SCU Leavey Blog

Financial analysis drives sound business decision-making for governments, companies, and investors when considering plans and budgets for current and future projects.

Finance and analytics professionals use data, powerful software, and other tools to help clients and businesses manage their money. Their insights allow individuals and organizations to make strategic business and investment decisions and optimize financial performance.

Albert Einstein is often credited with defining insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."1 In business, the repetition of old and ineffective methods can prove costly.

Data analytics is the science by which experts analyze massive amounts of raw data in order to make conclusions about information. It has exploded in popularity as businesses seek new ways to understand their clients and optimize performance.

Marketing is more than brainstorming the next advertising idea—it’s the process of communicating key brand messages and delivering value. To succeed in this dynamic field, professionals need a diverse skill set and up-to-date knowledge of consumer behavior, persuasive techniques, and professional technology.

Despite the rise of remote work and widespread internet connectivity that should make location irrelevant, cutting-edge startups—and the people who want to work for them—continue to flock to Silicon Valley.

A business with poor financial risk management can quickly go downhill–not only in the form of financial instability but also damaged reputation among employees, customers, and potential business partners.

Strategic decision-making is crucial for any organization seeking a competitive edge, and data is the driving force behind strategy. The demand for skilled professionals who can harness the power of data and transform it into actionable insights has never been greater.

A business with a fact-based decision-making process is in a strong position to anticipate the future and use the insights gained from data analysis to stay ahead of the competition.

Picture this: You’re browsing a retailer’s website, and a small box pops up in the corner of your screen, asking, “How can I help?” You type a question about a product into the text box and the program promptly generates an answer. If this scenario sounds familiar, you’ve likely interacted with chatbots before.

Recent technological advances are reshaping how humans interact with machines. One of the most popular and revolutionary inventions is ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by the OpenAI laboratory.

Businesses navigate an increasingly complex and continually evolving risk landscape. Geopolitical conflicts, cyberattacks, inflation, natural disasters, pandemics, and other threats can significantly affect the global economy and individual organizations.

Business is a vast discipline that covers many subjects, from accounting to communications, economics, ethics, project management, and beyond. Master of Business Administration (MBA) students often focus on a particular area by pursuing a concentration or specialization.

The emergence of artificial intelligence tools, predictive technology, and other recent innovations has fed growing concerns about ethics in marketing.

The term ‘corporate restructuring’ generates spine-tingling thoughts of mass layoffs and financial collapses.

Financial technology, or fintech, has revolutionized the way individuals and businesses manage money by improving and automating financial services and processes.

New marketing technology trends have radically transformed industries around the world. Marketers can use digital tools to improve and streamline almost every aspect of their jobs, from conducting consumer research to producing content.

Discover how an SCU Online MBA can boost your earning potential and stay ahead of inflation. Invest in your future and learn more today.

Gain unique insights on the SVB collapse and its implications for banking in our latest blog post, featuring Seoyoung Kim, Program Director for Santa Clara University's Online Master's in Finance and Analytics program. Stay ahead of the curve with the expertise of one of the top minds in the field.

Discover why a strong Digital Marketing Strategy is key to winning customers in today's market and learn how to craft your own with our expert tips and advice.

Whether you work in data, tech, business strategy, operations, or all of the above, you’re bound to work closely with a business analyst or in business analytics yourself. With its rising importance and the staggering amount of tech layoffs in 2022 and 2023, now is the perfect time to pursue a Master of Science in Business Analytics

As tech layoffs continue around the world, thousands of workers have found themselves back in the job market. Whether you take the time to focus on your personal life or throw yourself into the job search, you should first consider the unique opportunity that a situation like this presents—more specifically, could now be the time for a career change?

Santa Clara University’s online business programs have again been recognized among the best in the nation in newly released rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

Regardless of what point you're at in your career, it can be extremely difficult to sell yourself to a potential employer or graduate program. This may be due to an overabundance of humility, or it may be because you doubt the significance of your accomplishments. A classic place in which this anx...

There are many resources to help offset the cost and make your investment more manageable, specifically for those who might have been affected by recent mass layoffs in the tech industry. Santa Clara University offers several options for tuition assistance and financial aid, including a guaranteed $3,000 scholarship for tech workers who have been laid off.

To help workers re-emerge stronger and more skilled, Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business is offering adapted admissions requirements and a guaranteed scholarship to all applicants affected by tech layoffs.

Read on to learn about econometrics, what econometricians do, and how to become one.

Every day, you’re faced with ethical decisions, both big and small. In business, this can have a series of consequences, both positive and negative, on you, your colleagues, your company, and your customers. Because of the impact, it’s important to be as well informed and thoughtful as possible to minimize harm and become a more ethical leader.

When you think of financial careers, banking is typically the first role that comes to mind. Learn how a Master of Science in Finance and Analytics allows you to work across many industries and choose from various professions.

