Second Major in Business Analytics

The School of Computing offers a second major in Business Analytics (BZA) for non-SoC students.


Objectives

 The objectives for the Second Major in BZA are as follows:

  • To provide a business analytics programme within NUS for non-computing students who are not studying business analytics and equivalent as the first major;

  • To contribute to the national focus on growing the pool of knowledge workers who have foundational skill set in business analytics;

  •  To produce graduates who are able to understand business analytics principles and practices and apply it in a multi-disciplinary context.

  

Student Learning Outcomes

The Second Major in BZA enables students to attain, by the time of graduation:   

  1. Strong knowledge of business analytics foundations and fundamentals, including (a) familiarity with common business analytics themes and principles, (b) high-level understanding of systems as a whole, (c) understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of business analytics and their influences in practice.

  2. Individual competence in applying sound principles and rigorous thinking to (a) analyse a business problem, (b) formulate the problem in terms of analytics requirements, (c) conceive novel solution ideas, (d) design appropriate solutions that meet the requirements, (e) implement the solution, (f) evaluate the effectiveness of the solution.

  3. An ability to function effectively in teams to accomplish a common goal.

  4. Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional development.

 

Admission Requirements

For direct admission, students applying for the Second Major in BZA must meet the entry requirement: 

  • For diploma holders: Diploma with at least an A2 in GCE 'O' level Elementary Mathematics or at least a B3 grade in GCE 'O' level Additional Mathematics.

  •  For A-Level Holders: At least a H2 pass in Mathematics. 

Existing students from cohort 2016/17 or later who have taken CS1010S (or its equivalent) and BT1101 (or its equivalent) as either part of their degree requirements or Minor in Business Analytics can apply for entry into Second Major in Business Analytics if they obtain B+ or above in both courses. 

The second major in BZA programme is not available to students in the following degree programmes: 

  • B. Comp. (Information Security)

  • B. Comp. (Computer Science)

  • B. Comp. (Information Systems)

  • B. Sc. (Business Analytics)

  • B.Sc. (Data Science and Analytics)

In addition, BBA and BBA (Accountancy) students who are matriculated from AY2017/18 onwards and specialised in Business Analytics are not allowed to graduate with a second Major in Business Analytics. 

 

Application

SoC Minor/Second major are restricted programmes which students must apply during the prescribed application window specified by the School via EduRec. Students will not be able to declare themselves in the Academic Plan Declaration Exercise (APAD) before ModReg begins for each semester. APAD is only for open minors/second majors which do not require special approval from the host department to approve.

To apply for SoC minor/second major programme, students must submit their application to the School of Computing by the 4th semester of study, for enrolment at the start of their 5th semester of study.

With the recent revision to total unit requirements for Minor and Second Major programmes, the School is making special provision to allow students from Cohort 2019 a final application round to apply for SoC minor/second major programmes in Sem 1 AY21-22 only, for enrolment at the start of Sem 2 AY21-22. Any late request to enroll after our application window has closed will not be entertained.

Please take note that the application date will typically be from the Friday (9:00 AM) before reading week of each regular semester till end of first week of examinations on Sunday (11:59 PM), based on NUS academic calendar here. Kindly refer here for more information on the application procedure for restricted programmes.

 

Structure

Please click here for the university's framework for completing of a second major for different cohorts.

The School of Computing offers a second major in Business Analytics (BZA) for non-SoC students.


Objectives

 The objectives for the Second Major in BZA are as follows:

  • To provide a business analytics programme within NUS for non-computing students who are not studying business analytics and equivalent as the first major;

  • To contribute to the national focus on growing the pool of knowledge workers who have foundational skill set in business analytics;

  •  To produce graduates who are able to understand business analytics principles and practices and apply it in a multi-disciplinary context.

  

Student Learning Outcomes

The Second Major in BZA enables students to attain, by the time of graduation:   

  1. Strong knowledge of business analytics foundations and fundamentals, including (a) familiarity with common business analytics themes and principles, (b) high-level understanding of systems as a whole, (c) understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of business analytics and their influences in practice.

