{"id":445856,"date":"2026-09-24T04:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T04:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/445856\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T04:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T04:20:08","slug":"uta-replaces-business-analytics-degree-with-ai-for-business-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/445856\/","title":{"rendered":"UTA replaces business analytics degree with AI for business | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

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The Business Building is at 701 S. West St. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs in areas including accounting, economics, finance, information systems, management and marketing.<\/p>\n

Photo by General Mason Starks<\/a><\/p>\n

The UTA College of Business has replaced its bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s in business analytics with artificial intelligence for business. The change went into effect during the fall 2026 semester.<\/p>\n

Radha Mahapatra, department chair of information systems and operations management, said that as the technology landscape continuously advances, the College of Business in return adapts to the changes by updating its curriculum. Mahapatra categorized it not as a new program replacing the old one, but as changes in program structure that are aligned with the new name.<\/p>\n

Some of the courses\u2019 names have changed, as well as their content. Introduction to AI for business applications is a renamed version of the introduction to business analytics course, and an ethics of artificial intelligence applications course has replaced ethical and social issues in data science. Classes like the seminar in AI for business are new additions to the degree plan<\/p>\n

Sridhar Nerur, Goolsby-Alcon endowed chair and professor of information systems and operations management, emphasized the evolution of the AI field as data gained prominence. The primary use of technology revolving around business intelligence was to understand, visualize and diagnose what had already happened.<\/p>\n

However, around 2013 and 2014, Nerur said, the approach began to change as the focus shifted beyond looking backward, and now, leaders within the program believe AI is the future of predictive analytics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings started moving towards the future,\u201d he said. \u201cLooking at the rearview mirror now, you\u2019re looking through your windshield to see what comes ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nerur said the changes industries have seen in the last decade have been rapid, which is why he believes skill sets have to change with the marketplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are getting laid off. Why? Because of the traditional skill sets that they have. They\u2019ve not had the opportunity to update them,\u201d he said. \u201cOut here, students have the opportunity to update those skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nerur said graduates with a bachelor\u2019s in AI have a competitive advantage compared to those with a bachelor\u2019s in data analytics.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople may not agree; the students probably don\u2019t see it,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the truth is that the field has changed, the market has changed, the demands are different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Leslie<\/p>\n

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Leslie Ortiz, a senior originally studying business analytics, is one of many students who was switched to the artificial intelligence for business program. Ortiz said her petition asks the university to mix both programs.<\/p>\n

Photo by Emmanuel Pizano <\/a><\/p>\n

Leslie Ortiz, an AI for business senior who originally majored in business analytics, said everyone in the program found out about the change at the same time and that it was unexpected.<\/p>\n

The students were informed about the renaming of their degree by the College of Business on Sept. 2 via an email from the Department of Information Systems and Operations Management. According to the email, students graduating in fall 2026 or after will have a Bachelor of Science in AI for business.<\/p>\n

Ortiz said the feelings she and her friends felt from the email drove her to make a petition asking the college to find an alternative name for their degree. As of Sept. 22, the petition has 78 signatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy petition is directly asking for them to change the name of the degree; we\u2019re not exactly asking them to change it back to business analytics,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just want it to be a mix of both, since that\u2019s exactly what we were working towards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amelia Rollison, another AI for business senior who originally was a business analytics major, said she is undecided about whether the change is appropriate to her career preferences.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could still get analytics opportunities because we\u2019ve still learned about a lot,\u201d Rollison said. \u201cWe had intro to analytics as one of our classes. We\u2019ve learned data visualization, and I think knowing AI and machine learning is very helpful for analytics.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, she said she felt like the two topics are different things. Data analytics solves broad business problems, while AI is more specialized and narrow,\u00a0Rollison said.<\/p>\n

Nerur said he considers AI as just an evolution of ideas and thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not making revolutionary changes and saying everything has to be different,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are making incremental changes, which should be to the benefit of the students, really, because we are preparing them for a world that\u2019s changing rapidly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The involvement of AI in business problem-solving has increased, and UTA is not alone in the decision to incorporate it. The subject has been discussed for two years within an advisory board, made up of members from top companies in Dallas-Fort Worth, Nerur said.<\/p>\n

Mahapatra said that not only does the new program cover foundational skill sets in programming, statistical methods and data visualization, but the College of Business is also adding courses that include generative AI and agentic AI.<\/p>\n

Ortiz said she does not feel that the program\u2019s new name accurately describes the coursework she has been working on.<\/p>\n

She said although she and her peers agreed with the college that the title \u201cAI for business\u201d is more up to date than \u201cbusiness analytics,\u201d they feel that completely changing the name is not fair to everyone.<\/p>\n

Other colleges, like UT Dallas, have degrees with artificial intelligence and business analytics integrated into one degree plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be more better reflection of what we\u2019re doing, and if that\u2019s not an option, then we would also prefer to keep the name for seniors who had already been working towards that,\u201d Ortiz said.<\/p>\n

@nanda.ach_<\/p>\n

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