Program Spotlight: M.S. in Data Analytics

In his two decades as professor of Economics at McDaniel, Kevin McIntyre has developed courses, conducted research, advised students, run search committees and served on a variety of academic committees. McIntyre brings all that experience coupled with his expertise teaching and mentoring students to his role as coordinator of the college’s new master’s in Data Analytics program.

“I’m excited about this new opportunity,” says McIntyre, who earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Virginia.

Students entering the M.S. program in the fall of 2020 will benefit from the program and courses McIntyre designed in partnership with industry experts to meet and even exceed the demands of data scientists. He says Data Analytics graduate students will not only become confident in vital skills of understanding and crunching numbers but also will learn how to translate their findings for shareholders and colleagues.

“The liberal arts is at the foundation of all we do here at McDaniel – and we do it very well,” McIntyre says. “We’ve integrated the liberal arts into the courses and the overall program and that will be a huge benefit to students.”

The program also aims to give students a solid grounding in strong ethical practices. Since data standards frequently change, McIntyre says graduates of the program need to be well acquainted in appropriate standards to become industry leaders.

McIntyre brought academics to life in the classroom through practical application, and he sees the Data Analytics program as an extension of that. Students will complete a practicum that involves bringing work-related situations to the classroom for their classmates to solve as a group and apply back into their work environments.

Most of the online faculty for the program are full-time McDaniel professors who are on campus throughout the academic year. A semester-long training program and one-on-one time with the college’s Instructional Technology team help professors design online courses and develop techniques in active learning and creating virtual shared spaces.

“Having our own full-time faculty teaching brings unity to how we’ll develop the curriculum,” McIntyre says, adding that McDaniel’s trademark hands-on, student-first approach will be evident throughout this program.

McIntyre sees excellent growth potential in the future of the program.

“This program provides a lot of good opportunities for students who may potentially do data research projects and internships for institutional research at the college and for community organizations,” he says, explaining that he continues see new ways graduate students can work data analytics into their current occupations, whether in education, insurance, government, public administration or of course, accounting.