Marian Adding New Majors

The program can be completed online or at one of Marian's two campus locations.

Marian University in Indianapolis is launching two new majors this fall. Students will be able to earn degrees in business analytics and public health, which the university says are two of the fastest-growing career segments in Indiana and the country.

The business analytics degree will be a part of the university’s Byrum School of Business. Dean Russ Kershaw says feedback from the school’s corporate partners led to the decision to offer the major.

"The Byrum School has a responsibility to develop data-savvy future business leaders in a way that will allow them to add immediate value to companies upon graduation," said Kershaw. "Our program is distinctive in that it provides students with not only quantitative skills to frame and interpret complex data in a variety of contexts, but also allows them to apply this knowledge to actual business problems during all four years of their education.”

James Meer, vice president and worldwide controller at Indianapolis-based Appirio, says the demand for business analytics professionals is "substantial and on the rise." Marian cited a report from the McKinsey Global Institute that estimates businesses in the U.S. will need an additional 1.5 million analytics professionals by 2018.

The new public health major will be available through the university’s department of sociology. Students will be able to earn a Bachelor of Science degree with a focus on environmental and community health or a Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on social, behavioral and community health. 

Marian says the program will "prepare students to work in clinical health settings to help connect patients to social, legal and environmental series that impact patents’ health, plan and evaluate the health care services and outcomes in communities, educate, and administer interventions."