MSBAi Curriculum: Single Source of Truth
Program: Master of Science in Business Analytics - Online (MSBAi) Institution: Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Launch: Fall 2026 Total Duration: 15 months (3 semesters + 1 summer) Total Credits: 36 Format: 8-week courses within 16-week semesters Common Thread: Python + Jupyter Notebooks across all courses STEM Designation: Not STEM designated (pending formal confirmation with Lorena — see OPEN_QUESTIONS.md “Admissions & Marketing — From 5/28 Email”)
Course Development Status
Each course page carries a status badge. The convention:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Final | Approved by instructor, ready for implementation |
| In Development | Instructor actively building content; structure stable |
| Under Revision | Significant changes expected from recent stakeholder input |
| Draft | Initial outline; pending instructor review |
| Course | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BADM 554 | In Development | Vishal recording in progress |
| BDI 513 | In Development | Ron using textbook-first approach; overview videos only |
| FIN 550 | In Development | Xing completing remaining modules |
| BADM 557 | Under Revision | Gautam repositioning to frameworks-first; current page reflects prior approach |
| BADM 558 | Draft | Pending instructor review |
| BADM 576 | Draft | Pending instructor review |
| Agentic AI | Draft | Vishal (lead) + Mark Moran (co-instructor, placeholder) |
| Quantum Approaches for Decision Making | Proposed | Combined 8-wk course (confirmed 2026-06-01): Part 1 Quantum Cognition (Nathan Yang — v12 pending, awaiting Amanda review) + Part 2 Quantum Computing (Abhijeet Ghoshal — pending review) |
| Practicum | Draft | Structure outlined; detailed design pending |
Preparatory Coursework (Staggered Model — Confirmed 2026-05-18)
Preparatory coursework is staggered, with each module timed to the first course that applies it. Two tiers:
Required, proof of completion (gated by registration hold)
| Module | Deadline | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub + VS Code prep (DataCamp) | Before Day 1 (BADM 554 Week 1) | Foundational environment setup; required for all students |
| Gen AI literacy module | End of Week 4 | Self-study Canvas course; can run in parallel with BADM 554; required for all students |
Self-diagnostic (ungated, completion not required)
| Module | Self-assessment by | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Python & Tools prep (Introduction to Applied Business Analytics, Coursera) | Before BDI 513 start (Fall 2026 Week 5) | Course selected (named in MSBAi Essentials Canvas Module 10; per Ron Guymon). Replaces the prior DataCamp plan (DataCamp retained for GitHub prep only). Linked from a Canvas self-assessment module — content stays on Coursera, not migrated into Canvas. Quiz indicates whether the student should work through the prep course; scores not evaluated by the program |
| MSBAi Stats Prep Course (private Coursera MOOC; Cheng Li) | Before FIN 550 start (Fall 2026 Week 9) | Purpose-built private course covering descriptive statistics, probability, sampling, hypothesis testing, regression. Replaces the prior BADM 572 public MOOCs per “Stats prep delivery: private Coursera MOOC” (2026-06-10). Final naming/instructor-of-record pending. Self-diagnostic quiz only |
Source: DECISIONS.md “Preparatory coursework: staggered completion model” (2026-05-18); “Prep course module structure and delivery model” (2026-05-22); “BDI 513 Python & Tools prep: Coursera replaces DataCamp” (2026-05-22); “Stats prep delivery: private Coursera MOOC” (2026-06-10, supersedes the BADM 572 public MOOCs). Specific course names confirmed against the published MSBAi Essentials Canvas course (Modules 10–11), 2026-06-13.
Target student: Career pivoters (age 25-40) from technical/STEM or non-analytics backgrounds. See program/target_profile.md for full profile and admission criteria.
Program Timeline
Soft launch dates (early student access ≈ 1 week before official start; source: registrar master schedule, mirrored in
reference/msbai-schedule.md): BADM 554 Aug 17, 2026 · BDI 513 Sep 14, 2026 · FIN 550 Oct 12, 2026 · Quantum Approaches Jan 12, 2027 · BADM 558 Feb 8, 2027 · Agentic AI Mar 8, 2027 · BADM 557 May 10, 2027 · BADM 576 Aug 16, 2027 · Practicum Oct 11, 2027. See DECISIONS.md “Course soft launch dates.”
Fall 2026 Semester (16 weeks)
| Course | Credits | CRN | Weeks | Instructor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BADM 554 - Enterprise Database Management | 4 | 81817 | Weeks 1-8 | Vishal | SQL, Python, databases, ETL pipelines |
| BDI 513 - Data Storytelling | 4 | 81818 | Weeks 5-12 | Ron | Straddles both halves - visualization, narrative, financial analysis |
| FIN 550 - Big Data Analytics in Finance (ML I) | 4 | 77523 | Weeks 9-16 | Xing/Mathias | Supervised ML: regression, classification, feature engineering, business case |
| Semester Total | 12 |
CRNs are the Banner section numbers (section code BAI, cap 55/section), assigned for Fall 2026 registration. Source: registrar master schedule (Heather Aldridge), mirrored in
reference/msbai-schedule.md. Later-term CRNs are still TBD.