  2. Individual competence in applying sound principles and rigorous thinking to (a) analyse a business problem, (b) formulate the problem in terms of analytics requirements, (c) conceive novel solution ideas, (d) design appropriate solutions that meet the requirements, (e) implement the solution, (f) evaluate the effectiveness of the solution.

  3. An ability to function effectively in teams to accomplish a common goal.

  4. Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional development.

 

Admission Requirements

For direct admission, students applying for the Second Major in BZA must meet the entry requirement: 

  • For diploma holders: Diploma with at least an A2 in GCE 'O' level Elementary Mathematics or at least a B3 grade in GCE 'O' level Additional Mathematics.

  •  For A-Level Holders: At least a H2 pass in Mathematics. 

Existing students from cohort 2016/17 or later who have taken CS1010S (or its equivalent) and BT1101 (or its equivalent) as either part of their degree requirements or Minor in Business Analytics can apply for entry into Second Major in Business Analytics if they obtain B+ or above in both courses. 

The second major in BZA programme is not available to students in the following degree programmes: 

  • B. Comp. (Information Security)

  • B. Comp. (Computer Science)

  • B. Comp. (Information Systems)

  • B. Sc. (Business Analytics)

  • B.Sc. (Data Science and Analytics)

In addition, BBA and BBA (Accountancy) students who are matriculated from AY2017/18 onwards and specialised in Business Analytics are not allowed to graduate with a second Major in Business Analytics. 

 

Application

SoC Minor/Second major are restricted programmes which students must apply during the prescribed application window specified by the School via EduRec. Students will not be able to declare themselves in the Academic Plan Declaration Exercise (APAD) before ModReg begins for each semester. APAD is only for open minors/second majors which do not require special approval from the host department to approve.

To apply for SoC minor/second major programme, students must submit their application to the School of Computing by the 4th semester of study, for enrolment at the start of their 5th semester of study.

With the recent revision to total unit requirements for Minor and Second Major programmes, the School is making special provision to allow students from Cohort 2019 a final application round to apply for SoC minor/second major programmes in Sem 1 AY21-22 only, for enrolment at the start of Sem 2 AY21-22. Any late request to enroll after our application window has closed will not be entertained.

Please take note that the application date will typically be from the Friday (9:00 AM) before reading week of each regular semester till end of first week of examinations on Sunday (11:59 PM), based on NUS academic calendar here. Kindly refer here for more information on the application procedure for restricted programmes.

 

Structure

Please click here for the university's framework for completing of a second major for different cohorts.

Cohorts 2022/23 onwards

 The programme structure for Cohort 2022 onwards is given in the table below.

Courses Units
Core Courses 28
BT1101 Introduction to Business Analytics 4
BT2101 Econometrics Modeling for Business Analytics 4
BT2102 Data Management and Visualisation 4
BT3103 Application Systems Development for Business Analytics 4
CS1010S Programming Methodology1 4

CS2030 Programming Methodology II 

 4
ST2334 Probability and Statistics2 4
Electives 12

Complete 12 units of courses in the list below:

BT3017 Feature Engineering for Machine Learning
BT3102 Computational Methods for Business Analytics
BT3104 Optimization Methods for Business Analytics
BT4014 Analytics Driven Design of Adaptive Systems
BT4211 Data-Driven Marketing
BT4212 Search Engine Optimization and Analytics
BT4221 Big Data Techniques and Technologies
BT4222 Mining Web Data for Business Insights
BT4240 Machine Learning for Predictive Data Analytics
IS4241 Social Media Network Analysis

 

 

 

4 units each
Grand Total 40

 

1 CS1010S can be replaced by CS1101S/CS1010/E/S/X/FC/J. But students need to apply for the course substitution as advanced courses may need the taught programming language in CS1010S and it is imperative that students who take CS1010S equivalent are aware of it. Students who are waived from completing CS1010 or its equivalent must complete another 4 units of electives under Business Analytics Verticals.


2 ST2334 can be replaced by ST2131 (Probability) or ST2132 (Mathematical Statistics). However, students who have read EC2303 (Foundations of Econometrics) are not allowed to use ST2131 or ST2132 to replace ST2334. Economics students who are unable to read ST2334 due to course preclusion are required to replace it with an additional (4 units) course from the Business Analytics Verticals.


