Master of science in Predictive analysis Course content

 Philip M. Goldfeder, PhD

Program Goals

 Articulate analytics as a core strategy

 Transform data into actionable insights

 Develop statistically sound and robust analytic solutions

 Demonstrate leadership

 Formulate and manage plans to address business issues

 Evaluate constraints on the use of data

 Assess data structure and data lifecycle

Areas of Focus
 Predictive Modeling
 Computer-based Data Mining
 Marketing Analytics
 Web Analytics
 Risk Analytics

Analytics at Northwestern

Northwestern University offers two master’s degree programs in analytics that prepare students to meet
the growing demand for data-driven leadership and problem solving.

Master of Science in Predictive Analytics (Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies)

 Online, part-time program

 Builds expertise in advanced analytics, data mining, database management, financial analysis,
predictive modeling, quantitative reasoning and web analytics, as well as advanced
communication and leadership

Master of Science in Analytics (McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science)

 15-month, full-time, on-campus program

 Integrates data science, information technology and business applications into three areas:
predictive (forecasting), descriptive (business intelligence and data mining) and prescriptive
(optimization and simulation)

Curriculum Requirements
 Students are required to complete 11 courses to earn the degree. The curriculum covers seven core
courses, two elective courses, a leadership course and a capstone (498) or thesis (590) project. Review
curriculum details and elective choices while you consider applying to this program.

Core Courses:

 CIS 317-DL Database Systems Design & Impl

This course covers the fundamentals of database design and management. Topics include the principles and
methodologies of database design, database application development, normalization, referential integrity,
security, relational database models, and database languages. Principles are applied by performing written
assignments and a project using an SQL database system.
Note for students in the MSIS program: This is a core course for students pursuing the MSIS degree.
Note for students in the online MMI-DL program: This is a track course for students pursuing the MMI degree.
Note for students in the MSPA program: This is a core course for students pursuing the MSPA degree.
Note for all students: This course was previously called Introduction to Databases.

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 CIS 435-0 Data Warehouse & Data Mining

This course provides an introduction to data mining, with a few hours of focus on data warehousing as one of the
commonly used data sources for data-mining applications. Students learn data-mining applications, core
concepts, and algorithms. Among these algorithms are supervised (Naive Bayes, Decision Tree, and Neural
Network) and non supervised (Association Rules, commonly used for market basket analysis, and Clustering)
algorithms. Students learn via experimentation; they observe the outcome of applying data mining algorithms to
real-life data.
It is highly recommended that all students complete CIS 317 or possess equivalent knowledge and skills prior to
taking this course.
Note for students in the MSIS program: This course is required for the specialization in Database and Internet
Technologies. This course may be used as an elective towards all other specializations.
Note for students in the online MMI-DL program: This is an elective course for students pursuing the MMI
degree.
Note for students in the MSPA program. This course is a required course for the MSPA degree.
Note for all students: This course was formally called Introduction to Data Warehousing and Data Mining.

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 LEADERS 481-DL Leadership

The purpose of this course is to identify the fundamental leadership behaviors that enable people to excel in
their careers, and to help students apply these behaviors to personal and professional success. The course
builds from the basic premise that leadership is learned, and looks at the theory and practice of leadership at the
individual and organizational level. The course will explore definitions of leadership, the importance of
 leadership, leadership styles, the role of vision and integrity, the importance of giving and receiving feedback,
how to lead change and solve problems, effective teamwork, and communication strategies.

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 PREDICT 401-DL Statistical Analysis

Students learn to apply statistical techniques to the processing and interpretation of data from various industries
and disciplines. Topics covered include probability, descriptive statistics, study design and linear regression.
Emphasis will be placed on the application of the data across these industries and disciplines and serve as a
core thought process through the entire Predictive Analytics curriculum.

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 PREDICT 402-DL Analytics and Data Collection

This course will describe the appropriate uses of analytics and its limitations while defining how to approach the
various stakeholders within an organization. Included will be a review of the ethical, regulatory, and compliance
issues related to a given business problem and/or solution. Time will be spent interpreting performance-based
organizational issues while concurrently identifying solutions for these same performance-based organizational
issues. In addition, time will be spent identifying best practices to plan for engaging, implementing, and
sustaining organizational change.

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 PREDICT 410-DL Predictive Modeling I

This course introduces statistical models as they are used in predictive analytics. The course reviews traditional
linear and generalized linear models, including multiple regression and logistic regression. It addresses issues of
model specification and model selection, as well as best practices in developing models for management. The
course also demonstrates the application of multivariate methods in predictive analytics.

Prerequisite: PREDICT 401-DL Introduction to Statistical Analysis

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 PREDICT 411-DL Predictive Modeling II

Drawing upon examples from economics and business, this course provides an in-depth review of modeling
practice. Special attention is paid to linear predictor and error structure specification for time series models. The
course reviews econometric methods, including maximum likelihood estimation, two-stage and three-stage least
squares, seemingly unrelated regressions, and simultaneous equation estimation. The course shows how to use
 autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models in time series forecasting. The course also
demonstrates the application of survival/duration analysis in predictive analytics.

Prerequisites: PREDICT 401-DL Introduction to Statistical Analysis and PREDICT 410-DL Predictive Modeling I

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 PREDICT 475-DL Project Management

With a focus upon team development and communication skills, this course introduces best practices in project
management. It reviews traditional methods, including the Delphi method, critical path analysis, project
evaluation and review technique, portfolio and risk analysis, earned value analysis, control charts and Gantt
charts, and indices of project cost and schedule performance. It shows how the project management maturity
model, team development, and principles of negotiation apply to organizations of various types: hierarchical and
matrix organizations, international teams, and virtual teams. Using methods and models from this course,
predictive analytics managers should experience fewer project failures and shorter project completion times.

