This co-major provides a blend of conceptual and analytical approaches that will engage students in critical thinking as well as data-driven decision-making on this important topic. Four broad areas are emphasized:

• Provide students the conceptual background and tools underlying search engine optimization, search engine marketing, online advertising, web analytics, email marketing, and social media
• Enable students to develop hands-on skills in using different data sources to make business decisions for customer acquisition, targeting, and relationship management
• Introduce students to tools for leveraging network resources and using large data sets for social network analysis, sentiment analysis, and web analytics
• Provide exposure to the legal, privacy and ethical issues with respect to data gathered in the digital and social media environment

Career Possibilities

The co-major is especially relevant for careers in the following areas:

• Technology providers such as Google, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram.
• Data providers such as Nielsen and 84.51, which are intermediaries in data analytics.
• Corporate users such as P&G, Unilever, Kroger, Target, Bank of America, Ingersoll Rand, and 3M.