Student Experience:
- Weeks 1-4: BADM 554 only (foundations)
- Weeks 5-8: BADM 554 + BDI 513 (overlap)
- Weeks 9-12: BDI 513 + FIN 550 (overlap)
- Weeks 13-16: FIN 550 only (finish strong)
Spring 2027 Semester (16 weeks)
| Course | Credits | Weeks | Instructor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantum Approaches for Decision Making | 4 | Weeks 1-8 | Nathan Yang (Pt 1) / Abhijeet Ghoshal (Pt 2) | Combined 8-wk course: Part 1 Quantum Cognition (wks 1-4, from Jan 19 / POT A), Part 2 Quantum Computing (wks 5-8, from Feb 15) |
| BADM 558 - Big Data Infrastructures | 4 | Weeks 5-12 | Ashish | Feb 15 start. GCP (GCS, Spark via Dataproc), dbt, BigQuery + Snowflake, data engineering with Python |
| Agentic AI for Analytics | 4 | Weeks 9-16 | Vishal / Mark Moran | RAG, agentic systems, context engineering, LLMOps, AI governance |
| Semester Total | 12 |
Sequence revised 2026-06-01; POT dates confirmed 2026-06-02 (Maria Rodas with Ashish/Abhijeet/Nathan; POT dates per Heather Aldridge, iDegrees): the two 2-cr quantum courses are combined into one 4-cr 8-week course (POT A start Jan 19, 2027), BADM 558 shifts to a Feb 15 start (wks 5-12), and Agentic AI starts Mar 15 (POT B). Course number is BADM 590 — a temporary number intentionally shared by both new courses (Quantum Approaches + Agentic AI) for year 1; permanent distinct numbers assigned later. MLK Day (Jan 18) falls the day before POT A — Week 1 live/studio scheduling TBD. See DECISIONS.md “Spring 2027 sequence revised.”
Student Experience:
- Weeks 1-4: Quantum Approaches for Decision Making — Part 1 (Quantum Cognition), 4-cr course running solo
- Weeks 5-8: Quantum Approaches — Part 2 (Quantum Computing) + BADM 558 starts = 8 credits simultaneously
- Weeks 9-12: BADM 558 (finishing) + Agentic AI starts = 8 credits simultaneously
- Weeks 13-16: Agentic AI (4 cr) only — finish strong
Concurrency note: the revised sequence creates two 8-credit concurrent stretches (wks 5-8, 9-12), heavier than the prior 6-cr symmetric design. Flagged for faculty deliverable-timing coordination in the wks 5-8 overlap (Quantum Pt 2 + BADM 558).
Summer 2027 (8 weeks)
| Course | Credits | Weeks | Instructor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BADM 557 - Business Intelligence | 4 | Weeks 1-8 | Gautam | Case studies, BI, Power BI + Python, AI-augmented decisions |
| Summer Total | 4 |
Cumulative after Summer 2027: 28 credits
Fall 2027 Semester (16 weeks)
| Course | Credits | Weeks | Instructor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BADM 576 - Data Science and Analytics (ML II) | 4 | Weeks 1-8 | Zilong | Advanced ML: ensembles, unsupervised, NLP, time series, neural nets, MLOps/LLMOps |
| Practicum (BADM 550) | 4 | Weeks 9-16 | Vanitha | Portfolio + client project |
| Semester Total | 8 |
Program Total: 36 credits
Credit Breakdown
Core Courses (16 credits)
| # | Course | Credits | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BADM 554 - Enterprise Database Management | 4 | Fall 2026 |
| 2 | BDI 513 - Data Storytelling | 4 | Fall 2026 |
| 3 | FIN 550 - Big Data Analytics in Finance (ML I) | 4 | Fall 2026 |
| 4 | BADM 557 - Business Intelligence | 4 | Summer 2027 |
Advanced Courses (8 credits)
| # | Course | Credits | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | BADM 558 - Big Data Infrastructures | 4 | Spring 2027 |
| 6 | BADM 576 - Data Science and Analytics (ML II) | 4 | Fall 2027 |
Required Electives (8 credits)
| # | Course | Credits | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Quantum Approaches for Decision Making (Part 1: Quantum Cognition + Part 2: Quantum Computing) | 4 | Spring 2027 |
| 8 | Agentic AI for Analytics | 4 | Spring 2027 |
Practicum (4 credits)
| # | Course | Credits | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Practicum (BADM 550) | 4 | Fall 2027 |
Catalog/Banner code BADM 550. Banner classifies the Practicum as Core (decision 2026-05-13); it is listed in its own section here for credit-structure clarity, not as a separate classification.
Faculty Assignments
| Course | Instructor | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| BADM 554 - Enterprise Database Management | Vishal | Fall 2026 |
| BDI 513 - Data Storytelling | Ron | Fall 2026 |
| FIN 550 - Big Data Analytics in Finance (ML I) | Xing/Mathias | Fall 2026 |
| BADM 558 - Big Data Infrastructures | Ashish | Spring 2027 |
| Quantum Approaches for Decision Making | Nathan Yang (Part 1) / Abhijeet Ghoshal (Part 2) | Spring 2027 |
| Agentic AI for Analytics | Vishal / Mark Moran | Spring 2027 |
| BADM 557 - Business Intelligence | Gautam | Summer 2027 |
| BADM 576 - Data Science and Analytics (ML II) | Zilong | Fall 2027 |
| Practicum | Vanitha | Fall 2027 |
Key Design Rules
1. 8-Week Courses in 16-Week Semesters
- Each course is 8 weeks long (half a traditional semester)
- Students take 2-3 courses per semester
- Courses can run in first half (weeks 1-8), second half (weeks 9-16), or straddle both (e.g., weeks 5-12)
2. Week Numbering Resets Each Semester
- Fall 2026: Weeks 1-16
- Spring 2027: Weeks 1-16
- Summer 2027: Weeks 1-8
- Fall 2027: Weeks 1-16
3. Straddling Courses
- BDI 513 (Fall 2026): Weeks 5-12 (straddles Fall 1 + Fall 2)
4. Credit Distribution by Semester
- Fall 2026: 12 credits
- Spring 2027: 12 credits
- Summer 2027: 4 credits
- Fall 2027: 8 credits
This is the single source of truth for all program-level facts. All other documents should reference this file rather than duplicating program parameters.