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 PREDICT 498-DL Capstone Project

The capstone course focuses upon the practice of predictive analytics. This course is the culmination of the
predictive analytics program. It gives students an opportunity to demonstrate their business strategic thinking,
communication, and consulting skills. Business cases across various industries and application areas illustrate
strategic advantages of analytics, as well as organizational issues in implementing systems for predictive
analytics. Students work in project teams, generating business plans and project implementation plans. Students
may choose this course or the master's thesis to fulfill their capstone requirement.

Note: Students must complete their coursework prior to enrolling in PREDICT 498-DL.

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 PREDICT 590-DL Thesis Research

This final project is meant to represent the culmination of students’ experience in the program and must
demonstrate mastery of the curriculum and ability to conduct sustained independent research and analysis. The
project may be applied or may be a traditional scholarly paper, in both cases a write-up following the paper’s
program-specific guidelines is required. Students must submit a proposal and secure a first reader in order to
register; for further details students are advised to review the student handbook and contact their academic
advisor.

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 Elective Courses:

 PREDICT 412-DL Advanced Modeling Techniques

Drawing upon previous course work in predictive analytics, modeling, and data mining, this course provides a
review of statistical and mathematical programming and advanced modeling techniques. It explores computer-
intensive methods for parameter and error estimation, model selection, and model evaluation. The course
focuses upon business applications of statistical graphics and data visualization, tree-structured classification
and regression, neural networks, smoothing methods, hybrid models, multi-way analysis, and hierarchical
models. The course also provides an introduction to business applications of geographical information systems
(GIS). This is a case-study- and project-based course with a strong programming component.

Prerequisites: CIS 317-DL Database Design and Implementation, CIS 435-DL Data Warehousing and Data
Mining, PREDICT 401-DL Introduction to Statistical Analysis, PREDICT 410-DL Predicting Modeling I, PREDICT
411 Predictive Modeling II.

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 PREDICT 450-DL Marketing Analytics

This course provides a comprehensive review of predictive analytics as it relates to marketing management and
business strategy. The course gives students an opportunity to work with data relating to customer
demographics, marketing communications, and purchasing behavior. Students perform data cleansing,
aggregation, and analysis, exploring alternative segmentation schemes for targeted marketing. They design
tools for reporting research results to management, including information about consumer purchasing behavior
and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Conjoint analysis and choice studies are introduced as tools for
consumer preference measurement, product design, and pricing research. The course also reviews methods for
product positioning and brand equity assessment. This is a case-study- and project-based course involving
extensive data analysis.

Prerequisites: PREDICT 401 Introduction to Statistical Analysis and PREDICT 410 Predictive Modeling I

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 PREDICT 451-DL Risk Analytics

Building upon probability theory and inferential statistics, this course provides an introduction to risk analytics.
Examples from economics and finance show how to incorporate risk within regression and time series models.
Monte Carlo simulation is used to demonstrate how variability in data affects uncertainty about model
parameters. Additional topics include subjectivity in risk analysis, causal modeling, stochastic optimization,
portfolio analysis, and risk model evaluation.

Prerequisites: PREDICT 401 Introduction to Statistical Analysis and PREDICT 410 Predictive Modeling I
 Recommended: PREDICT 411 Predictive Modeling II

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 PREDICT 452-DL Web Analytics

A central part of e-commerce and social network applications, Web sites represent an important platform and
data source for online marketing and customer relationship management. This course provides a comprehensive
review of Web analytics. It shows how to use Web sites and information on the Web to understand Internet user
behavior and to guide management decision-making. Topics include measurements of end-user visibility,
organizational effectiveness, click analytics, and log file analysis. The course also provides an overview of social
network analysis for the Web. This is a case-study- and project-based course with a strong programming
component.

Prerequisites: PREDICT 401-DL Introduction to Statistical Analysis, PREDICT 410-DL Predicting Modeling I.

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 PREDICT 453-DL Text Analytics

This course is focused on incorporating text data from a wide range of sources into the predictive analytics
process. Topics covered include extracting key concepts from text, organizing extracted information into
meaningful categories, linking concepts together, and creating structured data elements from extracted
concepts. Students taking the course will be expected to identify an area of interest and to collect text
documents relevant to that area from a variety of sources. This material will be used in the fulfillment of course
assignments.

Prerequisites: PREDICT 401 Introduction to Statistical Analysis and PREDICT 410 Predictive Modeling I

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 PREDICT 490-DL Special Topics

This course begins with a review of human perception and cognition, drawing upon psychological studies of
perceptual accuracy and preferences. The course reviews principles of graphic design, what makes for a good
graph, and why some data visualizations effectively present information and others do not. It reviews numerous
tools for static and interactive graphics, including interfaces for access to World Wide Web applications. It
considers visualization as a component of systems for predictive analytics and presents many examples from
the practice of predictive analytics, including exploratory data analysis, model diagnostics, presentation graphics,
and maps. This is a project-based course with assignments that utilize both open-source and commercial tools
for data visualization.

Prerequisites:
PREDICT 401: Introduction to Statistical Analysis, PREDICT 402: Introduction to Predictive Analytics and Data
Collection, and PREDICT 410: Predictive Modeling I