Big data has become an increasingly important asset for companies across industries, around the world. With the explosion of digital data, organizations are now able to collect, process, and analyze vast amounts of information to gain valuable insights and drive decision-making.

MBA candidates who seek out the Leavey School of Business often share a particular set of experiences and objectives. Highly motivated, well educated, and professionally successful up to a point, they’re driven to build careers in Silicon Valley but have stopped progressing toward that goal. Something is missing.

Marketing is an excellent choice if you want a lucrative business career. Products and services may come and go, but there will always be the need for marketing professionals to help businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations connect with consumers. Continue reading to learn more about typical career paths and salary opportunities a master's in marketing degree can unlock for you.

Because marketing appears in many different forms, you can’t always link sales or conversions directly to your efforts. But with the creation and adoption of several new marketing technologies, it’s easier to create, manage, and report on marketing efforts to redefine their role in a company.

As with all higher education, getting your MBA is a financial and personal investment — but does the return on investment, or MBA ROI, make it a wise one? Only you can determine the final answer to that question. But as you consider whether going back to school for an MBA is the right decision for y...

Learn how data analytics and big data are driving today's most important business decisions and how you can obtain a career in this in-demand field.

The Master of Business Administration: Long respected as a sign of business acumen, managerial skills, and leadership potential, this advanced degree continues to offer life-changing personal and professional value, immediately and in the long term, to those who earn it.

A decade ago, the Harvard Business Review named Data Scientist as the “Sexiest Job of the 21st Century.” Now, with artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the democratization of data, the industry has completely evolved, but this fact hasn’t changed.

For the second consecutive year, the Online MBA program at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business has placed at the very top of Poets&Quants’ annual rankings, holding the #1 spot in the categories of academic experience and career outcomes.

Learn about top jobs for master's in finance and analytics graduates, their average salaries, and the roles and responsibilities of some of these leading positions.

In recent years, business schools have seen increased interest in specialized master’s degree programs, even as applications and enrollments in full-time MBA programs have declined somewhat. One of the four most popular business master’s degrees offered today by business schools attempting to meet t...

Explore the key challenges in data-driven marketing and learn how to overcome them with the right marketing skills.

If you’re interested in furthering your prospects and are researching different career paths, you might not be clear on the differences between the fields of marketing analytics and business analytics. Learn whether becoming a business analyst would be the best fit for you and your career.

Business and financial occupations—which concern the day-to-day duties of running a business or are related to raising or managing money— pay well. People in those positions made a median annual wage of $76,570 in May 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That far exceeds the BLS-measured median annual wage of $45,760 for all occupations.

One of the most important marketing skills in today’s highly connected world is knowing how to create a digital marketing strategy. According to Statista, e-commerce revenue in the retail sector is forecasted to exceed 1.3 trillion dollars by 2025; 81% of shoppers research a product online before buying, so it’s essential for advertisers to reach and engage customers through digital marketing.

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly prevalent and competent, programmers are using the same processes in a popular form of machine learning called reinforcement learning (RL). With this technology, businesses are able to optimize, control, and monitor their workflows with a previously impossible level of accuracy and finesse.

What do you want to do with a marketing degree? Whatever motivates your interest, the information here will give you a better picture of whether a career in marketing is right for you. We'll cover the skills you can expect to develop, job prospects for marketers, some potential jobs and salaries, and the value of an advanced marketing degree.

Market research analysts find, gather, and analyze data to help companies monitor, measure, and forecast sales, marketing effectiveness, consumer trends, competitors, and market conditions, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A new job market outlook report has just been released with some surprising takeaways. ZipRecruiter’s inaugural report—The Class of 2022: The Job Market Outlook for Grads—highlights the market at it currently stands, and delves into specifics of the job hunt for recent graduates.

If you're thinking of joining those ranks, you will probably be taking a graduate school entrance exam. Santa Clara University compiled a list of common graduate school entrance exams for students who are considering furthering their education.

Customer relationship marketing (CRM) focuses on building long-term relationships with customers. Read on to learn more about customer relationship marketing and how you can master it for business success.

As the American workforce emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers are reevaluating their careers. Between Jan. 2021 and Feb. 2022, almost 57 million employees resigned from their job. In that same 14-month period, 89 million workers were hired, meaning that the majority of quitters didn’t decide to take time off, but switched to another job. And with the cost of living showing no signs of declining, many people are looking for ways to not only increase their earning potential, but also advance in their career paths and find job satisfaction.

If you want to work at Google, you’re certainly not alone. In Glassdoor’s 2022 Best Places to Work report, Google ranked in the Top 10. In fact, there was even a movie made about it: The Internship with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. If you have your heart set on getting an internship (and eventually, a permanent position) at Google upon graduation, you’ll have to really stand out from the crowd.

