The MAD Minor immerses students in interdisciplinary courses that foster analytical skills, communication skills, and critical thinking about managing data and analytics in complex environments. It teaches skills that will help graduates succeed in interdisciplinary environments, solve problems, and manage resources mindful of risk, uncertainty, human dimensions, and sustainability. It cultivates skills for managing people, data, and the natural world – the interface of all three helps students explore sustainable growth in human and built environments. The MAD Minor provides the tools to collect, analyze, manage, visualize, and communicate data for diverse management challenges focusing on People, Planet, and Profit.
Courses in the MAD Minor rely on case studies and applied projects to exemplify the diverse challenges encountered when simultaneously seeking profitability, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Data governance and ethical considerations underlie decision-making and resource management. Students are introduced to the fundamentals of entrepreneurial decision-making, ethics of data use and custodianship, and communication. Case studies and project materials are drawn from real management problems from the Central Valley, Sierra Nevada, and Bay Area. Students engage in hands-on, practical experiences with data-driven analytics, professional communication, and entrepreneurship to acquire the knowledge needed to understand and manage complex systems, including Critical Thinking and Analytics for Management of Complex Systems; Communication of Quantitative Analysis, Results, and Implications; Leadership and Teamwork in Practice; and Ethics and Sustainability.
Management Analytics & Decision-Making Minor Requirements