Best Data Analytics Colleges and Universities in the World
About Data Analytics
Data analysis is the process of systematically applying statistical and/or logical approaches to raw data in order to put it into an understandable format. There are four types of data analytics techniques:
- Prescriptive analysis
- Predictive analysis
- Diagnostic analysis
- Descriptive analysis
The digital world runs on data, and an increasing number of companies and startups are adopting data analytics around the world to store and organize large amounts of data. As a result, data analysts are in high demand in a variety of industries, such as government, education, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, finance, business, consulting, and so on. This article outlines the degrees, specializations, career opportunities, and education requirements in the field of data analytics and also provides an outline of the best data analytics universities across the world.
Duties of Data Analysts
A number of tasks and duties are associated with data analysis. If a student wants to work as a data analyst, they must first learn about some of the most common data analyst responsibilities, which are broken down into five phases below:
- Identify the raw data
- Collect and extract data
- Clean the data
- Analyze the data (qualitative and quantitative data)
- Interpret the analyzed data to come to conclusions
Skills of Data Analysts
Knowing the skills required to become a data analyst can help students determine whether or not they are qualified for a career in data analysis. The following skills are in great demand for a data analyst:
- Mathematical and statistical expertise
- Strong business acumen
- Technical skills (knowledge of programming languages and tools)
- Leadership skills
- Analytical and problem-solving skills
- Time management
- Interpersonal skills
- Communication skills
Popular degrees for pursuing a career in Data Analytics
Data analysts help companies make better decisions by supporting them with data analysis. Without data-driven decision-making plans, today’s businesses would perish. Looking at the demand for the field, a lot of universities around the world are offering bachelor’s and master’s courses in data analytics and relevant fields. Here are some of the well-known degrees offered by the best data analytics universities around the world.
Bachelor’s programs
The bachelor’s degrees in data analytics offered by most of the USA universities are termed as B.S. (bachelor of science) whereas some of the UK and Europen universities refer to it as B.Sc (bachelor of science).
- Data Analytics
- Computer Science
- Computer Engineering
- Information System
- Data Processing
- Data Science and Analytics
- Business Analytics
Master’s programs
The master’s degrees in data analytics offered by most the USA universities are termed as M.S. (master of science) whereas the some of the UK and Europen universities refer to it as M.Sc (master of science). Students can opt for the following master’s courses in data analytics:
- Data Analytics
- Data Science
- Information Technology
- Healthcare Informatics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Machine Learning
- Cloud Computing
- Computer Systems Networking And Telecommunications
- Data Visualization
Specializations in Data Analytics
Doing a major in the field of data analytics surely has its advantages. The specializations in the field make the student more skilled and hence more credible to employers, resulting in more career options and a higher income. Students can opt for the following specializations in the field of data analytics.
- Computer science
- Data science
- Applied/advanced mathematics and statistics
- Finance
- Economics
- Management information systems
- Psychology
- Marketing and sales
Duration of programs in Data Analytics
A degree, offers a systematic approach to skill development and networking with industry leaders. The typical duration of the bachelor’s and master’s courses in the field of data analytics is as follows:
| Country | Bachelor’s Degree | Master’s Degree |
| USA and Canada | 3-4 years | 1-2 years |
| UK | 3 years | 1 year |
| Others | 3-4 years | 1-2 years |
Career opportunities in Data Analytics
Data analytics is the nexus of data science, statistics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. A career in data analytics will provide the following job prospects:
- Market research analyst
- Business intelligence analyst
- Intelligence analyst
- IT analyst
- Medical and health care analyst
- Operations research analyst
- Financial analyst
- Marketing and sales
- Data scientist
- Data architect
- Data journalist
- Data engineer
- Machine learning analyst
Average salaries for Data Analysts
Because the data market is competitive, the salaries paid to data analytics graduates vary widely. Also, financial and technological firms tend to pay higher salaries to data analysts. The following table shows the typical annual income of a data analyst in a few popular countries around the world:
| Country | Average salary in USD*/year |
| USA | 62,789 (Source: Payscale) |
| Australia | 54,112 (Source: Payscale) |
| Canada | 46,551 (Source: Payscale) |
| Singapore | 37,271 (Source: Payscale) |
| UK | 36,493 (Source: Payscale) |
| Hong Kong | 33,689 (Source: Payscale) |
| China | 19,166 (Source: Payscale) |
*Note: All prices mentioned in USD are for reference only. Exchange rates may vary from time to time and country to country.
