Michael Rappa

About Michael Rappa

I have 35 years of experience working across academic disciplines at the nexus between…

Experience

1. Founding Director

   Institute For Advanced Analytics

   Jun 2006 — Present

   As head of the Institute, Dr. Rappa leads the nation’s first Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) as its originator and principal architect. The MSA is an intensive 10-month professional degree for aspiring data scientists that blends computer science, statistics, applied mathematics and business disciplines into an innovative education focused on the analysis of very large amounts of data. Since launching the Institute in 2006, the MSA has quickly become one of the largest and most selective degree programs on campus, and its students among the most sought-after and highly compensated graduates of the university. The Institute enrolls up to 60 students annually and counts over 1,400 alumni. The Institute\'s students have performed (gratis) nearly 300 projects with over 150 organizations spanning virtually every industry segment, city, state, and federal government agencies.An independent study of student outcomes commissioned by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors published in 2024 places the Institute\'s pioneering degree program at the top among hundreds of graduate programs across the 16-campus UNC System, in terms of the median lifetime return-on-investment (ROI).Appointed the Goodnight Director in January 2015, Dr. Rappa’s current position is first and sole endowed directorship at NC State University.

Education

• University of Minnesota

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Business Administration

  1981 — 1987

• Union College

  B.A., Economics

  1977 — 1980