Dive Brief:

• Capella University has created one of the nation's first online master of science in analytics programs.

• The university is working with SAS, a software analytics company, to deliver the program.

• Students will be able to enroll in the two-year program starting in October.
   

Dive Insight:

Data analysts are in high demand today, but experts say colleges and universities aren’t producing enough graduates to fill the gap fast enough. Capella hopes their new online degree will help solve that problem.

"We tried to build this for working adults, people who have an interest in analytics but probably would not be able to get into the other analytics programs because of those residency requirements or because of the requirement that they'd have to go to school full time," said Sue Talley, dean of technology at Capella.

Recognizing that data analysts not only need technical skills to analyze data, but also the skills to explain it to leaders in a clear way, Capella said they will focus on teaching students both abilities.