Dean Grier’s wealth of knowledge and perspectives from academia and industry are helping him lead SCU Leavey forward. Take a closer look at the three principles of his leadership magic.

Santa Clara University rounded up 10 of the most popular occupations for people with a bachelor's business degree, including sales, finance, and management.

SCU’s Leavey School of Business is ranked #2 nationwide for employment at the five largest tech companies. The rankings report, published this week by Fortune Education, names leading MBA programs with a significant number of graduates employed at tech giants Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook.

Corporate governance rules are important because they outline a company’s ethical beliefs and provide a working roadmap for a company's objectives and activities. Read on to learn more.

SCU's academic excellence and improved career outcomes for students and alumni—driven by responsible business practices and bold innovation—has been recognized by the leading experts in higher education academic rankings: U.S. News & World Report.

Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business has garnered another impressive academic ranking in 2022. SCU is now No. 9 on The Princeton Review's annual online MBA rankings list, claiming a top 10 spot among our nation's best online MBA programs.

Which MBA concentration is best for you? Read more to learn which degree focus provides the best return on your educational investment, and explore, in-depth, a few top MBA concentrations to discover which specialization best suits your career aspirations.

Are you interested in advancing your career while staying at the forefront of innovation? Consider becoming a business analyst. The business analyst job outlook from 2020 to 2030 shows 14% growth, which is greater than the average for other position.

The Online MBA program at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business has earned the No. 3 ranking in the Poets&Quants Best Online MBA Programs of 2022—a notable rise from the No. 10 spot last year.

Learn how marketing MBAs differ from marketing master’s degrees and why an online marketing MBA could be the best choice for you—and your career goals.

According to the Graduate Management Admissions Council, MBA graduates earn 75% more on average than employees with just a bachelor's degree, a difference that can result in a $3 million dollar gap in lifetime earnings!

Applying to a top-ranked online MBA program is a multi-step process. In order to streamline this process, prospective students can use an application checklist, a document that lists all of the required materials a school needs students to submit in order to complete their applications.

Online MBAs are on the rise and are no longer considered niche degrees. According to data trends, more universities—including well-known brick and mortar institutions—are offering online MBAs. In 2020, 25% of all MBAs started in an online format.

It should be no surprise that earning an MBA can have an extremely positive impact on your career. Surveys conducted in 2021 indicate that MBA holders are rewarded with a return on their investment with salaries that are on average $35,000 higher than those of their coworkers without the degree.

With a 7-month Navy deployment scheduled to commence in May of 2019, and numerous work-ups to complete as we prepared the Amphibious Readiness Group for deployment, the thought of trying to begin business school seemed daunting, if not far-fetched.

When I enrolled at Santa Clara University, I was working as a supervisor for the Patient Transport Department at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital located in Palo Alto, CA.

To avoid a standardized testing experience that can be expensive, time-consuming, and generally speaking, a real headache, many online MBA candidates seek out programs that offer the opportunity to apply with no GMAT scores.

You’re a whiz with numbers, an ambitious professional intent on rising through the corporate ranks, and deeply committed to creating value for your organization. You may have a few years of valuable experience under your belt, but you’ve made up your mind that an advanced business degree is your next step to keep your career journey moving on an upward trajectory.

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a computer adaptive test developed by the Graduate Management Admission Council in 1953. It is used by thousands of business schools worldwide to assess the compatibility of prospective MBA studen...

Surveys show that one of the key reasons many students choose an MBA program is for its networking benefits. In the business world, there are few things more important than a powerful network of well-connected people. As the old sayin...

You’ve made up your mind: To launch yourself on the path to a fulfilling career in one of the most dynamic and creatively invigorating areas of the business landscape, you’ve decided that you’re going to pursue a master’s degree in marketing. Congratul...

It’s common knowledge by now that in March 2020, online programs and courses rapidly evolved from a growing subset of the higher education landscape to an absolute necessity. The Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University was not caught off guard by this sudden shift. Rather, we had spent...

Everyone’s MBA journey is different, and there is no one ideal timeline that makes sense for everyone who is interested in pursuing this career-defining degree. But whenever the inspiration strikes you, no matter what your life and career circumstances are at that moment, it’s important to take a...

While an MBA may seem like a one-size-fits-all degree, there are actually a significant number of different MBA formats that provide unique experiences for ambitious prospective business students. If you’re considering pursuing a graduate business degree to give yourself a leg up on your career jo...

If you’ve been exploring your options for a graduate business education, you might find yourself wondering exactly what the difference between an MBA and an executive MBA is. Many business schools offer both of these programs, and each has specific audiences, attributes, and eventual payoffs. Re...

If you’re searching for the perfect MBA program, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of information out there. From rankings to employment data to salary information, MBA statistics abound, and it can be a challenge to sift through the bulk of it to find what really matters to you. T...