Top 50 Universities in the world for Data Analytics based on ranking (Shanghai/THE/QS) :
| Shanghai Ranking | THE Ranking | QS Ranking | University | Country | Bachelor Programs | Master Programs |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Stanford University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 3 | 6 | 7 | University of California, Berkeley | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | Carnegie Mellon University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 5 | 8 | 8 | ETH Zurich | Switzerland | Click Here | Click Here |
| 6 | 1 | 17 | Tsinghua University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 7 | 14 | 4 | Harvard University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 8 | 4 | 14 | Nanyang Technological University | Singapore | Click Here | Click Here |
| 9 | 11 | 3 | University of Oxford | UK | Click Here | Click Here |
| 10 | 46 | 16 | University of California, Los Angeles | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 11 | 13 | 51-100 | University of Technology Sydney | Australia | Click Here | Click Here |
| 12 | 19 | 401-500 | University of Electronic Science and Technology of China | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 13 | 37 | 11 | University of Toronto | Canada | Click Here | Click Here |
| 14 | 45 | 10 | Princeton University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 15 | 6 | 9 | National University of Singapore | Singapore | Click Here | Click Here |
| 16 | 12 | 44 | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 17 | 54 | 51-100 | University of Southern California | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 18 | 28 | 26 | Cornell University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 19 | 15 | 51-100 | Zhejiang University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 20 | 66 | 101-150 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 21 | 22 | 201-250 | Harbin Institute of Technology | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 22 | 9 | 23 | Peking University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 23 | 24 | 201-250 | Huazhong University of Science and Technology | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 24 | 44 | 201-250 | Beihang University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 25 | 10 | 22 | The Chinese University of Hong Kong | China-Hong Kong | Click Here | Click Here |
| 26 | 39 | 101-150 | University of Science and Technology of China | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 27 | 55 | 20 | The University of Edinburgh | UK | Click Here | Click Here |
| 28 | 34 | 301-350 | Xidian University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 29 | 53 | 34 | The University of Texas at Austin | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 30 | 24 | 25 | Georgia Institute of Technology | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 31 | 18 | 47 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 32 | 57 | 42 | New York University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 33 | 20 | 33 | University College London | UK | Click Here | Click Here |
| 34 | 148 | 101-150 | University of Oslo | Norway | Click Here | Click Here |
| 35 | 49 | 351-400 | Southeast University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 36 | 17 | 28 | University of Washington | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 37 | 31 | 49 | City University of Hong Kong | China-Hong Kong | Click Here | Click Here |
| 38 | 38 | 40 | University of Sydney | Australia | Click Here | Click Here |
| 39 | 30 | 12 | Imperial College London | UK | Click Here | Click Here |
| 40 | 48 | 51-100 | University of Wisconsin – Madison | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 41 | 70 | 401-500 | Dalian University of Technology | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 42 | 26 | 49 | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | China-Hong Kong | Click Here | Click Here |
| 43 | 36 | 31 | Columbia University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 44 | 50 | NA | Northwestern Polytechnical University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 45 | 50 | 301-350 | Sun Yat-sen University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 46 | 73 | 301-350 | Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 47 | 21 | 201-250 | Wuhan University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 48 | 35 | 101-150 | The University of Adelaide | Australia | Click Here | Click Here |
| 49 | 88 | 101-150 | University of Montreal | Canada | Click Here | Click Here |
| 50 | 33 | 14 | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | China-Hong Kong | Click Here | Click Here |
Top Universities in the USA for studying Data Analytics
| Shanghai Ranking | THE Ranking | QS Ranking | University | Country | Bachelor Programs | Master Programs |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Stanford University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 3 | 6 | 7 | University of California, Berkeley | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | Carnegie Mellon University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
| 7 | 14 | 4 | Harvard University | USA | Click Here | Click Here |
Top Universities in the UK for studying Data Analytics
| Shanghai Ranking | THE Ranking | QS Ranking | University | Country | Bachelor Programs | Master Programs |
| 9 | 11 | 3 | University of Oxford | UK | Click Here | Click Here |
| 27 | 55 | 20 | The University of Edinburgh | UK | Click Here | Click Here |
| 33 | 20 | 33 | University College London | UK | Click Here | Click Here |
| 39 | 30 | 12 | Imperial College London | UK | Click Here | Click Here |
Top Universities in China for studying Data Analytics
| Shanghai Ranking | THE Ranking | QS Ranking | University | Country | Bachelor Programs | Master Programs |
| 6 | 1 | 17 | Tsinghua University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 12 | 19 | 401-500 | University of Electronic Science and Technology of China | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 16 | 12 | 44 | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 19 | 15 | 51-100 | Zhejiang University | China | Click Here | Click Here |
| 21 | 22 | 201-250 | Harbin Institute of Technology | China | Click Here | Click Here |
Top Universities in Hong Kong for studying Data Analytics
| Shanghai Ranking | THE Ranking | QS Ranking | University | Country | Bachelor Programs | Master Programs |
| 25 | 10 | 22 | The Chinese University of Hong Kong | China-Hong Kong | Click Here | Click Here |
| 37 | 31 | 49 | City University of Hong Kong | China-Hong Kong | Click Here | Click Here |
| 42 | 26 | 49 | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | China-Hong Kong | Click Here | Click Here |
| 50 | 33 | 14 | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | China-Hong Kong | Click Here | Click Here |
Top Universities in Australia for studying Data Analytics
| Shanghai Ranking | THE Ranking | QS Ranking | University | Country | Bachelor Programs | Master Programs |
| 11 | 13 | 51-100 | University of Technology Sydney | Australia | Click Here | Click Here |
| 38 | 38 | 40 | University of Sydney | Australia | Click Here | Click Here |
| 48 | 35 | 101-150 | The University of Adelaide | Australia | Click Here | Click Here |
Academic requirements for studying Data Analytics
The academic requirements for a bachelor’s and master’s degree in data analytics differ from region to region. The following are the standard admissions requirements for any data analytics degree as given by some of the best data analytics universities:
Bachelor’s level
Undergraduate admissions criteria include some combination of the following:
- A high school diploma with a GPA of 3.0 or greater (on a scale of 4.0 GPA) with mathematics and science as compulsory subjects
- Academic transcripts
- SAT and/or ACT scores (varies from university to university)
- Personal statement
- Letter of recommendation
- A valid passport
- English proficiency tests scores such as TOEFL (90 and above) or IELTS (6.0 and above)
Master’s level
- A bachelor’s degree in a statistical or analytical subject, such as computer science with a GPA 3.0 or greater (on a scale of 4.0 GPA)
- Academic transcripts
- MCAT and/or GRE scores (varies from university to university)
- Personal statement
- Letters of recommendation
- A valid passport
- Work experience (preferable)
- English proficiency test scores such as TOEFL (90 and above) or IELTS (6.0 and above)
