Undergraduate Major in Business Analytics and Information Technology (BAIT)

Overview

Business Analytics and Information Technology (BAIT) is Rutgers Business School’s quantitative and computing major. It teaches skills in three related areas, all crucial in the information economy:

Information Technology – computing and technology skills for storing, transmitting, and manipulating large quantities of business data
Data Analysis (understanding the data) – ways to discover patterns in and understand business data
Decision Analysis and Modeling (using the data) – techniques to help make business decisions and formulate complex plans of action

These skills build upon one another in a natural progression: managing data, understanding it, and then using that understanding to make better plans and decisions. For this reason, they are most useful together, although students may tailor their electives towards their particular areas of interest. BAIT teaches these skills with both a technical focus and a recognition that the ultimate goal is to use analysis and technology to make better business decisions. BAIT’s skills are in demand across a wide range of industries, including information technology, finance, consulting, transportation, and consumer products. Example applications are drawn from a wide variety of industries and functional areas.

Graduates can expect to work in both technical and managerial capacities on development of information technology projects for collecting, managing, analyzing, and acting on business data. Prospective students should have aptitude for computers and quantitatively oriented material.

This Business Analytics and Information Technology curriculum was designed with the help of an industry advisory board including representatives from Accenture, Bloomberg, Citigroup, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Johnson and Johnson, Oliver Wyman, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Thomson Reuters.

This major is only offered in New Brunswick.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are BAIT’s skills in demand?

Business graduates with strong information technology skills are highly prized, with demand exceeding supply for the better part of a decade. In addition, business analytics is a strongly growing area. BAIT’s curriculum was designed under the guidance of an industry advisory board with members from Accenture, Bloomberg, Citigroup, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Johnson and Johnson, Oliver Wyman, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Thomson Reuters.

How does BAIT compare with other majors at the business school?

The other business majors focus on particular business functional areas, such as finance, marketing, and supply-chain logistics. None of these other majors, even those that are quantitatively oriented, such as finance and accounting, have nearly as much emphasis on computing or business analytics as BAIT does.

How does BAIT compare to majoring in computer science?

BAIT is a business major; computer science is not. BAIT students take all the business school core courses, which are not open to students outside the business school, and thus have a broad grounding in all business fundamentals. In its required and elective major courses, BAIT also teaches not just information technology, but also the rapidly growing field of business analytics, essentially techniques for using business data gathered and stored by information technology. Computer science will not provide such skills. On the other hand, computer science provides a much deeper introduction to computing, studying all its aspects, not just those that are directly related to business. BAIT has just one required computer programming course, whereas computer science has many. Computer science majors can expect to find first jobs consisting mainly of computer programming. BAIT majors can expect a wider mix of tasks with less emphasis on programming.

How does BAIT compare to the Information Technology and Informatics (ITI) major in the Rutgers School of Communication and Information?

BAIT is a computing and quantitative business major; the ITI major combines information technology skills with insights from the social sciences and a study of human factors in the workplace. Both majors teach computing skills and some aspects of data management. BAIT majors take the RBS core curriculum, giving them a broad grounding in business not available to ITI majors. They also learn business analytics skills that are not available in the ITI curriculum.

The Management Science and Information Systems Department offers this program in the New Brunswick campus only.

Department of Managment Science and Information Systems
Janice H. Levin Building, Room 234
94 Rockafeller Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854
(848) 445-3291

Curriculum Questions:
Professor Jonathan Eckstein
Janice H. Levin Building, Room 255
(848) 445-0510
jeckstei@rci.rutgers.edu

Undergraduate Major in Business Analytics and Information Technology (BAIT)

Management Science & Information Systems