Operations and Business Analytics Concentration

Students studying operations and business analytics (OBA) have great job opportunities—corporate as well as consulting—that exist in high value-added areas.

A unique program in the Pacific Northwest, OBA integrates operations management and data analytics. Operations expertise provides a strong foundation for managing today’s complex business processes, including challenges related to sourcing and supply chains, manufacturing, and service systems. Data analytics expertise has quickly become a must-have skill for aspiring business graduates, and—like operations expertise—is widely applicable across a range of career paths. Therefore, the OBA curriculum is not only a dedicated concentration, but its courses are also a valuable complement to all students in other business concentrations.

Concentration Requirements

Earning the OBA concentration requires successfully completing four of the 400-level courses listed below. In this list, the first four are data-analytics oriented, while the last two (466 and 477) are operations oriented.

Choose four:

Course	Title	Credit Hours	Prerequisites*
OBA 410	Predictive Analytics	4	OBA 311, 312, and 335
OBA 410	Analyzing Big Data	4	OBA 311, 312, and 335
OBA 410	Python for Data Analytics	4	OBA 311, 312, and 335
OBA 410	Business Decision Analytics	4	OBA 311, 312, and 335
OBA 444	Business Database Management Systems	4	OBA 311
OBA 466	Project and Operations Management Models	4	OBA 335
OBA 477	Supply Chain Operations and Management	4	OBA 335

*OBA 330/340 can substitute for OBA 311/312. The official prerequisite for OBA 410 electives is all OBA core. Speak to an advisor if this affects your graduation timing.

OBA 410: Predictive Analytics - Machine-learning and statistical techniques for developing predictive models to be used in different classification and pattern recognition problems. Applications include credit card fraud detection and predicting the success rate of a marketing campaign, among others. Tools for applying predicative-analytics methods on real-world datasets.
OBA 410: Analyzing Big Data - Advances in digital technologies, the Internet, and mobile computing have led to the gathering of massive amounts of data. This course will help students learn how to handle such data (querying, merging, transforming), and how to extract and summarize the information contained in such large data sets.
OBA 410 Python for Data Analytics - An introduction to the Python language and its supporting packages with applications to data analytics problems; programming constructs including variables, objects, conditional statements, loops, and functions.
OBA 410 Business Decision Analytics - Optimization and risk assessment approaches for aiding managerial decision making; using analytics-based tools for prescribing an appropriate decision or course of action in complex business situations.
OBA 444 Business Database Management Systems - Techniques for structuring and storing business data; primary focus on relational database theory, with applied skills for business users, including data warehouses, reporting, and normalization.
OBA 466 Project and Operations Management Models - Frameworks and solutions for managing complex projects and operations; implementing optimal strategies for producing profitable new products and services in the competitive global business environment.
OBA 477 Supply Chain Operations and Management - Strategic and tactical issues pertaining to the distribution & delivery of products & services. Methodologies and systems for designing, tracking, and managing complex global operations.

Recommended Course Sequence

Students interested in the OBA concentration are strongly encouraged to take upper division core courses OBA 340/311, 330/312, and OBA 335 as early as possible.

Course Offerings

The following is an example schedule showing when upper division required operations and business analytics courses are typically offered. Consult the university's class schedule for the most current information about when these courses are offered.

Fall	Winter	Spring
		OBA 466
OBA 444		OBA 477
	OBA 410 (Analyzing Big Data)	OBA 410 (Analyzing Big Data)
OBA 410 (Python for Data Analytics)	OBA 410 (Python for Data Analytics)	OBA 410 (Business Decision Analytics)
	OBA 410 (Predictive Analytics)	OBA 410 (Predictive Analytics)

Advising Note

Beginning fall 2018, there were changes in the OBA core curriculum. OBA 340 became OBA 311: Business Analytics I, and OBA 330 became OBA 312: Business Analytics II. See your business advisor for more information about the transition.

See an Advisor