3 Some of these courses require prerequisites from outside this list. Students must have the prerequisites to take them.

 

Continuation and Graduation Requirements

The Second Major in BZA is a non-Honours major programme. 

The Second Major in BZA will be awarded to students who completed the 40 units for second major requirement. Students will need to complete the primary major requirements to graduate.

Students pursuing a second Major in BZA must comply with the followings:

  • Up to 16 units may be used to meet the requirements for both (i) the Second Major and (ii) another Major or Minor

  • Only Double Counting is allowed. “Triple counting” of a course that is common to, for example, a Major, Second Major and Minor that are all being taken by a student, is not allowed. The student will have to read an additional course/s to fulfill the total unit requirement for one of the three programmes.

  • at least 12 units must be at Level 3000.

  • total unit requirement is at least 40 units. Of which, at least 60% must be courses read at NUS include all courses taught, co-taught, supervised or co-supervised by NUS faculty members. These consist of graded courses or courses with an ‘S' or ‘CS' grade. The remaining units may be earned through credit transfers, advanced placement and exemptions, from courses deemed relevant to the particular Second Major.

As a continuation requirement, students taking the Second Major in BZA need to obtain at least a B+ grade in both CS1010S (or its equivalent) and BT1101 (or its equivalent). Should S/U option be chosen by students for either (or both) course(s), the raw performance in the course(s), i.e., based on the B+ equivalent marks, will be reviewed. Should a student fail to obtain the grade of B+ and above for both courses, he/she can apply to downgrade to taking the Minor in Business Analytics. 

Cohorts 2021/22 onwards

 The programme structure for Cohort 2021 onwards is given in the table below.

Courses Units
Core Courses 32
BT1101 Introduction to Business Analytics 4
BT2101 Econometrics Modeling for Business Analytics 4
BT2102 Data Management and Visualisation 4
BT2103 Optimization Methods in Business Analytics (replaced by BT3104 Optimization Methods for Business Analytics wef AY2023-24)  4
BT3102 Computational Methods for Business Analytics 4
CS1010S Programming Methodology1 4

CS2030 Programming Methodology II 

 4
ST2334 Probability and Statistics2 4
Elective Courses 8

Complete 8 units of courses in the list below:

BT3103 Application Systems Development for Business Analytics
BT4014 Analytics Driven Design of Adaptive Systems
BT4211 Data-Driven Marketing
BT4212 Search Engine Optimization and Analytics
BT4221 Big Data Techniques and Technologies
BT4222 Mining Web Data for Business Insights
BT4240 Machine Learning for Predictive Data Analytics
IS4241 Social Media Network Analysis
ST3131 Regression Analysis

 

 

 

4 units each
Grand Total 40

 

1 CS1010S can be replaced by CS1101S/CS1010/E/S/X/FC/J. But students need to apply for the course substitution as advanced courses may need the taught programming language in CS1010S and it is imperative that students who take CS1010S equivalent are aware of it. Students who are waived from completing CS1010 or its equivalent must complete another 4 units of elective courses under Business Analytics Verticals.


2 ST2334 can be replaced by ST2131 (Probability) or ST2132 (Mathematical Statistics). However, students who have read EC2303 (Foundations of Econometrics) are not allowed to use ST2131 or ST2132 to replace ST2334. Economics students who are unable to read ST2334 due to course preclusion are required to replace it with an additional (4 units) course from the Business Analytics Verticals.


3 Some of these courses require prerequisites from outside this list. Students must have the prerequisites to take them.

 

Continuation and Graduation Requirements

The Second Major in BZA is a non-Honours major programme. 

The Second Major in BZA will be awarded to students who completed 40 units for the second major requirement. Students will need to complete the primary major requirements to graduate.

Students pursuing a second Major in BZA must comply with the followings:

  • Up to 16 units may be used to meet the requirements for both (i) the Second Major and (ii) another Major or Minor

  • Only Double Counting is allowed. “Triple counting” of a course that is common to, for example, a Major, Second Major and Minor that are all being taken by a student, is not allowed. The student will have to read an additional course/s to fulfill the total unit requirement for one of the three programmes.

  • at least 12 units must be at Level 3000.

