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Cross-disciplinary skills are highly valuable for professionals because they broaden an individual’s set of abilities and prevent them from being limited to specific roles or narrow fields. Also referred to as “soft skills,” “professional skills,” or even “21^st century skills,” cross-disciplinary skills allow professionals to develop an adaptability within their workplaces, enhancing the hard skills they have developed for their careers.

The Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program at �������� combines key analytical and business skills with a range of cross-disciplinary skills that prepare graduates for diverse and evolving workplaces, helping them to adapt, innovate, and thrive.

The Role of Cross-Disciplinary Skills in Business Analytics

Business analytics is a field that naturally sits at the intersection of different disciplines, as it combines elements of business, technology, and analysis. Adding soft skills to this makeup greatly enhances an individual’s viability for many roles since business analytics professionals need to be able to communicate their technical and analytical insights, collaborate with non-technical colleagues, and apply knowledge in diverse business settings.

Plus, with talented professionals being in demand for business analytics roles, as reported by the McKinsey Global Institute and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics among others, developing your cross-disciplinary skills can go a long way in ensuring that you stand out among other applicants for available roles.

Key Cross-Disciplinary Skills for MSBA Professionals

A cross-disciplinary education is highly advantageous for business analytics roles and allows professionals to be at their best. Some of the core cross-disciplinary skills you will want to develop and refine include:

• Critical thinking – Any analyst needs to be able to synthesize information to arrive at actionable steps. Part of their analysis will involve evaluating arguments, constructing reasoned judgements, questioning assumptions, and engaging in other critical thinking practices to arrive at the best result.
• Effective communication and collaboration – Analysts need to be able to convey their findings clearly and work with other team members to determine the best course forward. This will include exchanging ideas, negotiating diverse viewpoints and perspectives, tailoring messages to appropriate audiences, and more.
• Problem solving – Business analytics roles require professionals to apply their knowledge in varied domains, experiment, and tackle complex challenges, so having skills in multiple disciplines can help to sharpen abilities and facilitate effective problem solving.
• Creativity – Honing your creative skills can greatly benefit your career, as you will often need to synthesize data and ideas from diverse sources and industries, develop unique approaches and solutions to problems, and look for connections between disparate concepts.
• Knowledge acquisition, application, and adaptability – Professionals in the business analytics world need to be able to both acquire and apply knowledge effectively, but also adapt to changing realities and emerging information.

How MSBA Programs Cultivate Cross-Disciplinary Skills

Historically, many professional programs centered coursework around discipline-specific knowledge, but the value of a cross-disciplinary education is becoming more apparent, so many programs, including MSBA programs, are incorporating diverse approaches into their curriculums.

Some of the ways that programs foster cross-disciplinary skills include:

• Integrating project-based learning initiatives, interdisciplinary courses, and collaborative activities for students
• Using authentic learning approaches, team projects, experiential learning initiatives, and case study activities
• Creating scenarios that allow students to practice hard and soft skills while giving and receiving feedback
• Structuring assignments so that tailored communication for specific audiences is required (such as for colleagues, managers, and clients)
• Expanding and formalizing student skillsets via in-depth instruction and the practical application of acquired knowledge and skills

In ��������’s online MSBA program, students are provided with holistic knowledge that balances analytical, technological, business, and soft skills. Communication, decision-making, and leadership are some of the key cross-disciplinary skills students will hone by way of the curriculum, the integrative capstone analysis projects, and internship options for professional development.

The Value of Cross-Disciplinary Skills to Employers

Employers who hire business analysts greatly benefit from their employees’ technical and analytics skills, but they also value the professional skills they bring to the organization. Workers who have had a cross-disciplinary education help to:

• Contribute to the company in diverse ways, giving them a competitive edge over rival organizations
• Foster innovation and adaptability within the company and arrive at solutions that hard skills alone may not facilitate
• Make the workforce more agile and able to tackle unexpected problems
• Enable collaboration within departments, increasing efficiency and producing better results
• Improve problem-solving sessions and boost organizational creativity

Additionally, graduates who have robust skillsets enhanced by a cross-disciplinary education greatly increase their career opportunities. As reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roles for MSBA graduates tend to grow faster than average:

• Data scientists and mathematical science occupations are projected to grow , much faster than average
• Operations research analyst occupations are projected to grow , much faster than average
• Management analyst occupations are projected to grow , much faster than average

FAQs About Cross-Disciplinary Education

Are cross-disciplinary skills the same as “soft skills”?

As noted above, cross-disciplinary skills can be discussed under other names, including soft skills. So, if you are more familiar with that term and have come across it in varied contexts, know that any relevant information you have found also applies to the cross-disciplinary focus. “Disciplinary skills,” meanwhile, is a term often used interchangeably with “hard skills,” referring to the specific set of skills a particular area of study and field require.

Can I develop these skills in my current job?

To some extent, yes. For instance, engaging in workplace collaboration, such as joining team projects with colleagues from different departments, is an easy way to learn more about other roles and gain a deeper understanding of how the workplace functions as a whole. You can also hone skills by taking online courses or attending workshops and conferences.

Are master’s programs a good setting for acquiring cross-disciplinary skills?

Yes, master’s programs are ideal because they help you to expand and formalize your skillset, allowing you to develop hard skills specific to your field alongside soft skills that can be transferred across numerous disciplines. ��������’s MSBA program has helped students to master disciplinary and cross-disciplinary skills so that they can apply them in the workplace.

Ready to Receive a Cross-Disciplinary Education? Contact ��������

If you are looking to gain the skills the professional world demands, our Master of Science in Business Analytics is the solution. Reach out to our team for information, or, if you’re ready, apply today.