Course Overview for the Predictive Business Analytics Certificate, Northwestern University School of Professional Studies - Northwestern School of Professional Studies

Program Courses

To earn a certificate in Business Analytics, you must complete the three core courses (BUS_ANLY 201, BUS_ANLY 202, and BUS_ANLY 204).* There is no admissions process for the Certificate in Business Analytics. Start the path toward your certificate by registering for your first course below.

* Students who began the program prior to the fall 2021 term must complete four courses to earn their certificate: BUS_ANLY 201, BUS_ANLY 202, BUS_ANLY 203, and BUS_ANLY 204.

PDP courses are offered online, remotely, and on-campus. Please refer to the Schedule Notes for course delivery information.

IMPORTANT: The registration process for all professional development courses requires you to register for your course and update your emergency contact information in CAESAR, Northwestern University's Student Enterprise System.

Tips for Troubleshooting Registration

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENT*:

Registering for multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a mandatory, integrated step to access Northwestern University systems. Northwestern uses the DUO Mobile smartphone application for multi-factor authentication. Steps to install the DUO Mobile App can be found here. Once you have completed the MFA registration process, you will have access to systems like CAESAR and CANVAS, Northwestern’s Learning Management System.

*It is a student’s responsibility to ensure access to Northwestern systems after registering for a PDP course. If you do not have a smartphone capable of downloading and using the DUO Mobile app, you may want to consider a YubiKey that can be purchased from several online retailers.

Please contact pdp@northwestern.edu with any questions.

BUS_ANLY 202-DL : Modeling Concepts for Business Analytics

Description

Modeling Concepts for Business Analytics is tailored to the needs of non-practitioners who interact with statisticians and data scientists, including managers, technology partners, and business users. We will present the basic statistical and machine learning techniques that are used by data scientists to analyze and model data, but will not spend time on the intricate details of each model or how they are coded. Instead, students will learn the basics of each technique with an emphasis on understanding what the algorithm does, what it is used for, and the pros and cons of each. We will also cover best practices for managers and information technology professionals who are upstream or downstream from the analysts.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Describe applications of key data mining methods for business decision-making.
• Articulate data mining terminology.
• Explain what to look for when evaluating various data mining methods.
• Interpret results from various data mining methods.
• Communicate methods and strategies with internal or external business data stakeholders.

Prerequisites

Students must complete BUS_ANLY 201-DL before registering for this course.

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.