Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Management Analytics and Decision-Making Minor


The Minor in Management Analytics and Decision-Making (MAD) will immerse students in interdisciplinary courses that foster rigorous analytical and communication skills, as well as critically thinking, with regards to managing data and analytics in complex environments. Students who earn the MAD Minor will attain skills that will help them succeed in interdisciplinary environments, solve problems, and manage resources mindful of risk, uncertainty, human dimensions, and sustainability.

Data governance and ethical considerations underlie decision making and resource management. Courses rely on case studies and applied projects to exemplify the diverse challenges encountered when simultaneously seeking profitability, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Students are introduced to the fundamentals of entrepreneurial decision-making, as well as the ethics of data use, custodianship, and communication. Case studies and project materials are drawn from real management problems from the Central Valley, Sierra Nevada, and Bay Area, incorporating content from public and private stakeholders in a rapidly developing region with an economy dependent on agriculture, food processing, and services; a sparsely populated area with an economy shaped by tourism, ranching, and extensive public lands management; and a developed, highly urbanized region at the forefront of the global technology-enabled services economy, surrounded by an extensive wildland-urban interface that exemplifies sustainability challenges with global relevance.

In summary, the minor in Management Analytics and Decision-making (MAD) provides students the tools to collect, analyze, manage, visualize and communicate data in support of diverse management applications, particularly in the context of “triple bottom-line” thinking, that is, with a focus on People, Planet, and Profit.

Minimum Requirements


To be awarded a minor in Management Analytics and Decision-Making, students must successfully complete at least 20 units.

Fundamental Requirement [4 units]


Complete the following course

Elective Requirement [4 units]


Complete one upper division courses chosen from the following range of elective courses relevant to Management Analytics and Decision-Making.

Management Analytics and Decision-Making Minor Program Learning Outcomes


Students will engage in hands-on, practical experiences with data-driven analytics, professional communication, and entrepreneurship to acquire a knowledge base to manage complex systems. As such, the courses in the minor are built around four Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) associated with management of complex systems, analytics, and communication of quantitative results:

  1. Critical Thinking and Analytics for Management of Complex Systems. Students will identify and use appropriate analytical, quantitative, and dataoriented techniques and apply reasoning to evaluate case studies for strategic decision-making in a multi-disciplinary setting and in the management of complex systems. Quantitative techniques and programming languages may be extracted from a number of different disciplines.
  2. Communication of Quantitative Analysis, Results, and Implications. Students will communicate effectively in classroom settings and with business and community stakeholders, preparing and delivering clear, persuasive, and professional oral and written presentations. When appropriate, emphasis will be placed on using data-driven methods and technologies to enhance visual representation and communication of information.
  3. Leadership and Teamwork in Practice. Students will apply principles and practices of effective leadership and teamwork in classroom and project settings.
  4. Ethics and Sustainability. Students will apply knowledge of ethical and legal. Students will apply knowledge of ethical and legal requirements and of professional, societal and cultural contexts of coupled environments.

Transfer Students


Courses similar to some of those in our proposed Core and Electives lists, particularly related to data science, GIS, research methods, and communication are offered at many California community colleges. Transfer students may receive credit for two such courses, assessed on a case-by-case basis by the MCS Undergraduate Chair who will work closely with the Department Chair and Student Services. Transfer students will be required to take the Fundamentals course (MIST 50) and at least two of the Core courses at UC Merced.

Guidelines Applying to All Minors


The following guidelines apply to all minor programs:

  • Students must have an overall grade-point average of 2.0 (C) or better in upper division courses. Individual programs may define higher minimum GPA requirements.
  • At least five courses, four of which must be upper division, must be taken for a letter grade.
  • At least three of the required courses must be taken at UC Merced.
  • Only one course may be used to satisfy two minor programs’ requirements.
  • Only one course may be used to satisfy both a minor and a major requirement.
  • Work for the minor must be completed within the maximum number of units allowed by the student’s School. If the student’s major and minor are in different Schools, the higher unit maximum will apply.