  • total unit requirement is at least 40 units. Of which, at least 60% must be courses read at NUS include all courses taught, co-taught, supervised or co-supervised by NUS faculty members. These consist of graded courses or courses with an ‘S' or ‘CS' grade. The remaining units may be earned through credit transfers, advanced placement and exemptions, from courses deemed relevant to the particular Second Major.

As a continuation requirement, students taking the Second Major in BZA need to obtain at least a B+ grade in both CS1010S (or its equivalent) and BT1101 (or its equivalent). Should S/U option be chosen by students for either (or both) course(s), the raw performance in the course(s), i.e., based on the B+ equivalent marks, will be reviewed. Should a student fail to obtain the grade of B+ and above for both courses, he/she can apply to downgrade to taking the Minor in Business Analytics. 

 

Cohorts 2019/20 to 2020/21

The programme structure for Cohorts 2019/20 to 2020/21 is given in the table below.

Courses Units
Core Courses 32
BT1101 Introduction to Business Analytics 4
BT2101 Econometrics Modeling for Business Analytics 4
BT2102 Data Management and Visualisation 4
BT3102 Computational Methods for Business Analytics 4
CS1010S Programming Methodology1 4

CS2030 Programming Methodology II or
CS2040/C Data Structures and Algorithms2

 4
ST2334 Probability and Statistics3 4
ST3131 Regression Analysis or
BT4240 Machine Learning for Predictive Data Analytics or
BT2103 Optimization Methods in Business Analytics4		 4
Elective Courses 5 8

Complete 8 units of courses in the list below:

BT3103 Application Systems Development for Business Analytics
BT4014 Analytics Driven Design of Adaptive Systems
BT4211 Data-Driven Marketing
BT4212 Search Engine Optimization and Analytics
BT4221 Big Data Techniques and Technologies
BT4222 Mining Web Data for Business Insights
BT4240 Machine Learning for Predictive Data Analytics
IS4241 Social Media Network Analysis
ST3131 Regression Analysis

 

 

4 units each
Grand Total 40

 

1 CS1010S can be replaced by CS1101S/CS1010/E/S/X/FC/J. But students need to apply for the course substitution as advanced courses may need the taught programming language in CS1010S and it is imperative that students who take CS1010S equivalent are aware of it. Students who are waived from completing CS1010 or its equivalent must complete another 4 units of elective courses.

2 If students have taken more than 1 of the courses in the list (prior to AY 2021/22 semester 1), the additional course(s) taken can be counted towards fulfilling one 4- unit course in the elective course requirement. However, if the total units for courses at level 3000 and above fall below 12 units, the students would need to take additional courses(s) to fulfil the programme requirement.

3 ST2334 can be replaced by ST2131 (Probability) or ST2132 (Mathematical Statistics). However, students who have read EC2303 (Foundations of Econometrics) are not allowed to use ST2131 or ST2132 to replace ST2334. Economics students who are unable to read ST2334 due to course preclusion are required to replace it with an additional (4 units) course from the Business Analytics Verticals. 

4 If students have already taken more than 1 of the courses in the list (prior to AY 2021/22 semester 1), the additional course(s) taken can be counted towards fulfilling one 4-unit course in the elective course requirement. However, if the total units for courses at level 3000 and above fall below 12 units, the students would need to take additional course(s) to fulfil the programme requirement.

5 Some of these courses require prerequisites from outside this list. Students must have the prerequisites to take them.

Note: No single course cannot be used to fulfil both core and elective course requirements.

 

Continuation and Graduation Requirements

The Second Major in BZA is a non-Honours major programme. 

The Second Major in BZA will be awarded to students who completed 40 units for the second major requirement. Students will need to complete the primary major requirements to graduate.

Students pursuing a second Major in BZA must comply with the followings:

  • Up to 16 units may be used to meet the requirements for both (i) the Second Major and (ii) another Major or Minor

  • Only Double Counting is allowed. “Triple counting” of a course that is common to, for example, a Major, Second Major and Minor that are all being taken by a student, is not allowed. The student will have to read an additional course/s to fulfill the total unit requirement for one of the three programmes.

  • at least 12 units must be at Level 3000.

