Admissions
Start on Your Path to an MS in Business Analytics Degree
Selecting the right master’s program for your career goals is important. Our admissions team is here to help you at every stage, from inquiry to application. Schedule a phone or video consultation with one of our team members to get started.
Application Deadlines for Summer 2025
- October 31, 2024
- January 30, 2025
- March 11, 2025
- May 1, 2025 (final deadline for international applicants)
- Jun 3, 2025 (final deadline for domestic applicants)
We offer multiple deadlines to apply. Apply for the deadline that best works for you. If you submit between deadlines, we will review your completed application after the next deadline. If admitted, your enrollment deposit date will be communicated to you in your online admission letter.
Tuition & Fees
The tuition rate will be $1,500 per credit for a total of $45,000 for the entire one-year program. There are segregated fees of $1,596.62.
International applicants
Once admitted, international students must apply for a visa. This process can take weeks to months. Please see the “Student visas” section under “International Applicants” for more information.
What You’ll Need for Your Application
Essay responses are limited to 600 words each, unless otherwise noted.
Required questions:
- What excites you about business analytics as a career? Share with us the type of position you would like to find post-graduation.
- Please share an example of a time when you demonstrated your respect for people and their differences. How did you work to understand the perspectives of others?
- Use ChatGPT to respond to the following prompt and tell us how you improved on the content and made it more into your writing style: Why is the Wisconsin MS in Business Analytics a great program? To best respond to this prompt, request a 200-word AI generated response. You will then have 800 total words in the application to include the AI content and provide your own revisions, insights, and comments.
Optional question:
Please use this optional essay to communicate additional information about yourself that is not otherwise represented in the application, and that you feel would benefit the admissions committee.
Two video essays are required as part of the application process.
Video essays allow you to present yourself in a more personal and authentic way, giving the admissions team a better sense of your personality, communication style, and enthusiasm.
You will have two minutes to answer each question. You will use the platform Spark Hire to submit the essays. (Get tips for creating video essays in this podcast.)
Note: The admissions team will not start reviewing an application until the video essay requirement is complete.
Include past work experience, educational accomplishments, demonstrations of leadership, and ways in which you have grown professionally.
Your past academic history—particularly your four-year degree—indicates to us your ability to succeed in a structured study program.
- Bachelor’s degree from an approved (accredited) institution is required.
- You can submit your application with unofficial transcripts; certified copies of transcripts from your degree institution are required once admitted.
- The preferred method to receive official transcripts is electronically from your institution. Please access the Parchment website or contact your institution to make this request and send to masters@wsb.wisc.edu. Official transcripts may also be mailed directly from your undergraduate institution in a sealed and stamped envelope sent to:
MBA & Master’s Program Office
Wisconsin School of Business
2450 Grainger Hall
975 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706Official transcripts must be received on or before August 1.
International applicants are required to have the equivalent of a four-year U.S. bachelor’s degree. View the minimum degree equivalents for different countries. You may wish to have your transcript evaluated by World Education Services (WES) to ensure you meet the four-year U.S. bachelor’s degree equivalency requirements.
- $75 for both domestic and international students (additional $6 processing fee for international students).
- Fee waivers available if active duty in the U.S. military within five years of applying.
- Payment by credit or debit card through the online application system; receipt required to learn of the admissions decision.
- The GMAT Focus/GMAT and GRE are optional for candidates who earned an accredited U.S. undergraduate. You can apply for the test waiver by completing the waiver request form.
Candidates who are below a 3.0 GPA are strongly encouraged to take either the GMAT Focus or GRE to show the admissions committee they have the academic ability to handle the rigors of the master’s program.
- A TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE score is required for international students. The requirement can be waived if you have an undergraduate or master’s degree that was taught in English.
You may submit a letter of recommendation as part of your application; however, it is not required. Select a recommender who is qualified to evaluate your potential for leadership or management. They should have a strong understanding of your abilities and be familiar with solid examples of your accomplishments. This individual may be a current or past supervisor or manager, a client or vendor, or a representative of a volunteer or community organization in which you are involved.
Learn About the Admissions Process
International Applicants
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
Applicants whose native language is not English or whose undergraduate instruction was in a language other than English must achieve a score of 100 or higher on the Internet-based TOEFL (or score of 600 on the paper-based TOEFL) within two years of the intended start. Waivers are available if your four-year undergraduate degree and/or master’s degree was in English or you worked in an English-only speaking company for at least 2 years. Please direct the Educational Testing Service to forward your test results to the University of Wisconsin–Madison (institution code: 1846)
Results of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or PTE (Pearson Test of English, institution code: NML-ZH-25) will also be accepted. An IELTS minimum score of 7.5 or higher, or a PTE internet-based score of 73 or higher or paper-based score of 80 or higher, is required.
An international applicant whose four-year undergraduate degree and/or master’s degree (minimum of eight semesters total) instruction was in English, or who will complete such a degree prior to matriculation at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, may request a waiver. To request a waiver for the language test requirement, please select the TOEFL test type in your online application and select “Request a Waiver” for the English proficiency test. We will confirm that English is the language used at the academic institution where your degree was conferred.
Financial statement
Evidence of adequate financial resources for the anticipated duration of the program is required by the federal government for visa documentation upon admission to the MS in Business Analytics Program. It is not required as part of the MS in Business Analytics application.
Student visas
To enter the United States, you will need a student visa, usually an F-1. The process of acquiring a visa can take a long time, so please begin as early as possible.
Here is how you will get your visa. Please note, these steps MUST be completed in this order:
- Accept your offer of admission.
- Set up your Terra Dotta portal via your MyUW Student Center. This will be your student immigration portal during your time as an F-1 or J-1 student at UW–Madison.
- Submit a request for your Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Form I-20 through Terra Dotta. It may take three to four weeks for you to receive this form.
- Once you have received your I-20, schedule an interview appointment at your country’s American consulate or embassy. Because most consulates and embassies schedule visa interview appointments several weeks or even months in advance, it is essential to do this as early as possible.
Have questions? Get it touch with UW–Madison’s International Student Services Office.
For more information on student visas, visit the Office of Visa Services at the U.S. Department of State.
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