Master of Science in Data Analytics Engineering
Master of Science in Data Analytics Engineering
Using Analytics to Foster Business Success
Through Northeastern’s interdisciplinary Master of Science, MS, Data Analytics Engineering program, you will build on your existing engineering or science foundation to gain employment at businesses of all kinds to improve their products, processes, systems, and enterprises, all through the power of data mining, data management, machine learning, and visualization.
You’ll have the flexibility to tailor your degree to your professional goals through a number of electives across Northeastern in areas including business, engineering, healthcare, manufacturing, and urban communities, computer science, and information systems.
The masters in data analytics engineering is ideal for those who wish to develop expertise in the analysis and optimization of data to solve problems and support decision-making. For those more interested in the process of generating, collecting, and mining data by developing algorithms and computational tools, Northeastern’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences also offers a Master of Science in Data Science .
Innovative Curriculum - MS in Data Analytics Engineering
Irrespective of your engineering major, you will gain rigorous analytical skills and research experience through technically advanced core courses in operations research, statistics, data mining, database management, and visualization. You can further specialize your degree with flexible electives from diverse disciplines across colleges at Northeastern in areas such as:
- Big Data
- Smart Manufacturing
- Healthcare Analytics
- Network Science
- Machine Learning
- Advanced Optimization
- Business Analytics
- Internet of Things
Upon graduation with your MS in Data Analytics Engineering degree, you’ll be prepared to take on a data analyst position in any industry or to enter a doctoral program in areas including engineering healthcare, business, finance, security, or sustainability.
You’ll gain valuable research experience desired by employers by designing and developing analytics projects in both individual and group settings. Some recent research projects have included:
- Investigating innovative models for tumor response forecasting to personalize pre-surgical treatment for breast cancer patients
- Developing adaptive maintenance methods, standards, and metrics for monitoring and performance assurance (Mpass) of smart manufacturing equipment
- Building a robust continuous objective multimodal pain assessment sensing system (COMPASS) using physiological signals and facial expressions
The MS in Data Analytics Engineering is available at Northeastern’s campus in Boston, MA as well as at our campuses in Seattle, WA and Vancouver, Canada.
Note: A subset of program courses are available at campuses outside of Boston.
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering/scientific/quantitative problems.
- An ability to explain and apply engineering design principles, as appropriate to the program’s educational objectives.
- An ability to produce solutions that meet specified end-user needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
- Apply optimization, statistical, and machine-learning methods to solve data-driven problems.
- Use database management methods and tools data for storage and retrieval, data processing, data visualization, and data mining.
- An ability to apply the data analytics principles/methodologies/tools for transforming streams of data into understandable and actionable information to support decision making.
- An ability to design and develop data analytics projects.
Over 15 graduate certificates are available to provide students the opportunity to develop a specialization in an area of their choice. Certificates can be taken in addition to or in combination with a master’s degree, or provide a pathway to a master’s degree in Northeastern’s College of Engineering. Master’s programs can also be combined with a Gordon Engineering Leadership certificate. Students should consult with their faculty advisor regarding these options.
Gordon Institute of Engineering Leadership Certificate
Students may complete a Master of Science in Data Analytics Engineering in addition to earning a Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership. Students must apply and be admitted to the Gordon Engineering Leadership Program in order to pursue this option. The program requires fulfillment of the 16-semester-hour curriculum required to earn the Graduate Certificate in Engineering Leadership, which includes an industry-based challenge project with multiple mentors. The integrated 32-semester-hour degree and certificate will require 16 semester hours of advisor-approved data analytics technical courses.
Engineering Business Certificate
Students may complete a Master of Science in Data Analytics Engineering in addition to earning a Graduate Certificate in Engineering Business. Students must apply and be admitted to the Galante Engineering Business Program in order to pursue this option. The program requires the applicant to have earned or be in a program to earn a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Northeastern University. The integrated 32-semester-hour degree and certificate will require 16 semester hours of the data analytics engineering core courses and 16 semester hours from the outlined business-skill curriculum. The coursework, along with participation in co-curricular professional development elements, earn the Graduate Certificate in Engineering Business.
Experiential Learning
Northeastern combines rigorous academics with experiential learning and research to prepare students for real-world engineering challenges. The Cooperative Education Program, also known as a “co-op,” is one of the largest and most innovative in the world, and Northeastern is one of only a few that offers a Co-op Program for graduate students. Through this program students gain professional experience as part of the academic curriculum employed in their field of interest, giving them a competitive advantage upon graduation.
While on co-op, students spend a 4-, 6-, or 8-month placement working in industries ranging from finance and technology to energy and healthcare here in Boston and across the country. Recent MS in Data Analytics Engineering co-op partners include Amazon, Apple, Fidelity Investments, Fraunhofer USA, Wayfair, Roku, IBM, Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co, LLC, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Natixis Investment Managers, State Street Global Services, and McKinsey & Company, Inc.
Program Goals
The Master of Science (MS) in Data Analytics Engineering is designed to help students acquire knowledge and skills to:
- Discover opportunities to improve systems, processes, and enterprises through data analytics
- Apply optimization, statistical, and machine-learning methods to solve complex problems involving large data from multiple sources
- Collect and store data from a variety of sources, including Internet of Things (IoT), an integrated network of devices and sensors, customer touch points, processes, social media, and people
- Work with technology teams to design and build large and complex SQL databases
- Use tools and methods for data mining, big-data algorithms, and data visualization to generate reports for analysis and decision making
- Create integrated views of data collected from multiple sources of an enterprise
- Understand and explain results of data analytics to decision makers
- Design and develop analytics projects
This degree program seeks to prepare students for a comprehensive list of tasks including collecting, storing, processing, and analyzing data; reporting statistics and patterns; drawing conclusions and insights; and making actionable recommendations.
The in-demand field of data analytics opens career doors around the globe and across industries, including healthcare, smart manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, national security, defense, banking, finance, marketing, and human resources.
Demand for data professionals has never been higher. Employment of operations research analysts is projected to grow 23 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations, and the median annual wage is $83,000, upwards to $160,000 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2021.
Academic Advising
The Academic Advisors in the Graduate Student Services office can help answer many of your questions and assist with various concerns regarding your program and student record. Use the link below to also determine which questions can be answered by your Faculty Program Advisors and OGS Advisors.
Admissions & Aid
Ready to take the next step? Review degree requirements to see courses needed to complete this degree. Then, explore ways to fund your education. Finally, review admissions information to see our deadlines and gather the materials you need to Apply.
Student News
2024 Huntington 100 COE Recipients
Sixteen students from the College of Engineering were selected as 2024 members of the Northeastern University “Huntington 100,” which is a group of students selected for their outstanding achievements which commensurate with the university’s mission, ideals, values, and Academic plan.
Creating a Roadmap to Global Opportunities
After completing an undergraduate degree in mathematics in her home of New Delhi, Ishpreet Kaur Sethi, MS’23, data analytics engineering, came to Northeastern’s College of Engineering to earn a master’s degree and maximize the co-op experience by working as a data analyst at the UK-based Alchemab Therapeutics. Now she is poised to pursue global opportunities.
Lee Receives Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Humanics
Data analytics engineering student Katharine Lee, MS’24, received the 2023 Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Humanics, which recognizes graduate students who, through their education, have integrated human literacy with data and technology in their learning or research.
MS Students Selected as Finalists in Data Analytics for Good Competition
Data analytics engineering students, Ziwei Duan, MS’23, Jinchuan He, MS’22, and Chushi Chen, MS’23, were selected as finalists in the Krannert School of Management Data Analytics for Good Competition.