  • total unit requirement is at least 40 units. Of which, at least 60% must be courses read at NUS include all courses taught, co-taught, supervised or co-supervised by NUS faculty members. These consist of graded courses or courses with an ‘S' or ‘CS' grade. The remaining units may be earned through credit transfers, advanced placement and exemptions, from courses deemed relevant to the particular Second Major.

As a continuation requirement, students taking the Second Major in BZA need to obtain at least a B+ grade in both CS1010S (or its equivalent) and BT1101 (or its equivalent). Should S/U option be chosen by students for either (or both) course(s), the raw performance in the course(s), i.e., based on the B+ equivalent marks, will be reviewed. Should a student fail to obtain the grade of B+ and above for both courses, he/she can apply to downgrade to taking the Minor in Business Analytics.

  

Cohorts before 2019/20

The programme structure for Cohorts 2019 and earlier is given below. 

The Second Major in BZA to be structured as follows:

  • Business Analytics Foundation = 40 units

  • Business Analytics Verticals = 8 units

In total, the 48 units for graduation are broken down as follows:  

  • Core courses = 40 units

  • Elective courses = 8 units


The table below shows the programme structure in details:  

Courses Units
Business Analytics Foundation 40
BT1101 Introduction to Business Analytics1 4
BT2101 Econometrics Modeling for Business Analytics 4
BT2102 Data Management and Visualisation 4
BT3102 Computational Methods for Business Analytics 4
BT3103 Application Systems Development for Business Analytics 4
CS1010S Programming Methodology2 4

Either
CS1020 Data Structures and Algorithms I3 and CS2010 Data Structures and Algorithms II;
or
CS2030 Programming Methodology II and CS2040/C Data Structures and Algorithms

 8
ST2334 Probability and Statistics4 4
ST3131 Regression Analysis or BT4240 Machine Learning for Predictive Data Analytics 4
Business Analytics Verticals 8

Complete 8 units of courses in the list below: 

BT4211 Data-Driven Marketing
BT4212 Search Engine Optimization and Analytics
BT4221 Big Data Techniques and Technologies
BT4222 Mining Web Data for Business Insights
IS3221 Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
IS4241 Social Media Network Analysis

 

 

4 units each 
Grand Total 48

 

1 BT1101 can be replaced by DSC1007/X only.

2 CS1010S can be replaced by CS1101S/CS1010/E/S/X/FC/J. But students need to apply for the course substitution as advanced courses may need the taught programming language in CS1010S and it is imperative that students who take CS1010S equivalent are aware of it. Students who are waived from completing CS1010 or its equivalent must complete another 4 units of electives under Business Analytics Verticals.

3 CS1020 can be replaced by CS1020E. 

4 ST2334 can be replaced by ST2131 (Probability) or ST2132 (Mathematical Statistics). However, students who have read EC2303 (Foundations of Econometrics) are not allowed to use ST2131 or ST2132 to replace ST2334. Economics students who are unable to read ST2334 due to course preclusion are required to replace it with an additional (4 units) course from the Business Analytics Verticals. 


Some of these courses require prerequisites from outside this list. Students must have the prerequisites to take them.

 

Continuation and Graduation Requirements

The Second Major in BZA is a non-Honours major programme. 

The Second Major in BZA will be awarded to students who completed 48 units for the second major requirement. Students will need to complete the primary major requirements to graduate.

For students following the grade-free first semester policy for S/U option or the enhanced grade-free scheme for S/U Policy: The S/U option is available for courses that are part of a student's second Major requirements if they fall under the criteria stated for their cohort, and as long as the student has at least a minimum 32 units of the Second Major requirement earned from courses read in NUS (i.e., graded courses with assigned grade points or courses with an ‘S’ or ‘CS’ grade) out of the 48 units to fulfill the Second Major requirements towards graduation.

As a continuation requirement, students taking the Second Major in BZA need to obtain at least a B+ grade in both CS1010S (or its equivalent) and BT1101 (or its equivalent). Should S/U option be chosen by students for either (or both) course(s), the raw performance in the course(s), i.e., based on the B+ equivalent marks, will be reviewed. Should a student fail to obtain the grade of B+ and above for both courses, he/she can apply to downgrade to taking the Minor in Business Analytics.

 Please click here for the university's framework for completing of a second major for different cohorts.