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) has long been a hurdle for applicants to the most reputable business schools throughout the U.S., and the math questions contained in several sections of this entrance exam are of particular importance to MBA and business master’s degree candidates. Ma...

Business school is a great way to grow as a leader, expand your technical or analytical skill set, and set yourself up to advance at your current company or pivot into a new organization or field. But these advantages come at a cost, and the price tag for business school tuition is often a major roa...

Unlike its namesake, the Python programming language isn't scary. You'll learn the details of this powerful tool during your SCU Online MBA program, but in the meantime, here are some key terms and concepts about Python programming you should know: Python Programming for Beginners What is Pyth...

Nearly two years since the COVID-19 global pandemic sent the U.S. economy plunging to record lows, employee engagement and retention strategies are more important than ever. So what can businesses and bosses do to keep their best employees around?

Remote work has been commonplace in the global business environment for years now, and its prevalence only continues to rise. A study by serviced office provider IWG indicates that as many as 70 percent of global employees work remotely at least once per week, and freelance services coordinator Up...

The C suite and accompanying C level positions have long been the goals of many an aspiring business person. But with many companies expanding their C level job titles, it’s hard to know which positions actually wield real power these days. While some of these new C suite roles reflect the role an...

As society has evolved and consumer wants and needs have expanded, so have C suite jobs.While there is debate about whether or not these new C suite positions are necessary or simply “corporate Kindergarten playtime title-making,” as Mark Stevens, a marketing and management expert and author of Yo...

So you’ve been promoted to a management role, and suddenly, you feel as though the world is moving faster than it ever has before. You’ve always been a high performer at work, but now you are facing new challenges you never previously encountered. You find yourself thrust into professional interac...

As you consider your options for MBA programs, you may want to give equal thought to MBA concentrations you can pursue. While not every MBA program offers concentrations, many require or allow you to choose a concentration, specialization, or a certain number of electives in your chosen area. For...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - (March 29, 2019) - The Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University recently announced the launch of a new Online Master of Science in Marketing program, which will begin offering classes in September 2019. Drawing on Leavey’s strong ties to Silicon Valley, the Online...

A Closer Look at the Online Learning Experience In the last decade, online learning has made tremendous strides. The number of students taking online education courses has grown steadily since 2002, even despite a decrease in higher education enrollment overall.1 Technology has given millions th...

For a person busy with work and life, the ability to study online to earn your degree can be a game-changer. By studying online, you save commuting time and it gives you the chance to learn when and where you want. Still, by knowing the best strategies for studying online, you can make sure that the...

When completing an MBA application, it’s important to not just talk about what you hope to take away from your studies, but to also highlight how you will contribute to the MBA program. Now, it can be hard to take a compliment, let alone give yourself one. B...

So you made it through application season and now you’re waiting to see where you got in, but for most MBA programs, there’s one more step: the MBA interview. It might be in-person, or if you’re applying for an online MBA program like the one at Santa Clara University, your interview may be cond...

If you want to go further in business, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate degree can help get you there. MBAs are required for many management positions, they're seen as beneficial when companies are considering candidates for leadership roles, and they can help increase both start...

One of the most common questions asked by potential business school candidates eager to advance their careers is, “How long does it take to earn an MBA?” A traditional MBA typically takes about two years to complete, but several factors can affect how long it takes any individual to finish his or...

Once you’ve made the decision to get your MBA or other graduate business degree, the next hurdle appears before you: figuring out what, if any, standardized tests you need to take. Many graduate business schools require that applicants submit scores for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT...

Sometimes, despite your best effort, you don’t perform as well as you had hoped in a class. Perhaps it’s because you struggled with the material and performed poorly on tests and assignments. Or perhaps outside factors, like a crisis at work or in your personal life, prevented you from putting for...

Voices of the Online MBA: Jennifer Nguyen, Current Student With an undergraduate degree in a non-business subject, current Santa Clara University Online MBA student Jennifer Nguyen knew she would need an MBA to accelerate her career in the corporate world of Silicon Valley. What she didn...

Voices of the Online MBA: Harold Tran, Current Student For Harold Tran, deciding to earn his Online MBA from Santa Clara University was an unexpected choice stemming from his overwhelming desire to help others. With an undergraduate background in chemistry and psychology, he intended to...

Voices of the Online MBA: Gabe Limon, Current Student What led Gabe Limon to apply to Santa Clara University's Online MBA program is simple: He wanted to advance his career as a recruiter and a leader on a team of recruiters. But his ultimate decision to enroll at SCU ran deeper: He w...

Great Grad School Recommendation Letters: The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How When you're applying for a new job, you know that at some point in the process, you'll have to supply your potential new employer with a list of references they can contact to determine if you are as good a worker a...