对于时下如此火热多的BA专业，我们来剖一下卡耐基梅隆大学的BIDA专业（Business Intelligence and Date Analytics），此专业既没有开设在商学院下，也没有在工程学院，而是在信息系统和公共政策学院（具体是在信息技术的分支下）。它的申请难度还是非常大的，往年录取的学生中，除了硬件之外，软件背景都很突出，每届招生人数不多（但近两年内再扩招，去年招的学生有300人左右），学生质量非常高且需要申请者具备很强的数学和计算机功底并且有清晰的职业规划和目标。

官网对BIDA项目的介绍：

The MSIT（Master of Science in Information Technology）: Business Intelligence & Data Analytics programmeets organizations’growing need to aggregate, analyze, and monetize big data.

MSIT-BIDAis the ideal program for experienced professionals who wish to remain on thejob while advancing their careers in data analytics. Combining business strategy, analytics, IT, and communications classes, we train you with the elite skills you need to be competitive in this rapidly growing field.

The MSIT program offers flexibility in both curriculum and structure to meet theneeds of working students. You can continue to work full-time while earningyour degree part-time, allowing you to leverage your new knowledge and skillsin real time.

课程设置：

BIDA follows thesame academic schedule as MISM: 16-Month, which begins in August and ends inDecember of the following year.

MachineLearning for Problem Solving

AdvancedBusiness Analytics

AppliedEconometrics

UnstructuredData Analytics

DistributedSystems for ISM

DatabaseManagement

Object-OrientedProgramming in Java

DigitalTransformation

OrganizationalDesign and Implementation

EconomicAnalysis

Accountingand Finance Foundations

DecisionMaking Under Uncertainty

Statisticsfor IT Managers

Writingfor ISM

ProfessionalSpeaking

DataAnalytics Capstone Project

PLUS

RequiredSummer Internship

MSIT Sample Electives* 选修课有：

Business Process Modeling

Cloud Computing

Programming R for Analytics

Art and Science of Business Analytics

Data Structures and Algorithms

NoSQL Database Management

Decision Making Under Uncertainty

Network and Internet Security

Cybersecurity Policy and Governance

Software and Security

Digital Transformation

等等

申请要求：

1.递交两封推荐，一封需要是直接领导人Atleast one (1) of your recommenders should know you in a professional setting(full-time employment, internship, part-time employment, research, non-academicextracurricular activity, etc.).

2.推荐信  Please submit a one- or two-page summary ofyour education skills, accomplishments, employment experiences, and volunteerexperiences.

3.一篇ESSAY You arerequired to submit an essay (approximately 1,000 words) describing youracademic and professional background, your career goals, and how the MISMprogram will help you achieve your goals.

4.OptionalEssay一篇可选择性论文 Youmay choose to submit an essay in which you comment on any item(s) in yourapplication that you consider worthy of further explanation. We are mostlyinterested in having you address any gaps in your professional experience, oranything you would consider a weakness that could have an impact on youradmission status. Please limit optional essays to no more than 250 words.

5.视频面试 The completion ofa brief, three-question video interview is extremely important for applicantsto the MISM program, especially individuals unable to visit campus prior to theapplication deadline or those who are non-native English speakers.

6.托福要求

Theminimum TOEFL scores required to apply for admission to any of Heinz College'sgraduate degree programs are:

Reading:22

Listening:22

Speaking:18

Writing:22

Therecommended IELTS score is 7 overall and 7 in each band.

7.先修课要求：

Allenrolling students in the MISM-BIDA track must meet the basic database course work requirement by completing a college-level database course with a grade of B orhigher.要求修过一门database的课程

All enrolling students in the MISM-BIDA track must meet the basic statistics coursework requirement by completing a college-level statistics course with agrade of B or higher.

要求修改过基础统计学的课程。

Object-orientedProgramming （比如C++  JAVA）

https://www.heinz.cmu.edu/admissions/information-systems-management/

（注：不接受on-line的课程，需要在） 

什么样的人适合学BIDA：

MISM students most commonly come from educational and professional backgrounds inSTEM fields. While business and liberal arts backgrounds are not common,students with these degrees who have successfully taken college-level programming and quantitative courses may find that they are well prepared.

The MISM program is an ideal fit for students who not only wish to design and implement technology, but wish to be leaders in this space with the ability to drive business decisions, communicate value, manage projects, and inspireothers. The world's top firms across technology, finance, retail, andconsulting seek our MISM graduates often offering six-figure salaries right outof school.

学校校友来回答（摘自论坛）：

你获取求职信息的主要途径是什么？学校里的careerservice/job fair多吗？你觉得有用吗？

主要是通过学长学姐，careerservice面谈和讲座；

这个项目careerservice做得很好，可以随时约见advisor并且有不少招聘资源

不过找实习的时候发现没有工作经历且不是美国公民十分吃亏。

你来美之前英语水平如何？（比如托福考了多少），你觉得跟美国同学和老师学习和生活上交流有障碍吗？经过一段时间，是否有提高？主要通过什么途径提高？

英语还不错吧，托福109

跟美国人没什么问题，跟印度人难以交流

刚开始语速快的老师和印度老师上课不集中精神就听不太懂，现在基本听懂80-90%没问题

专业的就业情况如何？

这个项目的就业情况真的很棒啊~不过整体氛围十分技校，很多人直接做SE（SoftwareEngineering）。这个项目大概一半印度人吧，除了中国人基本上所有学生都是有工作经验的，平均年龄27左右。没有工作经验且非美国公民实在吃亏。

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