placing emphasis on smaller class sizes, personal attention from faculty, practicums, internship opportunities, and immersive learning projects. The commitment to the student experience is the same whether you’re on campus or online. Curriculum for the bachelor’s in data analytics offers high-impact practices that enable you to apply skills in big data to real-world projects with clients.
The certificate in geographic information science (GISc) is a good option to tailor your bachelor’s degree further. In fact, the GISc certificate counts toward 90 percent of the courses in the environmental systems analytics concentration.
As you examine the social and ethical dimensions of data in the digital age, you will also gain a strong foundation for pursuing our master’s in data science.
View All Courses
Many adult students already have some college credit completed when they begin their studies with Ball State Online. In fact, more than 90 percent of bachelor degree seekers transfer some or all of their previous credits. If you fall under this category, learn more about transferring your undergraduate credits.
Meet Your Advisor
The role of your academic advisor is more than telling you which courses to take. For starters, they are student success specialists, and they are dedicated to your academic success. You’ll work with the same specialist from application to graduation.
Contact your Student Success Specialist, who can answer questions you have about the program.
Online Learning at a Glance
The 100 percent online bachelor’s in data analytics is designed with the working adult in mind. Courses are asynchronous, meaning you can complete them at a pace that fits into your daily routine without worrying about being late to class. Many students take one or two courses at a time until they find the right balance between work, classes, and other responsibilities.
You’ll still earn a reputable Ball State degree whether you’re taking classes in a physical or online classroom.
More about Online Learning
Ready to Apply?
An application and all required application materials must be received two weeks prior to the start of classes for a given term in order to be considered for admission to Ball State. Our semester start dates can be found in Ball State’s academic calendar.
Whether you are transferring credits in from another university or have never taken college courses before now, we invite you to learn about Ball State's admission requirements and how to apply to this program.
GET STARTED
Ball State is authorized by the U.S. Department of Education to accept online students from all U.S. states. However, if you are considering a program that leads to professional licensure, some states may have additional regulations. Review our state authorization website if you live outside of Indiana and contact us if you have questions.
Want to Learn More?
Do you have questions about this program or online learning? We're here to help! You may request more information using our online form, or feel free to reach out directly to one of our staff.