Fairfield Dolan Master of Business Analytics (MSBA) students now have the chance to apply to participate in two new exciting co-op programs with The Hartford and Synchrony. The co-op programs are designed for students to assist in projects that require analytical support for strategic initiatives. Under the co-operative education model, students gain practical hands-on work experience that aligns with their coursework. Participants join the company community as team members, actively contribute to the workplace, and develop marketable skills while also networking for potential employment opportunities.

“The co-op programs are a win-win,” says MSBA Program Director Philip Maymin, PhD. “Students use what they are learning in class to analyze data and solve typical business problems. They are part of a team, and ideally can use the research they’re doing at The Hartford and Synchrony as their capstone projects.”

C-op programs like this are just one example of what makes the Fairfield Dolan MSBA program unique, and the rankings reinforce this. Dolan’s MSBA program ranks #21 on U.S. News and World Report’s list of 2022 Best Graduate Business Specialty Programs.

In addition to practical work experience opportunities with Fortune 500 Companies, Fairfield Dolan MSBA students participate in Business Analytics Showcase events each semester. The online Showcase events are attended by top employers in multiple fields and allow students and faculty to share their research. Students also get the chance to hear from professionals describe how they use data to make critical business decisions.

In the fall Fairfield Advisory Board member Rommie Samai MS’12 spoke at a Showcase event. Samai shared how he made the shift from working in finance to business analytics which led him to a decade-long career at Prudential. He now works at IDOC, a small company that supports more than 3,000 independent optometrists around the country, and is an analytics team of one.

This semester Fairfield Dolan hosted two Showacse events, one that spotlighted the work of MSBA students and another that showcased faculty research. MS in Business Analytics students presented three projects: “Inmate Deaths,” examining whether deaths in prison should be considered suspicious; “Basketball in a Bubble: COVID-19 and NBA-20,” a deep dive into the NBA-mandated isolation bubble surrounding players, and the effect it had on performances over the season; and  “Investigation into Wearables, Illness, and Recovery,” a work-in-progress examination of a physical therapy study of patients who use wearable devices to track metrics such as heart rate variability and stress level.

The events wrapped up for the semester with presentations from MSBA faculty Jie Tao, PhD, and Xin James He, PhD. Dr. Tao shared his research, “Making Sense of the Black-Boxes,” and Dr. He shared his research on “The Challenges of Time Series Forecasting,” which has particular relevancy to the financial, marketing, and insurance sectors.