HSB Celebrates First Graduating Class of MSBA Students

Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business (HSB) celebrated the graduation of the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program’s inaugural cohort. Among the graduates were Eden Daniel, Bryan Moreno, Kaylah Ortiz and Isaac Recio. 

“We are incredibly proud of this first set of MSBA graduates,” said Sandeep Mazumder, PhD, the William E. Crenshaw Endowed Dean of the Business School. “There is a growing need for business analytic professionals, and our hope is this program will help fill the gap. These graduates and their accomplishments have helped set the tone for what is to come for the Baylor MSBA program.” 

During the one-year program, students developed expertise through a STEM-designated, cross-disciplinary program with faculty from both HSB and the College of Arts & Sciences. The program ended with a capstone project that showcased the analytical and business skills they acquired during their studies. For their capstone project, the students conducted a "failure analysis" on critical pieces of equipment using a real-life dataset provided by Helmerich & Payne (H&P), a leading oil and gas drilling company. 

“I believe this capstone project was an exceptionally valuable component of the learning experience,” said James Stamey, MBA ’97, Ph.D. ’00, professor and chair of Statistical Science at Baylor. “The students were able to apply concepts from courses in statistical methods, computational statistics, data visualization, business intelligence and predictive analytics to analyze a large dataset and investigate numerous possible causes of equipment failure.”

Upon completing the capstone, the students presented their findings in a professional setting to H&P executives and data scientists offering reasonable solutions and highlighting several important areas worth further investigation.

“The MSBA program was incredibly beneficial to my learning. The capstone course helped apply the knowledge we learned throughout the program to a real-world situation, which I know will be useful in my future career,” Eden Daniel, MSBA ’24, said.  

During this project, the students worked closely with Cole Burdette, H&P’s senior manager of reporting and advanced analytics and John Bell, BBA, ’94, senior vice president of H&P’s international and offshore operations, who were instrumental to the students’ success. 

The collaboration between MSBA students and H&P was mutually beneficial, with the students gaining invaluable experience working on a real-world problem and H&P getting fresh insights and potential solutions to enhance their operations.

“Our digital operations team jumped at the chance to team up with Baylor MSBA students on their capstone project,” Bell said. “The students were sharp – quickly getting up to speed on our business, picking up a complicated problem and reporting their findings back in a well-thought-out and convincing manner. It was great to get their perspective as well as input on some aspects we hadn’t examined yet.” 

The first graduating class of Baylor's MSBA program set a high standard for future cohorts, Stamey said. Their ability to synthesize and apply their knowledge in a practical, impactful manner underscores the program's strength in preparing students for the demands of the business world.

“I will be forever grateful for the classroom experiences and the professors that guided me during the program,” Daniel said.

Visit the MSBA website for more information about the program.